Snapshots supplementary reader for Class 11 Core...
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Snapshots supplementary reader for Class 11 Core Course
2016
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SNAPSHOTS
Supplementary Reader in English for Class 11 (Core Course)
1. Chapter 1 page 2
2. Chapter 2 page 12
3. Chapter 3 page 15
4. Chapter 4 page 18
5. Chapter 5 page 20
6. Chapter 6 page 25
7. Chapter 7 Page 28
Additional poems included in response to questions:
8. ‗There was a naughty boy‘ by John Keats Page 5
9. ‗Daffodils‘ by William Wordsworth Page 6
10. THE PATRIOT By Robert Browning Page 33
11. The Diverting History of John Gilpin Page 35
INTRODUCTORY
1) The readings included in this book have the following objectives:
i. to develop the student‘s awareness about her/ his own personality
ii. to help understand himself/ herself and the society they live in
iii. to introduce the society of different countries through the contemporary
writers in English literature. 1
2) The book is called ‗Snapshots‘ because all the readings are biographical in
nature and convey the situations / themes/ issues through word pictures.
These word pictures convey a description that similar to what is conveyed
1 Contemporary means present day writers who are still living and writing or writers who began new
trends and raised new themes and issues that continued through the later part of the century and are still relevant.
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in a photograph. 2 Please recall, that a literary writing that develops a story
through word pictures is called a ‗Narrative‘3
3) The exam questions at this level will be to test the deeper understanding.
Take for example Question No. 4 on page 15. ―‗The Address‘ is a story of
human predicament that follows war. Comment.‖
For getting higher marks in such questions, you have to show your
grasp of the chapter and in the concluding paragraph, also refer to one or
two narratives depicting similar situations or something contrasting with
the situation in the given narrative.
a. The Questions in exams in Class 11th
are likely to be more of the
nature of ‗Comment‘ and ‗Discuss‘. This can be observed from
the questions at the end of each chapter.
Chapter 1 ‗The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse‘
by William Saroyan
About the author
Source http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4095.
Born in Fresno, California, The United States August 31, 1908
Died May 18, 1981
Genre Literature & Fiction, Short Stories
About this author
2 There is a well known saying that a photograph conveys a thousand words. In photographic contests
prize winning photographs, on a given theme, are those that convey a deeper meaning and story through a single photograph. 3 This is because these narrated a personal experience or an imaginary situation. Today, they are
simply called a ‘Story’. ‘What’s your story?’ is a common form of question one hears in a televised Interview, or a movie . It was first used in “Terminator – The Judgement Day’, wherein John’s mother asks the Terminator ‘What’s your story?’ It has been adopted for wider use in Economic Development as in ‘India’s Growth Story’ since Liberalization or since Independence.
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William Saroyan was an American - Armenian author. The setting of many
of his stories and plays was Fresno, California (sometimes under a fictional
name), the center of Armenian-American life in California and where he
grew up. Saroyan was born in Fresno, California to Armenian immigrants
from Bitlis, Turkey.
At the age of three, after his father's death, Saroyan was placed in the
orphanage in Oakland, California, together with his brother and sister, an
experience he later described in his writing. Five years later, the family
reunited in Fresno, where his mother, Takoohi, secured work at a cannery.
He continued his education on his own, supporting himself by
taking odd jobs, such as working as an office manager for the San
Francisco.
His works include: ―The Human Comedy‖, ‗My Name is Aram‘ ; ‗The
Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze and other stories‖ ‗The Time of
Your Life‖
Quotes from the author:
―The most solid advice for a writer is this, I think: Try to learn to breathe
deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep really to
sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and
when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and
angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough.‖
William Saroyan
―Try as much as possible to be wholly alive, with all your might, and when
you laugh, laugh like hell and when you get angry, get good and angry. Try
to be alive. You will be dead soon enough.‖ William Saroyan
Questions at the end of the Chapter
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Q1. You will probably agree that this story does not have breathless
adventure and exciting action. Then what in your opinion makes it
interesting ?
Answer. The story is interesting because of the simple language used and
the graphic description of childhood emotions involved in the experience.
Intensity is built up due to the possibility of the boys getting caught. The
environment is hostile to them and the possibility of their getting caught
and punished was very high. They were taking a huge risk for fun. The
reader gets even more concerned for their safety than the boys themselves.
This dramatic narrative grips the reader with a dramatic appeal. Due to the
ease of flow of the narrative, even a simple truant by children becomes a
gripping story, making it an intensive experience.
Q2. Did the boys return the horse because they were conscience –stricken
or because they were afraid?
Answer. The boys return the horse because of their conscience , because
honesty was one of the chief characteristics of the tribe to which the boys
belonged. As a nine year old boy Aram Garoghlanian convinces his
thirteen year old cousin to return the horse.
After two weeks of having stolen and taken rides on the horse the
two boys come across the owner on the road. The owner farmer is
extremely surprised. He recognizes his horse but refuses to believe that the
boys had stolen it. He says "the horse is the twin of my horse" and "a
suspicious man would believe his eyes instead of his heart".
The boys understand that the farmer has recognized his horse and
their prank, but was being very kind in not complaining about it. To avoid
any further shame to themselves and their family, ―that night they return it
to the farmer, John Bryo. In this way their conscience saves them to protect
the Garoghlanian's fame of honesty.
Q3. ― One day back there in the good old days when I was nine and the
world was full of every imaginable kind of magnificence, and life was still
a delightful and mysterious dream....‖ The story begins in a mood of
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nostalgia. Can you narrate some incident from your childhood that might
make an interesting story?
Answer. John Keats wrote to his sister Fanny the following poem from
Scotland. It is called ‗There was a naughty boy‘
―There was a naughty boy,
And a naughty boy was he
He ran away to Scotland
The people for to see –
There he found
That the ground
Was as hard,
That a yard
Was as long,
That a song
Was as merry,
That a cherry
Was as red –
That lead
Was as weighty,
That fourscore
Was as eighty,
That a door
Was as wooden
As in England –
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So he stood in his shoes
And he wonder‘d
He wonder‘d,
He stood in his shoes
And he wonder‘d.
a) A very good poem on the power of the beauty of flowers to recall
childhood memories is ‗Daffodils‘ by William Wordsworth quoted
here for you.
