KSEEB Solutions for Class 8 English Poem Chapter 12 Palanquin Bearers
KSEEB Solutions for Class 8 English Poem Chapter 12 Palanquin Bearers
Karnataka State Board Class 8 English Poem Chapter 12 Palanquin Bearers
Palanquin Bearers Questions and Answers, Summary, Notes
Pre-Reading Task:
Question a.
In the present day, brides in India are taken in a decorative car. How were the royal brides in the ancient days taken?
Answer:
They were taken in palanquins.
Question b.
Who do you think took the privilege to escort the bride?
Answer:
The palanquin bearers.
Question c.
How are the deities in the temple taken in a procession during the festivals?
Answer:
The deities are taken around in chariots.
Comprehension:
I. Answer the following in one or two sentences each:
Question 1.
Pick out the words from the poem which describe the movement of the bride.
Answer:
Sway, skim, float, spring, glide.
Question 2.
How do the palanquin bearers carry the bride?
Answer:
The palanquin bearers carry the bride in a light and smooth manner.
Question 3.
Why do you think the palanquin bearers are carrying the palanquin lightly?
Answer:
They do not want to hurt the bride by moving the palanquin roughly. They carry her along with a lot of care.
Question 4.
What are the emotions that the bearers feel as they carry the palanquin?
Answer:
The bearers are happy. They sing songs and move along.
Question 5.
Why is the bride compared to a flower and a bird?
Answer:
The bride is as beautiful as a flower and as light as a. bird. She is very delicate,
Question 6.
Explain the image in ‘She sways like a flower’.
Answer:
The bride in the palanquin moves from one side to the other as the bearers walk. It looks as if a flower is swinging from side to side in the gentle breeze.
Question 7.
Why is the bride referred to as ‘a pearl on a string’?
Answer:
The bride is as precious as a pearl on a string.
Question 8.
Why has she been compared to a star?
Answer:
The bride is as bright as a star. Like a bright star she is also the centre of attraction.
Question 9.
Why do you think the poetess has used two contradictory feelings of ‘laugh’ in the fourth line of the first stanza and ‘tear’ in the second line of the third stanza?
Answer:
The two words express the feelings of the bride. At the beginning she is happy as she is on her way to her husband’s house. She feels sad to leave her father’s house.
Question 10.
Why do the palanquin bearers sing while carrying the bride? What do you think this song is about?
Answer:
They are very happy to carry the bride from her parental house to her husband’s house. They sing happily as they move along. The song may be an encouragement to the bearers.
Question 11.
The poem is full of similes. Why do you think the poet has used so many similes in the poem?
Answer:
The poet uses so many similes to emphasise the beauty and the emotions of the bride.
Question 12.
Pick out the rhyming words from the poem and mention the rhyme scheme.
Answer:
along – song
stream – dream
sing – string
tide – bride
The rhyme scheme is :
a a b b
c c a a
d d c c
Question 13.
Pick out the examples of alliteration from the poem.
a) She sways like a flower in the mind of our song.
b) She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream.
c) She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream.
d) Gaily, O gaily we glide and sing.
e) She hangs like a star in the dew of our song.
Question 14.
Some words and lines are repeated in the poem. Work in pairs and list the words and lines that are repeated. Why do you think the words are repeated?
a) Lightly, O lightly we bear her along.
b) Gaily, O gaily we glide and sing.
c) Softly, O softly we bear her along.
d) We bear her along like a pearl on a string.
The lines and words are repeated to emphasize a point and increase the effect.
Additional Questions:
B. Read the extract and answer the questions that follow:
1. Lightly, O lightly we bear her along.
She sways like a flower in the wind of our song,
She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream,
She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream.
Question a.
Why do the palanquin bearers carry the bride ‘lightly’? The palanquin bearers carry the bride ‘lightly’ because
Answer:
she is very precious and also it is the most auspicious occasion for her.
Question b.
How does the poet describe the bride?
Answer:
The poet draws a very vivid description of the bride. She states that the bride is “like a flower”, “a bird” and “a laugh”.
