Appreciation Questions from Poetry

Walt Whitman wrote the poem “O Captain! My Captain!” as a dirge for the death of

In the poem “Migrant Bird” the poet contrasts the life of a migrant bird with that of the

Will no one tell me what she sings? Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow …… “She” refers to

Answer the appreciation question. The best little scrub by the side of the rill. What is meant by scrub?

“The globe’s my world. The cloud’s my kin” – Whom does ‘my’ refer to?

“Had he and I but met By some old ancient inn” Whom does ‘he’ refer to here?

“You make me sit on a cushion between your knees”. The person who is talked about here is the………………..

‘Softy in the dusk a woman is singing to me’ What is the time mentioned in this line?

Where the mind is led forward by thee”? Whom does the word ‘thee’ refer to?

“O no! it is an ever fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken” What does the poet compare ‘true love’ to, ?

A mirror of his changing moods Now sure, now steeped in thought. Who does the word “his” refer to?

Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong To the old Sunday evenings at home, Who does the word ‘me’ refer to?

We pierce your bosom with swords and spears And you dress our wounds with oil and balsom. What does the word ‘you’ refer to?

With the teacups circling round me like the planets round the sun. Why are the teacups circling?

In the world’s broad field ,of battle, In the bivouac of life. What is the meaning of the phrase “Bivouac of life”?

‘O Ye wheels’ ‘Stop! be silent for today’. Identify the speaker of these lines

What were the source of inspiration to the Wright Brothers?

“On the day of Sicilian July, with Etna Smoking The voice of Education said to me ….. ” In these lines, The word “Etna” refers to——.

In the world’s broad field of battle, In the bivovac of Life, What is the meaning of the phrase “Bivovac of life”?

Is Life, But a Dream? Choose the correct answer from the options to fill in the blank : This poem is a/an —— of the poet.

What sort of the instruments does sculptor use?

What does the phrase “Jarring voices” mean?

What is the meaning for ‘Muskie’?

“For oh, “Say the children, we are weary And we cannot run or leap”. Who are weary?

What kind of world is described in the poem ‘Migrant Bird’?

Complete the following poetic lines by choosing the correct option given below. A child sitting under the Piano in the boom of the tingling —–

“And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide” Here the ‘parlour’ is :

“I won’t look down. No I will not” ‘I’ refers to :

“And in the valleys I have observed your tranquility” ‘I’ refers to

Choose the correct meaning of the word Underlined. “As humble plants by country hedgerows growing that treasure up the rain” What are  “humble plants“?

The poem “A Psalm of life” underlines the need of:

“Are we discouraged, W? Of course we are not O”! ‘O’ – here stands for

…………. is a room in a private house for sitting or entertaining visitors.

“Someone was before me at my water-trough, And I like a second comer, waiting”. Who was the second comer? Pick out the correct answer from the options given below :

Read the poetic line and select answer for the question from the options given below: ‘And not like a Craven, I Pray’ The word ‘Craven’ means——-.

From “going for water” “Like pearls and now a silver blade” The river seems to be silver because—— Choose the correct answer from the given options :

Read the poetic lines and select and answer the question from options given below : Let me say : There they ride on whom laurel’s bestowed. Since they played the game better than I. On whom are the laurels bestowed?

If you can’t be a Muskie, then just be a bass – But the liveliest bass in the lake!” What does the word bass mean? Find out from the following options :

What does H.W. Longfellow want to tell us in his poem ‘A Psalm of Life’-‘ Pick out the correct answer from the following options :

“If we cared for any meadows, it were merely To drop down in them and sleep” Find the speaker of these words :

‘I thought how paltry, how vulgar. What a mean act’? What is referred to as a ‘mean act’?

‘To live unknown beyond the cherished circle’ The phrase ‘Cherished Circle’ refers to—–

“I try my best to be A mother like the mom you were to me”. Find out the option that best explains the meaning of these lines.

In the poem “O Captain! My Captain!”, What does Whitman mean by the line, “the prize we sought is won”?

What does the poet wish for his country in the following lines? “Where the world has not been broken up into fragments/By narrow domestic walls”

If you can’t be a muskie. then just be a bass. What does the underlined word from the poem “Be the Best” refer to?

‘Though hit for six, In came their slogger’ Which game is referred to here? Choose the right option from the following?

“O listen! for the vale profound Is over flowing with the sound”. Here the poet stops to listen to the song because

In the poem “Our Local Team”, Who played a significant and convincing role?

What does Tagore suggest to lead us to perfection in the poem “Where the mind is without fear”?

Which among the responses best explains the following line : “Day light will be on the switch and winter under rock”.

What did the “Last man in” in the story “Our Local Team” do and what was the umpire’s reaction?

“I care not where the skies begin”. Find out the option closest in meaning to the above line.

In the poem, “The Solitary Reaper”, Wordsworth addresses this song to one ‘Solitary Highland Lass’. What does, the poet mean by the word, ‘Highland’?

If you can’meet with triumph and disaster; And treat those two impostors just the same:- Find out the word nearest opposite in meaning to ‘Impostor’ from the options.

‘Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul’. Which of the following options best explains the above lines?