―I WANDERED lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o‘er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of the bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
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In such a jocund company:
I gazed – and gazed – but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.‖
Q4. The story revolves around characters who belong to a tribe in Armeia.
Mourad and Aram are members of the Garoghlanian family. Now locate
Armenia and Assyria on the atlas and prepare a writ –up on the
Garoghlanian tribes. You may write about people, their names , traits,
geographical and economic features as suggested in the story.
House styles of Armenians
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Armenia focus is on the small scale where all can earn a livelihood. A fruit
seller on road side
An Armenian family in
2009
Armenian folk dance
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Modern Armenian clothing
Stamp issued to honour Saroyan
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Map of Armenia
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Try This Out
―The horse stood on its hind legs, snorted, and burst into a fury of speed
that was the loveliest thing I had ever seen.‖ These lines could be an
artist‘s delight. Try to draw a picture as depicted in the above lines.
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CHAPTER 2 The Address
By Marga Minco
Marga Minco (b. 1920) grew up in a Jewish family of five in Breda. Unlike
her sister, brother and parents, she escaped being arrested and went into
hiding during World War II. In 1957 she made her literary debut with the
short novel Het bittere kruid (Bitter Herbs), the laconic and devastating
story of a young girl who gets away when her parents are arrested, and
finally discovers that she has lost everyone who was close to her. The book
was a great success both in the Netherlands (more than 400,000 copies
sold) and abroad.
New work followed at irregular intervals: De andere kant (The
Other Side, 1959), Een leeg huis(An Empty House, 1966), De val (The
Fall, 1983) and De glazen brug (The Glass Bridge, 1986). Minco lives and
works in Amsterdam.
Source http://www.letterenfonds.nl/en/author/199/marga-minco
Q1. ―Have you come back‖ said the woman. ‗I thought that no one had
come back.‘ Does this statement give some clue about the story? If yes,
what is it?
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Answer. The story is about a Jew girl in Holland, during the Second World
War ( 1939-1945). In this period, Hitler‘s policy was to search out and
send all Jews in areas won by Germany to special camps, where they were
killed by poisonous gas. Once caught , very few escaped or survived.
The girl in this story had been caught, along with her parents and
brother. She had managed to escape. She reached the address given to her
by her mother years ago. When she reaches there, the door is opened the
woman. The girl recognises the woman but the woman keeps her face
expressionless. The words given in the question are spoken by the woman
who had opened the door. It gives the clue that the girl who had reached
the door of the person who was supposed to help her, was not going to
offer any help. It also conveys that the girl was not welcome in that house,
and should not expect any assistance from the woman.
Q2. The story is divided into pre-War and post war times. What hardships
do you think the girl underwent during these times?‖
Answer. During the pre-war times the girl‘s family was prosperous. She
had grown up along with her brother using the silver cutlery. She had
taken delight on how her mother had arranged very properly all the
valuable, antique items they possessed. But she could not understand why
a strange woman dressed poorly, would visit her mother, and take away
Bags full of their silver wares. In fact the bags she carried were often
heavy for a single woman to transport and yet she came alone repeatedly,
and would always be about to leave at the time the girl returned home.
The reasons her mother gave about these visits, did not convince the girl.
In the post war period, when the girl survives and returns to the address
of that strange woman, she finds that the woman would not even allow her
to enter the house on her first visit.
When the girl visits the house the second time, it is the daughter
of that woman who opens the door and invites her in to wait for her mother
to return. Inside the house the girl finds all her own family‘s belongings
and silverware. She suffers seeing the valuables arranged in so clumsy a
manner. The experience brings back all the memories of her happy
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childhood, when she had touched and used the things. Now that her family
was no more with her, the childhood memories became a source of grief
and agony for the girl. Therefore, in the post war period the girl went
through the hardship of having to claim her property from an unjust
relative who was unwilling to give it back. She also suffered because even
if she had got her parents things back from the woman, they would agonize
her perpetually.
Q3. Why did the narrator of the story want to forget the address?
Answer. The narrator of the story wanted to forget the address because it
was reminding her of not only the past injustice during the war, but also of
the present injustice at the hand of a family friend , who was supposed to
help her after her ordeal.
The girl reasons that it would not be possible for her to forget her
childhood memories linked to her family possessions kept in the house, but
be forgetting the address she could make a clean break with the past, and
begin her life afresh. If she remembered the address and continued to
return back to fetch her family‘s property, she would be facing further
hardship. The woman whom the girl‘s mother had trusted had betrayed that
trust as she had made clear her unwillingness to allow the girl to even enter
the house. On her mother‘s advice the narrator had remembered the
address in the hope of finding relief, compassion, and succour in that
house. Now when she finds the woman who was supposed to help her,
refusing to let her step into the house,
Q4. ―The Address‖ is a story of human predicament that follows war.‖
Comment.
Answer . In a war every one is a loser and a sufferer in one way or the
other. In the hostile environment, no one is able to trust anyone else, and
moral and ethical values are the first casualty. This is because by spying
on their neighbour and family members, each one tries to exploit the
situation to their advantage. Those in administration offer favours of food
and other essential items of daily life , that become scare for the ordinary
people. The army alone is the biggest beneficiary of war as all supplies
and expenditure are diverted to the armed forces. Ideals and human values
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become non-existent in the environment of war because the priority of
survival becomes more important than practicing of the ideals. Everybody,
during a war, is faced by this human predicament - whether to ensure the
physical survival of self, or to secure the moral ideals one is aware of.
Chapter 3. Ranga‘s Marriage
Masti Venkatesha Iyengar
Source http://www.karnataka.com/personalities/masti-venkatesha-
iyengar/
Was a Jnanpith Award Winner writer in Kannada literature. Did MA
(English Literature) from Madras University in 1912. He was editor of the
monthly journal Jivan from 1944 to 1965. Remains one of the most
famous icons of Kannada literature . Photograph can be viewed on the
source website
Q1. Comment on the influence of English the language and the way of
life – on Indian life as reflected in the story. What is the narrator‘s attitude
to English?
