English - Poetry Chapter 5: An Epitaph के NCERT Solution

Bihar Board Class 12 English An Epitaph Text Book Questions and Answers

B. 1.1. Read the following sentences and write “T” for true and “F” for false statements:

(a) The poet expresses his sad feeling for a lady.
(b) The lady belonged to the North Country.
(c) The poet considers her the most beautiful lady.
(d) ‘Beauty’ remains forever if we take proper care for it
(e) There are other persons who also know the lady.
(f) The poet feels that after his death nobody will remember her.
Answer:
(a) T, (b) F, (c) T, (d) F, (e) F, (f) T.

B.1.2. Answer the Questions briefly :

Question 1. Where does the lady lie?
Answer: The lady lies in an epitaph. She lies there in the memory of her beloved.


Question 2. How does she look to the poet?
Answer: She looks to the poet the most beautiful lady ever bom in the west country.

Question 3. Was she a kind and considerate lady?
Answer: No, She was not a considerate lady. She had the habit of moving here and there.


Question 4. What does the poet think about ‘beauty’?
Answer: The poet thinks about the beauty that it is short-lived and will disappear one day or another.


Question 5. What does the poet mean when he says. ‘And when I crumble.’
Answer: The poet is sad to think that nobody will remember the most beautiful lady in the west country.

Long Answer Questions

Question 1. ‘Ambiguity’ is a poetic device that is used to suggest more than one meaning and attitude. Comment on the ‘ambiguity’ in the use of the word ‘light’ in the second line of the poem?
Answer: ‘Ambiguity’ is a poetic device that is used to suggest more than one meaning and attitude. It commonly used in the sense of light. But in the second line of the poem, the poet has used it for the beautiful lady moving here and there.

Usually, the word light means brightness, but the use of the word light in the second line of the poem is “The habit of moving”.

Question 2. What according to the poet, are the two qualities of ‘beauty’? Discuss with your own comments.
Answer: The two qualities of’ beauty’ are short-lived and rare. The poet wants to say that beauty is rare and it disappears after some time.

Question 3. What will happen when the poet dies?
Answer: When the poet will die nobody will remember the beautiful lady of The West Country.

Question 4. Write a note on the philosophical meaning of the poem.

Answer: The poet ‘Walter De La Mare’ who has written the poem ‘An Epitaph’ has most philosophically expressed his deep concern over the death of most beautiful lady of the west country. He is also mentally upset that who will remember the lady (lying in the grave) after his death. The philosophical meaning of the poem is

(i) mortality of human life

(ii) the short-living of beauty and glamour which is bound to vanish and

(iii) Lust for life.

Question 5. What makes you feel that the poem is ‘ironical’ in meaning?

Answer: The feelings about the poet that how he loved his beloved makes me feel that the poem is ironic. He loved her so much that when his beloved died he mourned her death but could not save her from the cruel hands of the death. The beautiful lady turned into a dead body and was burned. It is but the irony of life.

Question 6. Write a summary of the poem “An Epitaph”.

Or, Write a short note on the poem, “An Epitaph”.

Answer: Walter de la Mare in her poem “An Epitaph” describes a beautiful lady, who after her death is lying in a grave. He is highly aggrieved by her death. The lady lies in the grave-yard in the West Country. She looks most beautiful to the poet, as he is in love with her. The poet thinks that he is being deceived by her death. The poet feels that beauty is not eternal. Beauty vanishes and passes with age. The poem has an ironic tone also, which the poet expresses-‘Light of step and heart was She”. Actually the poet is meant that the lady has deceived him, as she died leaving him alone. In this way the poem deals with the transitoriness of human life and human relationship. Even love and beauty lose their charm in the course of time, in spite of the fact that it is extra-ordinary and rarely found. He also becomes sad to think that nobody will remember her after he dies.

C. 3. Composition

Write a paragraph in about 100 words on the following:

(a) A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

Answer: There are many things in this world which bring joys for us. This is correct that a thing of beauty is a joy forever. Any beautiful thing that is created by God on man brings happiness to its viewer. But at the same, we can think it beautiful only because we see it this way. We all know that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. Nature has given us many beautiful things to appreciate and praise. We feel happy, seeing the mountains, landscape, flowers, and fruit. We feel happy when we see a beautiful dress, a beautiful picture, and beautiful surroundings.

(b) All that glitters is not gold.