Question c.
Explain the comparison “She sways like a flower”.
Answer:
The bride is very delicate, fragile and beautiful like a flower that moves or sways in the air.
2. “She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream,
She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream.
Gaily, 0 gaily we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string”
Question a.
How does the poet describe the movements of the bride?
Answer:
The poet describes the movements of the bride by using different words of movement. These words are sways, skims, floats, glide.
Question b.
What do the palanquin bearers do while carrying the bride?
Answer:
The palanquin bearers sing as they carry the bride.
Question c.
What figure of speech is used in the above line? Name and pick the line.
Answer:
Simile We bear her along like a pearl on a string.
3. Softly, O softly we bear her along,
She hangs like a star in the dew of our song
She springs like a beam on the brow of the tide,
She falls like a tear from the eyes of a bride,
Lightly, O lightly we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.
Question a.
Why do the palanquin bearers carry the bride singing? What is this song about?
Answer:
The palanquin bearers carry the bride singing because it is an auspicious and a joyous occasion. The bride is going to her husband’s house with many expectations. The song is all about her in which she is described very gloriously.
Question b.
What is the bride compared to in the above stanza?
Answer:
The bride is compared to a star, a beam, a tear and finally, a pearl on a string. In doing so, the poet is heightening the effect of the glory being given to the bride on the momentous occasion in her life.
Question c.
What contradiction is there in the poem? Why has the poet used it?
Answer:
The contradiction is when the poet describes the bride as “she floats like a laugh” and then she writes “she falls like a tear”. It is deliberate because the bride is in tears at her separation from her family. But, she laughs because she is going to be united with the love of her life and begin a new and exciting life.
Multiple Choice Questions:
Four alternatives are given for each of the following questions/ incomplete statements. Choose the most appropriate alternative.
Question 1.
The word that does not describe the movement of the bride is
A) glide
B) slide
C) float
D) skim
Answer:
B) slide
Question 2.
The palanquin bearers carry the bride
A) like a flower
B) like a bird
C) lightly
D) like a star
Answer:
C) lightly
Question 3.
The bride is compared to a bird because
A) she can float like a bird
B) she can skim like a bird
C) she can fly like a bird
D) she is as light as a bird
Answer:
D) she is as light as a bird
Question 4.
The bride is referred to as ‘a pearl on a string’ because
A) she is precious as a pearl on a string
B) she is wearing a string of pearls
C) she is carrying pearls with her
D) none of the above
Answer:
A) she is precious as a pearl on a string
Question 5.
The palanquin bearers sing while carrying the bride
A) as the palanquin is heavy
B) the bride loves their singing
C) because it is an auspicious and a joyous occasion
D) because the bride is swaying like a flower and skimming like a bird
Answer:
C) because it is an auspicious and a joyous occasion
Question 6.
Which of the following lines is not an example of a simile?
A) sways like a flower
B) lightly we bear her along
C) skims like a bird
D) springs like a beam
Answer:
B) lightly we bear her along
II. Appreciation:
a) Rhyming words:
The use of words in a poem that have the same sound, especially at the end of the lines:
Rhyme scheme: A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyming lines in a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme. In other words, it is the pattern of end rhymes. Lines which rhyme with each other are denoted by the same letter.
Eg:
1) “O haste thee haste! the lady cries.
Though tempests round us gather:
I’ll meet the raging of the skies
But not an angry father”.
Rhyming words are:
cries – a
gather – b
skies – a
father – b.
Therefore, the rhyme scheme is a b a b.
2) Lightly, O lightly we bear her along (a)
She sways like a flower in the wind of our song (a)
She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream, (b)
She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream, (b)
Gaily, O gaily we glide and we sing, (c)
We bear her along like a pearl on a string, (c)
Rhyming words are:
along (a), song (a), stream (b), dream (b), sing (c) and string (c) Rhyme scheme is aa bb cc.
i) Pick out the rhyming words and mention the rhyme scheme of this poem:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
Rhyming words:
wood – a; both – b; stood-a; could-a; undergrowth – b. Rhyme scheme: a b a a b.
b) Simile:
Similes are a way to compare two things using Tike’ or ‘as’. In a simile, one person or thing is compared to another.