Answer. The story reflects the influence of English in a small village in
India where one person only has sent his son to the city to study English.
All others knew to read and write in Kannada only. An English knowing
person was deemed to acquire superior air and power similar to the English
rulers. His views on many matters were expected to change and be
different after learning English. He was also deemed to have become so
learned that everyone else looked foolish. He was, therefore, derided by
his own friends.
It was also assumed that he has already travelled to England and
back, because no one actually knew how far England was. As Gundabbatta
says when asked if he had ever been to England, ―No, annayya, I have left
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that to you. Running around like a flea pestered dog, is not for me ―. The
reference to an English knowing Indian as a ―flee pestered dog‖ is made
because the villagers would pursue him perpetually, to know more about
England. This was similar to the manner fleas pursue a dog. Every time
they heard something from him, they spread it around quickly. So others
would come to confirm the information directly and the cycle of being
pestered could continue.
After learning English, one was also expected to become different
and to give up one‘s religious beliefs. Therefore, on his return after six
months, the villagers try to confirm that the boy‘s ‗ hands, legs, eyes, nose‘
were all in their original place‖. An old woman confirms for herself that
the boy was still wearing his sacred thread and nothing had changed while
he was away to learn English. The influence of English on village life,
inspired awe as well as ridicule.
The narrator refers to English as ‗the priceless commodity‘. He
informs that it was a matter of shame and great disrespect, if any English
word was used while speaking in Kannada.
Q2. Astrologers‘ perceptions are based more on hearsay and conjecture
than what they learn from the study of the stars. Comment with reference
to the story.
Answer. In the story , Shyama the narrator, is trying to fix the marriage
of Ranga with Ratna. After confirming about Ranga‘s interest in Ratna,
Shyama goes to Shastri, the village astrologer, alone and advices him on
what to say when he comes later in the day with Ranga.
When Shyama and Ranga arrive, Shyama does all the talking,
asking Shastri about the reason for the Ranga appearing to be lost in his
own thoughts. Shastri completes the formality of astrological calculations,
to declare that the reason was ‗a girl‘. Shyama encourages Shastri to
predict, further about who the ‗girl‘ is likely to be, and whether their
venture would go any further. At this Shastri first makes a general
reference of her name being connected to something found in the oceans.
Shyama hints and encourages Shastri to conclude that girl‘s name should
have something to do with jewels or ‗Ratna‘ found in the ocean. At this
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Shyama observes that it is not possible as the girl called Ratna is already
married.
Thus, the story reveals that the village astrologer is likely to base his
predictions more on hearsay and conjecture than on his competence in the
subject , because in a village each person is well known to the older
generation, from birth and through life. He is also well aware of the
village gossips about everyone. When anyone wants to seek social
approval for something they wish to do they confide in the astrologer and
involve him in ‗predicting ‗ the event as a heavenly intervention.
Q3. Indian society has moved a long way from the way the marriage is
arranged in the story. Discuss.
Answer. Indian society discussed in the story is of the period, when
eligible young men were hesitant to express their choice of a girl for
marriage. Their wanting to discuss their own marriage , particularly with
their parents or elders was sign of and it was considered as ‗unbecoming
behaviour‘ even for a son. There was no question of asking for the
choice of the prospective bride. No girl would or could express her choice
, not even to her mother. This was because all decisions on all important
matters of life were taken by the elder men in the family. The mother could
bring it up with her father but the final decision would be his.
It was the parents who arranged the marriages of their children at
the appropriate time. However, the elders in the family or immediate
social circle, were expected to understand the feelings of youngsters, and
work towards ‗arranging‘ their marriage. But the pretence of formality
would always be maintained. In the story, the fact that Ranga and Ratna
name their first son as Shyama , the narrator, indicates how grateful both
were to the narrator, for having ‗read their minds‘ and got them married.
The situation of a young man going and speaking directly to any
prospective bride , with a proposal for marriage, was simply unthinkable,
and constituted a breach of good upbringing and behaviour. In contrast,
today, love marriages are a common practice . Even in arranged marriages,
the willingness of the boy and the girl are clearly discussed with them. The
final decision is of the two persons to be married even where the family
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arranges it. Inter- region, inter- religion, inter- national marriages, based
on personal choice, are fast becoming a norm and gaining in wider
acceptability. There is a wider choice available to young men and women
to establish their careers, before getting married. As such the Indian
society has moved away from the way marriage is arranged in the story.
Q4. What kind of a person do you think the narrator is?
Answer. The narrator comes across as a kind and sympathetic person,
who shows great sensitivity to the feelings of others. He is a shrewd
observer, but does not jump to conclusions about his observations being
correct. He first tests out what he has observed by directly involving the
person, to confirm whether he is correct. Only then he moves ahead with
his plan. While carrying out his plan, he create situations favourable to the
person concerned. Though these are pre-planned and created by narrator,
the person benefitting from it does not suspect so, because the narrator
involves others also in his plan. In this way, the narrator is always ready
to do good for others.
After observing Ranga‘s inclination to like Ratna, he first
confirms his observation, by arranging for Ranga to hear Ratna sing. His
observation gets confirmed and he plans with the astrologer Shastri , to
predict before Ranga that he was likely to meet and like a girl whose name
would be associated with something from the oceans. In this way the
acceptability of the society for Ranga‘s choice is arranged and the way for
his marriage with Ratna gets cleared. The self respect and good behaviour
of Ranga is also safeguarded by the narrator.
Chapter 4. Albert Einstein at School
Patrick Pringle
About the author
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Born 1935, in Rochester NY Freelance writer and photographer, wildlife
biologist, and educator. Lima Central School, Lima, NY, high school
science teacher, 1961-62; American Museum of Natural History, New
York, NY, associate editor, 1963-65, senior editor, 1965-67, executive
editor of Nature and Science (children's magazine), 1967-70; New School
for Social Research (now New School University), New York, NY, faculty
member, 1976-78; Kean College of New Jersey, Union, writer-in-
residence, 1985-86; Highlights for Children Writers Workshop, faculty
member, beginning 1985.
