WBCSHE Board Class 12th THE POETRY OF EARTH by JOHN KEATS || Broad Notes || Textual Question Answers ||Broad type Questions || Exam Oriented Questions & Answers || 2023 English Suggestive Notes

1. ‘...he takes the lead/ In summer luxury, -he has never done/ with his delights,”- Who is ‘he’? When does ‘he’ take the lead ? Explain the phrase he takes the lead.

Here ‘he’ refers to the Grasshopper.

‘He’ takes the lead in Summer.

In summer, the unbearable heat makes the birds, the musicians of Nature, so tired that they become silent and take rest in the cool shades of the trees. Just when the poetry of earth seems to come to a standstill, the Grasshopper takes the change. He joyfully moves from one hedge to another, taking the lead in ‘summer luxury’. He becomes the poet of summer who, when exhausted, rests beneath ‘some pleasant weed’ for some moments and again starts singing happily with renewed energy and delight.

2. “And seems to one in drowsiness half lost, /

The Grasshopper’s among some grassy hills.”- Who does one refer to ? What is his illusion ? Why does he have such illusionary vision ?  (1+2+3)

Here in John Keats ‘The Poetry of Earth’, ‘one’ refers to a person who sits by a fireplace in a winter evening and enjoys the comfort of warmth.

Since the person is half lost in drowsiness, he seems to be in a state of confusion and takes the song of a cricket as that of a Grasshopper.

One has such a vision because he is half asleep. The shrill cry of the cricket brings warmth and joy in the cold winter evening. The person was in a trance-like situation, so he cannot differentiate between the songs of Grasshopper and cricket. The comfort which is generated/ created through the cricket song gradually changes the dull environment and makes the concerned person think of such a vision.

4. Why does the poet choose the sonnet form for his poem? Give reasons.

 OR,

Write a note on “The Poetry of earth”-as a sonnet.

‘The Poetry of Earth’, written by John Keats is a fine example of the Petrarchan form of sonnet. The poem contains fourteen lines. Which is divided into two parts- the octave and the sestet, which show a sharp contrast to each other in the poem. It follows the rhyme scheme ABBA  ABBA  CDE  CDE. Here the poet chooses the sonnet form as the form and the structure of the sonnet can develop the theme through illustration and contrast. In this poem the poet presents two scenes of nature. The octave part depicts the music of summer and the sestet part presents the music of winter. The contrast lies here between the two parts. But the octave and sestet together show the continuous flow of songs of nature amidst all changes. Thus, he establishes the fact that the music of earth is permanent. It may change, but it can not die. In every respect, the spirit of the poem goes in perfect tune with the form it chooses.

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