Eg: If I want to say that somebody swims well, I can say that they swim like a fish because fish swims well.
There are two basic patterns.
Pattern – 1:
Like : verb + like + noun
Eg: She looks like an angel.
He walks like a duck.
She acts like a fool.
Pattern – 2:
As: as + adjective + as + noun
Eg: He is as tall as a giant.
He is as fast as a rocket.
She is as graceful as a swan.
Fill in the blanks with appropriate similes from those given in brackets:
[air, ice, night, snail, coal, rose, ox, lightning, butter, lamb, mouse, ditch-water, ocean, snow]
a) As white as …………….. .
b) As wide as the ………..
c) As Light as …………..
d) As slow as a …………… .
e) As cold as …………… .
f) As timid as a ……….. .
g) As smooth as …………. .
h) As dark as the ……………. .
i) As black as ………… .
j) As strong as an …………. .
k) As quick as ………….. .
l) As beautiful as a ……………… .
m) As dull as ………………… .
n) As meek as a ………….. .
Answer:
a – snow
b – ocean
c – air
d – snail
e – ice
f – mouse
g – butter
h – night
i – coal
j – ox
k – lightning
l – rose
m – ditch-water
n – lamb.
ii. Complete these lines with similes using your imagination. One has been done as an example:
Eg: When I am happy, I am as beautiful as a flower.
a) ………………. sad, ………………… .
b) ………………. lonely, …………….. .
c) ……………….. angry, …………….. .
d) ………………… tired, ………………. .
e) ………………..embarassed, …………. .
f) When I am, …………… I am …………….. .
g) When I am, …………… I am …………….. .
Answer:
a) When I am sad, I am as gloomy as the evening.
b) When I am lonely, i am as lonely as a star.
c) When I am angry, I am as angry as a demon.
d) When I am tired, I am as sleepy as a baby.
e) When I am embarassed, I am as cool as a cucumber.
f) When i am attacked, I am as aggressive as a lion.
g) When I am praised, I am as proud as a peacock.
Memorisation:
Lightly, O lightly we bear her along,
She sways like a flower in the wind of our song;
She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream,
She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream.
Gaily, O gaily we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.
Softly, O softly we bear her along
She hangs like a star in the dew of our song;
She springs like a beam on the brow of the tide
She falls like a tear from the eyes of a bride,
Lightly, O lightly we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.
Palanquin Bearers Summary In English
Palanquin, a humble means of transportation, was used in olden days but here the one that is being talked about is the one carrying a bride. The new bride is transitioning from one phase of her life to another and umpteen thoughts cross her mind as she is securely seated inside the palanquin. She has tears in her eyes for leaving her loved ones while at the same time she has twinkling stars in her eyes awaiting beginning of a new life full of hope and fervour.
The bearers who are carrying the palanquin on their shoulders are conscientious about their duty. They are bearing the palanquin gently and carefully, joyfully and happily, smoothly and lightly while singing songs as they progress towards their destination.
They sing that they are bearing the bride lightly and softly. The bride is moving from side to side like a flower in the wind. She glides like a bird on the froth or bubbles of a stream. She is floating like a laugh from the lips of a dream. They carry her like a pearl on a string like she is precious and delicate. She seems to be like a star sparkling on the dew drops. She appears to be jumping like a ray of light seen on the top of a tide. She falls like a tear from the eye of a bride.
Lightly and gently, they glide and they sing and they bear the palanquin along like a pearl on a string. moving from one side to the other glide smoothly over something small bubbles happily condensed drops of water ray of light eyebrow, top of the water (here) move.
Glossary:
sway – moving from one side to the other
skim – glide smoothly over something
foam – smaLl bubbles
gaily – happily
dew – condensed drops of water
beam – ray of light
brow – eyebrow, top of the water (here)
glide – move.
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