Question 1: Find three or four words/phrases in stanza 1 that reflect the child’s happiness and joy. Answer: The words/phrases that reflect the child’s happiness are the song of birds and the skylark, and the sound of hunter’s horn.
The School Boy Class 8
Question 2: In stanza 2, the mood changes. Which words/phrases reflect the changed mood? Answer: The words/phrases reflecting the child’s mood are:
(a) drives all joy away (b) cruel eye outworn (of the Teacher) (c) sighing and dismay.
The School Boy Class 8
Question 3: ‘A cruel eye outworn (stanza 2)’ refers to
(i) the classroom which is shabby/noisy (ii) the lessons which are difficult/uninteresting (iii) The dull/uninspiring life at school with lots of work and no play. Mark the answer that you consider right.
Answer:
(iii)
The School Boy Class 8
Question 4: “Nor sit in learning’s bower worn thro’ with the dreary shower’ Which of the following is a close paraphrase of the lines above?
(i) Nor can I sit in a roofless classroom when it is raining. (ii) Nor can I learn anything at school though teachers go on lecturing and explaining. (iii) Nor can I sit in the school garden for fear of getting wet in the rain.
Answer:
(ii)
The School Boy Class 8
Question 1: What is the mood of the school boy? Answer: The school boy is unhappy.
Question 2: What makes the school boy unhappy? Answer: He has to go to school even in a summer morning when there is so much to enjoy in open fields and forests. Secondly, his teacher is cruel and the lessons are uninteresting.
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The School Boy Class 8
Question 3: Why does the boy compare himself to a caged bird? Answer: Like a caged bird, the boy is also not free to do any thing at his own will. He wants to lead a life of freedom but he can’t because there are many restrictions on him.
The School Boy Class 8
Question 4: What is the poet’s advice to parents of school-going kids? Answer: The poet calls upon the parents to let their kids grow and play joyfully in early years. They should not restrict their natural activities.
Question 5: Why does the school boy compare himself to a plant? Answer: A small child is like a tender plant. If he is suppressed too much, he fails to grow to full size. A tender plant if crushed at the bud-stage, won’t bear any flower or fruit in spring season.