1. Go through the following images and try to link them with our lives. For example, Storm – Hardships that we face in our life.
Ans.
2. You may have often indulged in talking to yourself audibly. For example,
♦ “Oh, dear! Why didn’t I get up sooner?”
♦ “Let me finish this quickly and then I’ll be free”.
♦ “How silly of me! Why didn’t I think of it before?”
Such expressions are called Dramatic Monologues. Imagine and write Monologues suitable in the following situations.
♦ It’s your birthday next week.
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
♦ You have been waiting long at the city bus-stop.
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
♦ Your final exam results are to be declared tomorrow.
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
♦ Your mother has been chatting for very long on the telephone.
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
Ans.
(i) It’s your birthday next week.
Ans. “Good Heavens! How time files! Next week is my birthday and I haven’t planned anything yet.”
(ii) You have been waiting long at the city bus-stop.
Ans. “Not a single bus in sight. It’s half an hour since I’m waiting here. Where the hell have the buses disappeared? The government has to do something about the irregularity.”
(iii) Your final exam results are to be declared tomorrow.
Ans. “Please God! God please, let me get good marks in my results tomorrow. I’ll promise you I’ll be regular in my studies.”
(iv) Your mother has been chatting for very long on the telephone.
Ans. “Oh! Come on mama, I’m hungry. You have been on the phone for so long and you shout at me when I’m on the phone.”
3. ‘The Pulley’ is a mechanical device.
Try and write down places where it can be used, and for what purpose.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
(i) In a cargo lift system that allows items to be hoisted to higher floors.
(ii) Wells use the pulley to hoist the bucket out of the well.
(iii) Many types of exercise equipments use pulleys in order to function at the gym.
(iv) At the construction sites pulleys are used to lift and place heavy material.
(v) Modern elevators use pulleys to pull the weight of people against gravity.
(vi) Flagpoles on a sailboat or a ship uses a pulley system to hoist a flag or bring it down.
… FACTUAL QUESTIONS …
What did God’s glass of blessings contain?
Ans. God’s glass of blessings contained all the world’s riches man could crave for.
What would the human being do if God gifted him with ‘Rest’?
Ans. If God gifted man ‘Rest’, he would become conceited and rebellious and would forget ‘God’.
1. With the help of the clues, pick out words containing the letter ‘a’ from the poem and build a word -pyramid.
(a) an article
(b) a preposition
(c) past tense of ‘lie’
(d) maximum length of your open palm
(e) make much of
(f) loveliness
(g) in place of
(h) a collection of priceless valuables
(i) restlessness and discontent
Ans.
(a) a (b) at (c) lay (d) span (e) adore (f) beauty (g) instead (h) treasure (i) weariness
2. Choose the correct alternative from the following.
(a) Herbert’s poem ‘The Pulley’ displays ……………. as the two main themes.
(i) Origin of Morality/Spirituality
(ii) Origin of species
(iii) Origin of the universe/galaxy
(iv) Origin of the earth/space
(b) The theme of the poem ‘The Pulley’ is …………….
(Find two correct statements from the given alternatives.)
(i) to focus on the mechanical operation of a pulley.
(ii) to teach a lesson to a creation (man) by the Creator (God)
(iii) to know the different gifts bestowed on man by God.
(iv) to remind man about his creator in his exhaustion.
(v) God pulled man towards Him by making him restless and weary.
(c) In the poem, ‘The Pulley’ is considered …………….
(i) a mechanical device.
(ii) a gift to mankind
(iii) an image to lift objects.
(iv) an image by which God compels people to become devout.
(d) ……………. is an example of Pun from the poem.
(i) Rest in the bottom lay.
(ii) So strength first made a way.
(iii) Having a glass of blessings . . . . . .
(iv) So both should losers be
(e) ……………. is an example of Paradox from the poem.
(i) And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature.
(ii) He would adore my gifts instead of me.
(iii) Let him be rich and weary.
(iv) When God at first made man.
(f) ……………. is an example of Synecdoche from the poem.
(i) So both should losers be.
(ii) Then beauty flowed.
(iii) “Let us” said he “pour on him.”
(iv) May toss him to my breast.
(g) ……………. is an example of Alliteration from the poem.
(i) made a way
(ii) bottom lay.
(iii) repining restlessness
(iv) keep the rest.
(h) ……………. is an example of Inversion from the poem.
(i) Contract into a span.
(ii) So both should losers be.
(iii) Bestow this jewel.
(iv) And rest in nature.
(i) The rhyme scheme of the poem is …………….
(i) a a b b c
(ii) a b c b c
(iii) a b c c b
(iv) a b a b a
Ans.
(a – i), (b – ii), (c – iv), (d – i), (e – i), (f – ii), (g – iii), (h – ii), (i – iv).
3. Discuss and answer in your own words, and write in your notebook.
(a) The poet has used the word REST thrice in the poem. Write what the word implies in each of the three lines it occurs.
(b) What does God want in return from man, for the gifts He has bestowed upon him?
(c) Why did God withhold the gift of ‘Rest’ from man?
(d) Besides those given in the poem, what other gifts has God blessed mankind with above his other creations? Enlist them.