Answer: It is a very well said statement that all things that dazzle are not pure or real. Gold is the symbol of purity and real glitter. We should have the eye for real or unreal things. Even artificial or unreal things can dazzle so much that we are misled from our sense of understanding. Human beings should not be honored for their show-offing. We should try to see the inner beauty and purity of the heart. Glitters can sometimes be fake. Human beings should be recognized for their inner dazzle and not the take emotions. Gold dazzles. It is we who should understand and see the real shine remembering that all the things that glitter is not gold.

D. Word Study

D. 1. Dictionary Use

Ex. 1. Correct the spelling of the following words:

beautyful, vanises, crumbul, rimember, ladie

Answer: beautiful, vanishes, crumble, remember, lady.

D. 2. Word-formation

Read the following line carefully:

I think she was the most beautiful lady

Mark that ‘beautiful’ is derived from ‘beauty’ by adding suffix ‘ful’ to it Write 10 words that end in ‘full’.

Answer: faithful, doubtful, powerful, useful, houseful, grateful, handful, mouthful, needful, careful.

D.3. Word-meaning

Ex. 1. Fill in the blanks with the antonyms of the following words given in the box:

beautiful, light, ever, vanish, rare, remember

(i) The stars suddenly…………………… from behind the cloud.

(ii) As the room was………………. I could not see anything.

(iii) They created an………………….. scene when they fought together.

(iv) A crow is a……………………. bird in India.

(v) We can never………………….. the valuable sacrifice of the leaders of the freedom struggle movement.

Answer: (1) appear, (ii) dark, (iii) ugly, (iv) common, (v) forget

E. Grammar

Ex. 1. Read the following lines from the poem carefully

(i) Here lies a most beautiful lady,

(ii) I think she was the most beautiful lady.

The use of ‘a most’ is uncommon. The use of ‘a’ before ‘most’ suggests general observation.

The most’ is commonly used, and here ‘the’ suggest particular reference.

Fill in the blanks with ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘the’ to complete the sentences:

(i) Most of……………… the students today want to work in………….. the U.S.A.

(ii) There is……………………. a red rose on……………….. the plant, the rose has become quite attractive.

(iii) There are very few students in…………………. the university, who want to pursue research work.

(iv)………………….apple day………………….. keeps the doctor away.

(v) I have met……………………….. M.L.A. today.

Answer: (i) the (ii) the (iii) the (iv) An, a, the (v) an.

1. Read the following extract of the poem and answer the questions that follow

Here lies a most beautiful lady,

Light of step and heart was she;

I think she was the most beautiful lady

That ever was in the West Country.

Questions.

(a) Name the poem and the poet.

(b) To whom the poet says, “is lying here?”

(c) What does, “Life of step and heart” mean?

(d) How is she to look at?

(e) What is the poet’s view about her appearance?

Answer:

(a) Poem’s title is An Epitaph and the poet who wrote the poem is Walter de la Mare.

(b) The poet says about a beautiful lady, who is lying here in the grave.

(c) Life of step and heart means having the habit of moving aimlessly from one place to another. Here the poet says about a beautiful lady, moving aimlessly without any commitment.

(d) She is the most beautiful Lady in the whole area.

(e) The poet had never seen such a beautiful lady. He is of the opinion that she is no charming and beautiful that no such lovely lady was ever bom in West Country.

2. Read the following extract of the poem and answer the questions that follow:

But beauty vanishes; beauty passes,

However, rare-rare it be;

And when I crumble, who will remember.

This lady of the West Country?

Questions.

(a) Name the poem and the poet.

(b) What does the poet think about beauty?

(c) What does the poet mean, by saying, “However rare-rare it be?”

(d) The poet says, “And when I crumble”, What does he want to say?

(e) For whom the poet expresses his concern, when he says, “who will remember.”

Answer:

(a) The name of the poem is An Epitaph, the poet who has composed’ this poem is Walter de La Mare.

(b) The poet thinks that beauty is not everlasting and will come to an end one day or another.

(c) He wants to express his sentiments that life is short-lived, and in the same way, beauty will also not remain for a longer period, however exceptional it may be.

(d) The poet refers to his death. He fears because he expects his death very soon and nobody will remember that beautiful lady.

(e) The poet expresses his concern about the beautiful lady to whom he loved. He thinks that nobody will remember her after his (poet’s) death.