Famous works include
―101 great lives‖ ; ―Whey they were Boys‖ ; ― Jolly Roger‖; ―Stand and
Deliver: Highwaymen from Robin Hood to Dick Turpin.‖ .
Q1. What do you understand of Einstein‘s nature from his conversations
with his history teacher, his mathematics teacher and the head teacher?
Answer . Einstein‘s nature as revealed in his conversations with his
teacher indicated that he was a self thinking person, who tried to raise
questions, that appeared to cause discomfort for his teachers.
In History, he was not interested in learning by rote, about what
battle was fought when? He wanted to know ‗why‘ those battles were
fought. Einstein was brilliant in Mathematics, and has got the respect of
his teacher in learning more than what was taught in class.
The teacher acknowledged that Einstein would be able to teach
him more about mathematics. Einstein‘s good reputation as a genius in
mathematics, had been conveyed to the head teacher. The head teacher
asked him to leave the school on his own, so that he would not have to be
expelled from school. Expulsion would have meant that Einstein would
have difficulty in getting admission in any other school. The head teacher
and Einstein reached an agreement on this matter, and Einstein walks out
of the school, without a word to anyone.
Q2. The school system often curbs individual talents. Discuss.
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Answer. School systems are created as frameworks at a given point of
time and then continued for decades. The world environment, thinking and
ideas change, while the school system continues unchanged. This develops
obsolescence or dead wood among the ideas being taught.
As students have a greater sense of curiosity than adults, their
questions and new ideas are not encouraged by teachers. Teachers also
need to retain their superiority so that discipline is maintained. Therefore,
discouragement of new ideas and questions by students are discouraged by
teachers. Such a system often curbs individual talents. For example, the
standard line of there being seven colours has continued since the ray of
light was refracted through a prism to split it into seven colours in
laboratory conditions. Science is able to define with absolute certainty
only two colours of black and white. White occurs when all rays are
reflected back and black occurs when all rays of light energy are absorbed
by a substance.
This principle has since been updated to include ‗grey ‗ as the
eight colour of the clouds against which the seven colours of a rainbow
become visible. The ninth and tenth colours are white and black. But the
school books are not yet updated to include these ten colours and continue
with the seven colour framework.
An individual student could raise the question of why are white,
black and grey colours not included to make the total of ten colours of light
energy. But if such a question is raised, the student will be asked to sit
down and learn what is given in the book, and no more. This way that
individual talent will get curbed by the school system.
Q3. How do you distinguish between information gathering and insight
formation?
Answer. Information gathering is collecting of information already
available in the books and well established practices. This mostly pertains
to responding to questions such as ‗What?‘, When? Where? Insight
formation happens when questions of ‗How? And Why‘ about the
information are raised. Today , as in 2015, it is well established that real
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learning happens when students are able to raise relevant questions in the
respective subject.
Chapter 5 Mother‘s Day
J. B. Priestley
Source http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/87149.J_B_Priestley
J.B. Priestley
born
in Bradford, The United Kingdom September 13, 1894
died August 14, 1984
website
http://www.jbpriestley.co.uk/
genre
Literature & Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers, Politics
About this author
John Boynton Priestley, the son of a schoolmaster, was born in
Bradford in September 1894, and after schooling he worked for a time in
the local wool trade. Following the outbreak of the Great War in 1914,
Priestley joined the British Army, and was sent to France --in 1915 taking
part in the Battle of Loos. After being wounded in 1917 Priestley returned
to England for six months; then, after going back to the Western Front he
suffered the consequences of a German gas attack, and, treated at Rouen,
he was declared unfit for active service and was transferred to the
Entertainers Section of the British Army. When Priestley left the army he
studied at Cambridge University, where he completed a degree in Modern
History and Political Science
Quotations :
―I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one
more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the
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morning.‖
― J.B. Priestley
―Like its politicians and its wars, society has the teenagers it deserves.‖
― J.B. Priestley
Q1. This play written in 1950s, is a humorous and satirical depiction of
the status of the mother in the family.
(i) What are the issues it raises?
(ii) Do you think it caricatures these issues or do you think that the
problems it raises are genuine? How does the play resolve the
issues? Do you agree with the resolution?
Answer. The play ―Mother‘s Day‘ raises issues that are universal for a
middle aged, middle class housewife, across all countries. These include
(a) Neglect of mother by husband and children continually for as
long as twelve years.
(b) Mother‘s continued neglect of herself and her own happiness,
by keeping the happiness and comfort of her children above her own.
(c) Her husband and children treating her as a servant by leaving
her alone at home to cook for them while they are all out enjoying
their evening.
(d) The mother‘s keeps postponing trying to discuss her being
neglected, with her husband and children . Therefore, unless she
starts immediately, it never happens.
I think that the problems it raises are genuine. The advice that good
or bad fortune of a mother is in her own hands is practical. Her own
fortune can be good if the mother asserts herself and puts her foot
down, till other members of the family start treating her with respect
she deserves, and appreciate her contribution in making their lives
comfortable. Her fortunes would continue to be bad if she continues
to place the interests of other members above her own happiness and
interest, and keeps postponing discussing her hurt feelings with
them.
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Q2. If you were to write about these issues today what are some of the
incidents, examples and problems that you would think relevant?
Answer. The issues for a middle aged, middle class mother, would be
more complicated today as many middle class mothers are working
women as well. Therefore, they carry a double load of brining up a
family as well as attending to their professional work. For the first 18
years of their children‘s lives, these include :
a. responsibility of overseeing children‘s homework and studies,
b. Shopping for various needs of the home as well as of children
c. Dropping them to school or the school bus stop and fetching
them back
d. washing and ironing their clothes and school uniforms
e. preparing breakfast and packing snacks or lunch for the day
f. of nursing them during illness; and giving them time and
company at play;
g. If employed herself, of going to work herself after sending
children to school
h. Public transport regularity and availability issues
i. Working the daily routine like clockwork.
j. Even if a maid is employed for cleaning and washing work,
maids cannot be depended for regularity and punctuality, and
often create more problems than providing help.
k. Contacting teachers to find out the progress of her children in
college.
l. For college going children, issues involved include (a) finding
time to help out with their shopping for appropriate clothes, (b)
finding and funding their special tutorial classes, (c ) acquainting
their college friends to ensure that the teenager does not fall into
wrong company or adopt bad habits.