Steady throb Then staccato rhythm Harmonic cacophony to oblivious ears. What is the meaning of the underlined word?

“Imagine if your precious nose is sandwiched in between your toes” What does the word “sandwiched” mean here?

Who do you think is these lines addressed to: You cannot rob us of the rights we cherish, Nor turn our thoughts away From the bright picture of a ‘women’s mission’ Our hearts portray

In the poem “Going for Water”, why did the children have to go to the brook?

“Laugh till the game is played” – What is the game referred to here?

Only bloodshot eyes betray Deep pride, then reverence, Lo! God in man’s image. Who is referred to as “God in man’s image” in the above lines?

Behold her, single in the field, Yon solitary Highland Lass! The underlined word in the above lines of “The Solitary Reaper” refers to

Find out the meaning of the underlined word in the following lines from Sonnet No. 116 : “Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit Impediments …….

“Good luck is around the corner” : What does this line suggest in the poem “Keep your spirits High”?

“The present seems all dreary The future very grim“. The Underlined words mean …….. and …….. respectively.

A Boat beneath a sunny sky Lingering onward dreamily What is lingering onward?

‘In solit’ry confinement as complete as any goal’. Solit’ry refers to

‘And the grave is not its goal’ The word ‘grave’ refers to

For I’m off to outer space tomorrow morning’. Where is the poet going?

‘Or, all day, we drive the wheels of iron’ What do the children do all day?

But he’s locked in a concrete cell, His strength behind bars”· Which animal is kept in cage pathetically which would have been marching with the grandeur and ferocity in its natural habitat?

Read the lines and choose the answer to fill the blank from the options given below : “O! ye wheels Stop be silent to-day”, The children want the wheels to stop because ——

“Man’s little Day in haste we spend ….. ” Man’s little Day in this line refers to——

“Was out of work-had sold his traps” The word ‘traps’ in this line means

Tell me not, in mournful numbers ‘Numbers’ here refer to

“Like ‘gnomes’ that hid us from the moon”. What does ‘gnome’ mean?

What is meant by ‘Shilpi’?

Citizens of those border states – Brothers of her brother’s sons What is mentioned through the line “Brothers of her brother’s sons”?

The knocking softens, fades to a mild judicious tap. What is the knocking sound?

Now drops that floated on the pool Like pearls, and now a silver blade. What is the “Silver blade”?

A child sitting under the Piano, in the boom of the tingling strings. The child mentioned in the poem is——

Love’s not time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks within his bending sickle’s compass come; These lines refers to the —–

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls What world does the poet dream of?

I shot him dead because- Because he was my foe. Give the meaning of the word ‘foe’

‘It’ in the following lines stand for—— “O, no! it is an ever fixed mark, That looks on tempests and is never shaken”.

O Captain! My captain! our fearful trip is done. The fearful trip refers to——

The reddest flower would look as pale as snow. The poet compares the flowers to

“And I thought of the albatross” What is an albatross?

But once within the wood, we paused Like gnomes that hid us from the moon. In the above quoted lines gnomes mean——

‘On the day of Sicilian July, with Etna smoking’. What is the ‘Etna’?

‘I mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated’. ‘It’ here stands for

Read the given poetic lines and answer the question that follows : “A Geode can split to reveal A dazzling sight to view!” When does a Geode split? It splits when——.

If you can’t be a muskie, then just be a bass But the liveliest bass in the lake. In the above lines what does the word ‘muskie’ mean?

Identify the right option : The poem, ‘Beautiful inside’ conveys the idea that——

The poem ‘Shilpi’ is about

“Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls” Name the poet who dreamt of a world with equality and harmony.

‘To seek the brook if still it ran’. The children mentioned in the poem search for

“If you can’t be a muskier, then just be a bass”. “What’is meant by “bass”?’

In Sonnet-116 Shakespeare celebrates the constancy of

The barren boughs without the leaves. The season mentioned here is

Because the autumn, eve was fair’ The time mentioned in the line is ——

Ready to run to hiding new With laughter when she found us soon”. Who does ‘She’ refer to?

I care not where the skies begin I spread my wings through all the din” Who is the speaker?

“Virgin rock takes from Rugged lines melt,” What is meant by “Virgin rock”?

Read the poetic line and answer the question given below : . The globe’s my world. The cloud’s my kin. Who claims the globe?

“Yes; quaint and curious war is! You shoot a fellow down” What is the meaning of the phrase “quaint and curious war” is

If you can force your heart and nerve and Sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone. Find out the meaning for a underlined word from the options given below :

Walt Whitman’s, ‘O Captain ! My Captain !’ is a —— written for the death of Abraham Lincoln

Which will take place of fears when some one keeps trying in the poem “keep on keeping on”?

” …I’m not going to be an airport pilot, a dancer, a lawyer, or an MC”. MC means ………….

Match the following words· from Shakespeare’s English in Column A with their modern English equivalents in Column B :

Column A	Column B
(a) doth	1. you
(b) thy	2. do
(c) thou	3. your
(d) dost	4. does

“The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done, From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;” What does Walt Whitman refer by ‘object won’?