LESSON 8 THE HAPPY PRINCE by OSCAR WILDE || TEXTUAL QUESTION ANSWERS

The Note contains Textual Question Answers from WBBSE Class 8 English Lesson 8 The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde. Read the Question Answers carefully. This Question Answer set from the WBBSE board provides quality Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), Short Answer Type Questions (SAQ) and Long Answer Type Questions from the above chapter and by reading these, students will get a clear idea about that chapter. It will enhance their knowledge and enable them to get good marks in the board exams.

Class 8 English Lesson 8 The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde,

Short Answer Type Question (SAQ) from The Happy Prince,

Long Answer Type Question from The Happy Prince, 

West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, 

Class 8 English Textual Question Answers,

Lesson 8 The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde

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Activity 1 

Rearrange the following sentences in the correct order and put the numbers in the given boxes: 

1. All the friends of the Swallow had left for warm Egypt. [iii]

2. The Happy Prince asked the Swallow to take the ruby out of his sword hilt. [vi]

3. The Swallow took shelter beneath the statue of the Happy Prince. [iv]

4. The woman’s son was suffering from a fever. [v]

5. The Happy Prince lived in the wonderful palace of Sans-Souci. [i]

6. The town built the statue of the Happy Prince. [ii]

Activity 2

Complete the following sentences with information from the text: 

a. The young mother told her child not to cry because the Happy Prince never cried for new things.

b. The Swallow took shelter beneath the statue of Happy Prince because he thought that it would be a good shelter to protect himself from the cold of the night.

c. The Swallow mistook tear drops from the eyes of the Happy Prince for rain.

d. The statue of the Happy Prince could see the miseries of the people in his land.

Activity 3

Answer the following question:

Why does the Swallow think that the statue of the Happy Prince has ‘a golden heart’?

Ans - The Swallow thought that the statue of the Happy Prince had a golden heart because he felt sad seeing the miserable condition of his people. He had great sympathy for them.

Activity 4

Write ‘T’ for true and ‘F’ for false statements in the given boxes. Give supporting statements for each of your answers: 

a. The Swallow didn’t want to help the Happy Prince. [F]

Supporting statement: “Swallow: I will help you.”

b. The Happy Prince wanted to leave for Egypt. [F]

Supporting statement: “Swallow: I will leave for Egypt tonight.”

c. The Happy Prince asked the Swallow to take a sapphire from one of his eyes to the playwright. [T]

Supporting statement: “Statue: Little Swallow, take one of my sapphire eyes and give it to him.”

d. The girl in the Town Square had no shoes. [T]

Supporting statement: “Statue: She has no shoes.”

Activity 5

Answer the following questions: 

a. Why did the Swallow agree to help the Happy Prince?

Ans- The Swallow agreed to help the Happy Prince because he felt sorry for him and he could not say no to people.

b. Why did the Swallow feel warm?

Ans- The Swallow felt warm because he had helped someone.

c. What made the playwright say, ‘Now I can finish my play’?

Ans- The young playwright was very poor. He could not get motivation because of money problems. But after getting the sapphire, he would be able to get money to support himself by selling it. Therefore, the playwright said the given words. 

Activity 6

Fill in the following chart with information from the text: 

Activity 7

Answer the following questions: 

a. What new law did the Mayor propose?

Ans- The new law that the Mayor proposed was that no bird would die in the town square, or near the Happy Prince.

b. Why did the Mayor and the “Town Councillors think the statue of the Happy Prince was not beautiful any more?

Ans- The Mayor and the Town Councillors thought that the statue of the Happy Prince was not beautiful any more as the ruby from the sword hilt, sapphire from the eyes and gold from the body of the Happy Prince were missing.

c. Where was the Happy Prince taken?

Ans- The statue of the Happy Prince was taken to the furnace for melting.

d. Why did the Mayor and the councillors want statues of themselves?

Ans- The Mayor and the Councillors wanted to be respected by the people in the same manner as the Happy Prince was respected by all. They also wanted to become famous like the Happy Prince. Hence, they wanted statues of themselves.

Activity 8 (a)

Read the following pairs of sentences and write down the changes that have taken place under the appropriate heads in the tables given below. The first one is done for you: 

i. The child said, “I am going home.”

The child said that he was going home.

ii. He said to me, “Yesterday was a holiday.”

He told me that the previous day had been a holiday.

iii. The teacher said to the students, “Tomorrow we will go to the museum.”

The teacher told her students that they would go to the museum the next day.

Activity 8 (b)

Change the following sentences from Direct to Indirect Speech:

i. The Swallow said to the statue, “I am staying with you.”

Ans- The Swallow told the statue that he was staying with him (the statue).

ii. My mother said to me, “Please wait for me here.”

Ans- My mother requested me to wait for her there.

iii. Raja said, “Oh! How cold the wind is!”

Ans - Raja exclaimed that the wind was very cold.

iv. The man said to him, “Go away.”

Ans- The man ordered him to go away.”

Activity 9

Write down the antonyms of the underlined words: 

a. The Swallow will sing forever.

Ans- The Swallow will sing never.

b. The actor enters the stage.

Ans- The actor exits the stage.

c. The student laughed aloud.

Ans- The student cried aloud.

d. I can see all the beautiful things in my land.

Ans- I can see all the ugly things in my land.

Activity 10 (a)

Write an imaginary dialogue in about eighty words between two birds in winter, one of whom is flying away to a warm country and the other who is stuck in a cold land.

1st Bird: Hello, friend! How are you?

2nd Bird: I'm not good. I can sense the chill in the air.

1st Bird: Yes winter is coming. I am here to give the proposal of flying together to a warm country.

2nd Bird: That’s great! Where are you going?

1st Bird: We will go towards Luxor over the Nile River. 

2nd Bird: When will you start your journey?

1st Bird: We are leaving for Luxor tonight. Will you want to join?

2nd Bird: No buddy. You know my mother has been sick for many days. I have to stay here until her recovery.

1st Bird: I pray for your mother’s fast recovery. Hope I will see you soon there. Bye.

2nd Bird: Thank you and bye.

Activity 10 (b)

Recently you gave up your seat in a crowded bus to an old, ailing person. Write a letter in about eighty words to your friend describing how you felt after having helped the person.

Memari

10 August 2022

713146

My Dear Arman,

You have not written for a long time. Hope you are well. I am also well. I am writing this letter to tell you about my recent experience. Yesterday I was going to school on a bus. The bus was overcrowded. But somehow I managed to get a seat. At the next stop, a very old man got up on that overcrowded bus. The old man appeared very frail and was coughing. He could hardly stand among the passengers. After a while, I felt that I should give my seat to the old man and I did so. At first, he looked at me mutely. Then he sat in the seat and his eyes told me his relief. He blessed me from the core of his heart. That was an unusual feeling. That is why I share this feeling with you.

No more today, more when we meet. Convey my respect to your parents and love for you. 

your loving friend 

Swadesh