Q3. Is drama a good medium for conveying a social message? Discuss.
Answer. Yes, the drama is a good medium for conveying social
messages. This is because the message can be presented in a more
interesting manner through a drama. Drama has a conversation like
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quality, and a few characters are sufficient to bring a situation to life.
Simple language in the dialogues replicates the day to day life, and issues
can be raised through the conversation of two characters, while other
characters can be used to re-enforce the issues . The reactions of
characters makes the social messaging sharper and more interesting. In
the end, the tension raised by the issues can be resolved by suggesting
solutions through one or more characters. The dialogues of various
characters can be used to express different viewpoints on the same issues
and on the solutions offered.
Q4. Discuss in groups, plays or films with a strong message of social
reform, that you have watched.
The film ‗Mary Kom‘ on the life of a living sports legend has a very
strong message of social reform needed in giving equal opportunities to
girls and boys to show their competence in any sport. Mary was the
eldest daughter in a father dominated family, who wanted to learn
‗boxing‘ .
Her father was willing to let her become an athlete for which she
had joined the training camp. But boxing being a male dominated and a
rough game, was not deemed as appropriate for a daughter. Her father
was afraid that she would hurt herself while learning boxing , and
thereafter, no one would marry her. He was also certain that Mary could
not be successful in a male dominated game. As such, he does not give his
approval to Mary to pursue a career in boxing.
1. Mary goes ahead and joins the boxing classes. When her father
finds out from others in the village , he burns down her boxing
gloves that had been given to her by her teacher. Her father stops
talking to Mary, but she continues with her training.
2. At the boxing federation, she faces obstacles from the federation
official, who want to send another boxer who is declared a winner
despite being less talented than Mary. Her anger alienates the
federation officials against her.
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3. One man , however, is very supportive of her efforts as he
admires her. He assists her in every way possible and accompanies
her on her first national and international boxing rounds. After,
she wins her first world championship , he proposes to her. She
accepts the proposal as he promises to allow her to continue with
her boxing after marriage.
4. Mary‘s decision to marry meets the disapproval of her Coach, who
declares that the body and physical strength changes after a woman
becomes a mother and boxing would be the first sacrifice. The
Coach refuses to attend the wedding.
5. Mary becomes a mother of twins, and after six months, re-works
her stressful exercise schedule to prepare for the next
championship. The revival is difficult and hard, but is achieved
through application of mind and hard work.
6. The husband stays home to take care of the twin babies, while
Mary goes for her next boxing championship. On the night of the
final round, one of her child dies due to illness.
7. The strong social message in the film, based on real life story, is
that girls too can achieve national and international fame, even in
male dominated sports, given the equal opportunity to learn and
show their capability.
8. The mindset that career is for girls only till they do not get
married, has also been challenged and changed in this film. Mary
Kom won successive international titles even after becoming a
mother. Only the support of her husband and her family made that
possible.
9. This movie therefore, has strong social message of giving equality
of opportunity for girls in sports. For this support and cooperation
of the relevant sport federation is essential. The sports bureaucracy
has its own corrupt practices and ego trips. The bureaucrats and
their families stay in five star hotels while sportspersons are made
to stay in unfurnished sheds. The fact that sportsperson represent
the country in international tournaments and work hard for
winning medals for their countries, needs to be appreciated and
valued by Governments at the Centre and the States.
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Chapter 6 The Ghat of the Only World
Amitav Ghosh
Amitav Ghosh, a pioneer of English literature in India, was born
in Calcutta (Now Kolkata) in the year 1956. Amitav Ghosh was raised
and educated at the same time in as different locations as Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka, Iran, Egypt, India and the United Kingdom. His father was a
retired officer of pre-independence Indian Army. He completed his high
school education from The Doon School and his bachelors from St.
Stephen‘s College, Delhi University, Delhi. He completed his higher
studies in England where he went on to receive his Ph.D. in social
anthropology from Oxford University. The name ‗Shahid‘ means ‗first
hand witness‘ . This is on page 60 of the book.
Q1. What impressions of Shahid do you gather from the piece?
Answer. In this story entitled ―The Ghat of the Only World‘ , Shahid
comes across as a very strong minded person. He had been undergoing
treatment for cancer for over a year, but had never discussed his pains or
made any mention of ‗dying‘. Even as he was being consumed by cancer,
his life and home would be a perpetual carnival, an endless mela of talk,
laughter, food and poetry.
Shahid was a very practical person, able to call spade a spade. He was
not taken in by politeness of manner in serious matters such as his own
terminal disease. He was also frank about what he expected his friend to
do for him and often took his friend by surprise with his clear expression
of thought.
The author describes Shahid‘s voice as extra-ordinary – ―at once
lyrical and fiercely disciplined‖. Shahid had ―a sorcerer‘s ability to
transmute the mundane into the magical‖. He was a gregarious person,
and held parties at his home on most evenings. ―I love it that so many
people are here‖ ....‖I love it that people come and there‘s always food. I
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love this spirit of festivity ; it means that I don‘t have time to be
depressed‖. He also loved the magnificent view of the Manhattan
skyline, the Brooklyn waterfront across the East River, that slipped like a
‗ghat’. Even as he was being consumed by cancer, his life and home
would be a perpetual carnival, an endless mela of talk, laughter, food and
poetry.
Q2. How do Shahid and the writer react to the knowledge that Shahid is
going to die?
When Shahid mentions for the first time , the possibility of his dying,
he says it jocularly . When the writer consoles him politely about the
possibility of living longer, Shahid cuts short the writer‘s false comfort
very sharply and expresses sarcastically, the hope that the writer, as his
friend would perhaps write something about him This indicates the
practical side of Shahid‘s view to life. The writer is taken aback, first by
the comical manner in which Shahid had mentioned that he was going to
die, and then the seriousness with which he almost reprimands the writer
for not having written anything about him so far.
Later, when all medicines were discontinued, he was given one year
or less of life remaining. The writer asked him what he was going to do?
He responded in a quiet and untroubled voice ―I would like to go back to
Kashmir to die‖. He had made peace with his approaching death that he
had known as coming for long. There was no trace of anguish or conflict
in him. Surrounded by the love of his family and friends, he was calm,
contented , and at peace. He died peacefully in his sleep . For the writer,
it was amazing that ― so brief a friendship‖ with Shahid ― had left so vast
a void.‖
Q3. Look up the dictionary for the meaning of the word ‗diaspora‘. What
do you understand of the Indian diaspora from this piece?‖
Answer. ―Diaspora‘ means people who are born in one country but grow
up and settle in another country for professional and livelihood reasons ,
constitute the diaspora of that country . These include few families
settled in different and distant places, but have the one bond of belonging
to the same country. They tend to follow their native cultural practices
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where they are settled. The bond of memories of their place of origin and
identity, keeps them in touch with each other , even in distant places
across the world.
Chapter 7 Birth
Archibald Joseph Cronin
Born July 19, 1896, in Cardross Dumbartonshire Scotland
Died on Jan. 6, 1981, in Montreux, Switzerland
Scottish novelist and physician whose works combining realism with social
criticism won a large Anglo-American readership
Q1. ― I have done something: oh God! I have done something at last.‖
Why does Andrew say this? What does he mean?
Answer. Andrew says these words, as the last sentence in the story, at
the time he is walking home, after reviving and saving a new born baby.
By saying so to himself, he acknowledges that this was the most difficult
situation he had faced in his profession. As a doctor, for the first time he
had an experience and satisfaction of having saved a life. He therefore, is
speaking out aloud to himself , and thanking God for this opportunity for
doing ‗something at last‘, that would give him satisfaction all his life..
Q2. There lies a great difference between textbook medicine and the
world of practicing physician. Discuss.
Answer. The textbook medicine only gives procedures and conditions
that are expected to exist in perfect conditions, where all facilities are
available. It gives the best known remedies for various ailments and
medical problems.
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But, in the world of practicing physician, ideal conditions as
described in textbooks do not exist. Several adaptations and risks have to
be taken by the physician to save life. In the case described in the story,
Andrew , the physician had reached the mother, sometime after child
birth. The mid-wife / nurse had already presumed that the child was
dead. The doctor had found the baby wrapped in sodden newspapers and
kept under the mother‘s bed.
He orders the midwife to quickly fetch two separate basins filled
with hot water and cold water. He then placed the baby on a blanket and
began giving it artificial respiration. After the water basins were brought,
he began splashing the baby alternatively with cold and warm water. For
fifteen minutes he continued with no success. Then he started rubbing the
child with a towel, crushing and releasing its chest with both hands.
As the child began to snort and gasp for breath, a bubble of
mucous came out of its nostril. The child‘s white skin began to turn pink,
and it began to cry . That sound was ‗exquisite‘ to the ears of the
physician. But the effort of half an hour and its anxiety , followed by the
relief of success, had emotionally drained Andrew. Having revived the
baby, he handed it over to the nurse, as he himself was feeling dazed and
weak. He wanted to be out in the open and therefore, leaves the house
without his bag, saying that he will collect later.
Q3. Do you know of any incident when someone has been brought back
to life from the brink of death through medical help. Discuss medical
procedures such as organ transplant and organ regeneration that are used
to save human life.
m. No such incident is known to me.
Chapter 8 ‗The Tale of Melon City‘
Vikram Seth
Source http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/28345.Vikram_Seth
Born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal, India June 20, 1952
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Genre Literature & Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Poetry
Vikram Seth is an Indian poet, novelist, travel writer, librettist, children's
writer, biographer and memoirist. During the course of his doctorate
studies at Stanford, he did his field work in China and translated Hindi and
Chinese poetry into English. He returned to Delhi via Xinjiang and Tibet
which led to a travel narrative From Heaven Lake: Travels Through
Sinkiang and Tibet (1983) which won the Thomas Cook Travel Book
Award.
The Golden Gate: A Novel in Verse (1986) was his first novel describing
the experiences of a group of friends who live in California.
A Suitable Boy (1993), an epic of Indian life set in the 1950s, got him the
WH Smith Literary Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize.
Quotes
―God save us from people who mean well.‖ Vikram Seth, A Suitable Boy
―But I too, hate long books: the better, the worse. If they're bad they merely
make me pant with the effort of holding them up for a few minutes. But if
they're good, I turn into a social moron for days, refusing to go out of my
room, scowling and growling at interruptions, ignoring weddings and
funerals, and making enemies out of friends. I still bear the scars of
Middlemarch.‖
Vikram Seth, A Suitable Boy
Satire is a genre of literature, and sometimes graphic and performing arts,
in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule,
ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, government or
society itself, into improvement.[1]
Although satire is usually meant to be
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humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using
wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society.
A feature of satire is strong irony or sarcasm "in satire, irony is
militant"[2]
but parody,burlesque, exaggeration,[3]
juxtaposition, comparison,
analogy, and double entendre are all frequently used in satirical speech and
writing. This "militant" irony or sarcasm often professes to approve of (or
at least accept as natural) the very things the satirist wishes to attack.
Satire is nowadays found in many artistic forms of expression, including
literature, plays, commentary, television shows, and media such as lyrics.
Q1. Narrate ‗The Tale of Melon City‘ in your own words.
Answer. In a land far, far away, a king wanted an arch to be constructed,
spanning the major road, so that all could see the greatness of the king and
his kingdom. The workmen constructed the arch and asked the king to
come and see it. But as the king rode on his chariot his crown hit the arch
and fell down, as the height of the arch was too low. Annoyed by this the
king proclaimed that the builder would be hanged. For this rope and
gallows was arranged.
The builder pleaded for mercy, saying that it was not his fault, but was
the fault of the workmen. At this the king decided to hang the workmen.
They pleaded that the fault was in the wrong size of the bricks supplied by
the mason.
The mason was brought before the King, who said that it was the
architect‘s fault . The architect pleaded that when the design had been
shown to the king, the king had made certain changes. The king found the
situation to be complex and tricky, and asked that the wisest man in his
kingdom be brought before him.
The wisest man was also a very old man, who needed to be
carried to be brought before the king. He said that as it was the arch that
had brought down the crown, the arch should be hanged.
A Councillor objected that the arch had touched the King‘s head
and therefore, had become sacred. It could not be hung. The king
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postponed the hanging to consider the finer points of the situation. But as
someone had to be hung for the mistake, each person was measured to
reach the noose. Everyone fell short, except the King.
Therefore, the king was hung by royal decree. To fill the
throne, the councillors declared that the one to pass the city gates next,
would choose the next king. The man who passed was an idiot, who chose
a melon because he liked melons. Therefore, a melon was crowned as the
next king. If anyone asked why the king looked like a melon, it was
replied that it was by ‗customary choice‘.
Q2. What impression would you form of a state where the King was ‗just
and placid‘ ?
Answer. The broad impression one gets is that a ―just and placid‖ king
would merely apply the law or the custom of his kingdom , strictly by the
word, and does not apply his mind in reasoning . Reason provides a limit
to the extent an absurd situation can be allowed to go. Here, in the
kingdom described in the poem, the absurd is not happening due to any
external interference. The next step is deliberated at every stage, to
reach another foolish conclusion. In the end , we get a basket of foolish
suggestions that are worked out in the name of justice. There is simply no
application of the mind or the common sense .
Q3. How, according to you, can peace and liberty be maintained in a state?
Answer. Peace and liberty can be maintained in a State only if the ruler is
intelligent, and the law of the land is reasonable. The application of any
law or customs, needs to have limits. They should involve an objective
analysis of the situation and a review of changes needed, from time to time.
If continued for too long, laws and customs tend to become arbitrary.
They can destroy liberty and peace, in such situations, in place of
maintaining them.
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Q4. Suggest a few instances in the poem which highlight humour and
irony.
An example of irony
THE PATRIOT
By Robert Browning
AN OLD STORY
It was roses, roses, all the way,
With myrtle mixed in my path like mad;
The house-roofs seemed to heave and sway,
The church-spires flamed, such flags they
had,
A year ago on this very day.
The air broke into a mist with bells,
The old walls rocked with the crowd and
cries.
Had I said, "Good folk, mere noise repels—
But give me your sun from yonder skies!"
10They had answered "And afterward, what
else?"
Alack, it was I who leaped at the sun
To give it my loving friends to keep!
Naught man could do, have I left undone:
And you see my harvest, what I reap
This very day, now a year is run.
There's nobody on the house-tops now—
Just a palsied few at the windows set;
For the best of the sight is, all allow,
At the Shambles' Gate—or, better yet,
By the very scaffold's foot, I trow.
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I go in the rain, and, more than needs,
A rope cuts both my wrists behind;
And I think, by the feel, my forehead bleeds,
For they fling, whoever has a mind,
Stones at me for my year's misdeeds.
Thus I entered, and thus I go!
In triumphs, people have dropped down
dead,
"Paid by the world, what dost thou owe
Me? "—God might question; now instead,
'Tis God shall repay: I am safer so.
Q5. The Tale of Melon City‘ has been narrated in a verse form. This is a
unique style which lends extra charm to an ancient tale. Find similar
examples in your language. Share them in the class.
The verse style used in ‗The Tale of Melon City‘ is called the ‗Ballad‘
form.
Another famous example is given below.
The Diverting History of John Gilpin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Illustration by Randolph Caldecott.
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The Diverting History of John Gilpin Shewing how he went Farther than
he intended, and came safe Home again is a comic ballad by William
Cowper about John Gilpin, written in1782. The ballad concerns a draper
called John Gilpin who rides a runaway horse. Cowper heard the story
from Lady Anna Austen at a time of severe depression, and it cheered him
up so much that he put it into verse.[1]
The poem was published
anonymously in the Public Advertiser in 1782, and then published with The
Task in 1785.[2]
It was very popular, to the extent that "pirate copies were
being sold all across the country, together with Gilpin books and toys."[1]
The poem was republished in 1878, illustrated by Randolph Caldecott and
printed by Edmund Evans. Caldecott's image of Gilpin riding the horse is
the basis for the design of the obverse of the Caldecott Medal.
Source for complete text http://www.bartleby.com/41/324.html
JOHN GILPIN was a citizen
Of credit and renown,
A train-band captain eke was he
Of famous London town.
John Gilpin‘s spouse said to her dear, 5
‗Though wedded we have been
These twice ten tedious years, yet we
No holiday have seen.
‗To-morrow is our wedding-day,
And we will then repair 10
Unto the Bell at Edmonton,
All in a chaise and pair.
‗My sister, and my sister‘s child,
Myself, and children three,
Will fill the chaise; so you must ride 15
On horseback after we.‘
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He soon replied, ‗I do admire
Of womankind but one,
And you are she, my dearest dear,
Therefore it shall be done. 20
‗I am a linen-draper bold,
As all the world doth know,
And my good friend the calender
Will lend his horse to go.‘
Quoth Mrs. Gilpin, ‗That‘s well said; 25
And for that wine is dear,
We will be furnished with our own,
Which is both bright and clear.‘
John Gilpin kissed his loving wife;
O‘erjoyed was he to find, 30
That though on pleasure she was bent,
She had a frugal mind.
The morning came, the chaise was brought,
But yet was not allowed
To drive up to the door, lest all 35
Should say that she was proud.
So three doors off the chaise was stayed,
Where they did all get in;
Six precious souls, and all agog
To dash through thick and thin. 40
Smack went the whip, round went the wheels,
Were never folk so glad,
The stones did rattle underneath,
As if Cheapside were mad.
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John Gilpin at his horse‘s side 45
Seized fast the flowing mane,
And up he got, in haste to ride,
But soon came down again;
For saddle-tree scarce reached had be,
His journey to begin, 50
When, turning round his head, he saw
Three customers come in.
So down he came; for loss of time,
Although it grieved him sore,
Yet loss of pence, full well he knew, 55
Would trouble him much more.
‘Twas long before the customers
Were suited to their mind,
When Betty screaming came down stairs,
‗The wine is left behind
‗Good lack,‘ quoth he—‗yet bring it me,
My leathern belt likewise,
In which I bear my trusty sword,
When I do exercise.‘
Now Mistress Gilpin (careful soul!) 65
Had two stone bottles found,
To hold the liquor that she loved,
And keep it safe and sound.
Each bottle had a curling ear,
Through which the belt he drew, 70
And hung a bottle on each side,
To make his balance true.
Then over all, that he might be
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Equipped from top to toe,
His long red cloak, well brushed and neat; 75
He manfully did throw.
Now see him mounted once again
Upon his nimble steed,
Full slowly pacing o‘er the stones,
With caution and good heed. 80
But finding soon a smoother road
Beneath his well-shod feet,
The snorting beast began to trot,
Which galled him in his seat.
So, ‗Fair and softly,‘ John he cried, 85
But John he called in vain;
That trot became a gallop soon,
In spite of curb and rein.
So stooping down as needs he must
Who cannot sit upright, 90
He grasped the mane with both his hands,
And eke with all his might.
His horse, who never in that sort
Had handled been before,
What thing upon his back had got 95
Did wonder more and more.
Away went Gilpin, neck or nought;
Away went hat and wig;
He little dreamt, when he set out,
Of running such a rig. 100
The wind did blow, the cloak did fly,
Like streamer long and gay,
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Till, loop and button failing both,
At last it flew away.
Then might all people well discern 105
The bottles he had slung;
A bottle swinging at each side.
As hath been said or sung.
The dogs did bark, the children screamed,
Up flew the windows all; 110
And every soul cried out, ‗Well done!‘
As loud as he could bawl.
Away went Gilpin—who but he?
His fame soon spread around;
‗He carries weight! He rides a race!‘ 115
‗‘Tis for a thousand pound!‘
And still, as fast as he drew near,
‘Twas wonderful to view,
How in a trice the turnpike-men
Their gates wide open threw. 120
And now, as he went bowing down
His reeking head full low,
The bottles twain behind his back
Were shattered at a blow.
Down ran the wine into the road, 125
Most piteous to be seen,
Which made his horse‘s flanks to smoke
As they had basted been.
But still he seemed to carry weight,
With leathern girdle braced; 130
For all might see the bottle-necks
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Still dangling at his waist.
Thus all through merry Islington
These gambols he did play,
Until he came unto the Wash 135
Of Edmonton so gay;
And there he threw the Wash about
On both sides of the way,
Just like unto a trundling mop,
Or a wild goose at play. 140
At Edmonton his loving wife
From the balcony spied
Her tender husband, wondering much
To see how he did ride.
‗Stop, stop, John Gilpin! Here‘s the house!‘ 145
They all at once did cry;
‗The dinner waits, and we are tired;‘
Said Gilpin‗So am I!‘
But yet his horse was not a whit
Inclined to tarry there! 150
For why?his owner had a house
Full ten miles off at Ware.
So like an arrow swift he flew,
Shot by an archer strong;
So did he fly which brings me to 155
The middle of my song.
Away went Gilpin, out of breath,
And sore against his will,
Till at his friend the calendar‘s
His horse at last stood still. 160
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The calendar, amazed to see
His neighbour in such trim,
Laid down his pipe, flew to the gate,
And thus accosted him:
‗What news? what news? your tidings tell; 165
Tell me you must and shall—
Say why bareheaded you are come,
Or why you come at all?‘
Now Gilpin had a pleasant wit,
And loved a timely joke; 170
And thus unto the calendar
In merry guise he spoke:
‗I came because your horse would come,
And, if I well forebode,
My hat and wig will soon be here, 175
They are upon the road.‘
The calendar, right glad to find
His friend in merry pin,
Returned him not a single word,
But to the house went in; 180
Whence straight he came with hat and wig;
A wig that flowed behind,
A hat not much the worse for wear,
Each comely in its kind.
He held them up, and in his turn 185
Thus showed his ready wit,
‗My head is twice as big as yours,
They therefore needs must fit.
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‗But let me scrape the dirt away
That hangs upon your face; 190
And stop and eat, for well you may
Be in a hungry case.‘
Said John, ‗It is my wedding day,
And all the world would stare,
If wife should dine at Edmonton, 195
And I should dine at Ware.‘
So turning to his horse, he said,
‗I am in haste to dine;
‘Twas for your pleasure you came here,
You shall go back for mine.‘ 200
Ah, luckless speech, and bootless boast!
For which he paid full dear;
For, while he spake, a braying ass
Did sing most loud and clear;
Whereat his horse did snort, as he 205
Had heard a lion roar,
And galloped off with all his might,
As he had done before.
Away went Gilpin, and away
Went Gilpin‘s hat and wig; 210
He lost them sooner than at first;
For why? they were too big.
Now Mistress Gilpin, when she saw
Her husband posting down
Into the country far away, 215
She pulled out half a crown;
Snapshots supplementary reader for Class 11 Core Course
2016
©10x10learning.com Page 43
And thus unto the youth she said
That drove them to the Bell,
‗This shall be yours, when you bring back
My husband safe and well.‘ 220
The youth did ride, and soon did meet
John coming back again:
Whom in a trice he tried to stop,
By catching at his rein;
But not performing what he meant, 225
And gladly would have done,
The frighted steed he frighted more,
And made him faster run.
Away went Gilpin, and away
Went postboy at his heels, 230
The postboy‘s horse right glad to miss
The lumbering of the wheels.
Six gentlemen upon the road,
Thus seeing Gilpin fly,
With postboy scampering in the rear, 235
They raised the hue and cry:
‗Stop thief! stop thief!—a highwayman!‘
Not one of them was mute;
And all and each that passed that way
Did join in the pursuit. 240
And now the turnpike gates again
Flew open in short space;
The toll-men thinking, as before,
That Gilpin rode a race.
Snapshots supplementary reader for Class 11 Core Course
2016
©10x10learning.com Page 44
And so he did, and won it too, 245
For he got first to town;
Nor stopped till where he had got up
He did again get down.
Now let us sing, Long live the King!
And Gilpin, long live he! 250
And when he next doth ride abroad
May I be there to see!