(e) When does man generally turn to God? Give one example to support your response.
Ans.
(a) The poet has used the word REST thrice in the poem. Write what the word implies in each of the three lines it occurs.
Ans. (i) Rest in the bottom lay: Here ‘rest’ is referred to as a treasure (which means peace and contentment).
(ii) And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature: Here ‘rest’ means appreciate and worship the things available around him in nature.
(iii) Yet let him keep the ‘rest’: Here ‘rest’ means the remaining qualities and blessings bestowed upon man.
(b) What does God want in return from man, for the gift he has bestowed upon him?
Ans. God wants man to be grateful and worship him, who has bestowed all the gifts upon him.
(c) Why did God withhold the gift of ‘Rest’ from man?
Ans. God withheld the gift of ‘Rest’ from man because he knew that if all the gifts were bestowed on man he would become greedy and conceited and forget his maker.
(d) Besides those given in the poem, what other gifts has God blessed mankind with? Enlist them.
Ans. material wealth – nature / environment good health – man, the most intelligent of all animals. proper sight / vision love – speech
(e) When does man generally turn to God? Give one example to support your response.
Ans. Man generally turns to God in times of difficulties, trials and tribulations. Whenever we are in difficulty, it is God of whom we think first. This is not so when there is a reason for joy or entertainment.
4. (A) Discuss with your group and justify the title of the poem ‘The Pulley’ in your own words.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
(B) Pick out 3 lines that contain Monologues of God.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Ans.
(A) Ans. The Pulley is a scientific representation of man’s helplessness and reliance on God for salvation. The poem invokes a visual imagery of a heavy object being lifted up by a Pulley to the desired place. The Pulley in the poem is mans restlessness and weariness which acts as a Pulley to reach God.
(B) (i) Let us “pour on him all we can”.
(ii) Let the worlds riches, which dispersed lie.
(iii) For if I should bestow.
(iv) Let him be rich and weary.
5. (A) Pick out two lines that contain the following figures of speech.
(a) Antithesis
1. ………………………………………………………………………………….
2. ………………………………………………………………………………….
(b) Alliteration
1. ………………………………………………………………………………….
2. ………………………………………………………………………………….
(c) Inversion
1. ………………………………………………………………………………….
2. ………………………………………………………………………………….
Ans.
(a) Antithesis:
(1) Let the world’s riches, which dispersed lie, contract into a span.
(2) Perceiving that alone of all his treasures.
(b) Alliteration:
(1) When God at twist made man.
(2) But keep them with repining restlessness.
(c) Inversion:
(1) Rest in the bottom lay.
(2) So both should losers be.
(B) Explain the Figures of Speech in the following lines.
(a) Rest in the bottom lay- PUN because
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
(b) Bestow this jewel also on my creature-METAPHOR because
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
(c) And rest in nature, not the God of Nature-REPETITION because
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
(a) Rest in the bottom lay–PUN because rest means ‘to withhold the remaining’ it also means ‘to relax, sleep or have peace of mind’.
(b) Bestow this jewel also on my creature– METAPHOR because ‘rest’ is compared to ‘a jewel’. This is an example of an indirect comparison.
(c) And rest in nature, not the God of Nature– REPETITION because the word ‘nature’ has been repeated for better poetic effect.
6. Write Critical Appreciation of the poem in a paragraph format. (Refer to page no. 5)
The poem ‘The Pulley’ written by George Herbert was published posthumously in 1633. The Pulley is a metaphysical poem which is religious in nature. Metaphysical poems flourished in the 17th century when religion was given a lot of importance. The influence of religion is clearly seen in the poem ‘The Pulley’. The poet in this poem compares the relationship between God and man with a metaphorical pulley. In his religious poem, written from the heart, he creates a myth about God’s creation of the world and humankind. He presents this with the metaphor of a pulley, a scientific equipment which helps to lift or lower heavy things. The poem is in the form of a monologue.
The poem is spiced with many figures of speech namely Pun, Paradox, Extended Metaphor Synecdoche, etc. adding to the flavour of the poem. The rhyme scheme ababa has got a
beautiful poetic texture. The tone of the poem is spiritual and serious. The mood of the poem is thoughtful and reflective.
The central idea of the poem revolves around God creating mankind and showering his infinite love on them in the form of various blessings and gifts. God intended to give it all
but something stopped him. He visualized man to become conceited and rebellious if all the gifts were showered on him so he withheld the most precious treasure i.e. ‘rest’. This was done, so that man would give due respect to his creator. By withholding the precious jewel ‘rest’ from man, though he had everything that money could buy, he would be restless and it would be this restlessness which would lift him towards God just like a pulley. The whole poem has a beautiful Imagery which colourfully unfolds before us.
My favorite lines in this poem are ‘Let the world’s riches, which dispersed lie, Contract into a span.
If goodness leads him not, yet weariness May toss him to my breast’ I like the poem because it shows the true nature of man. It teaches us to be humble and to be happy and satisfied with whatever God has endowed us with. It is also amusing that God would use a scientific invention ‘The Pulley’ to keep this creation under control and keep him bound to his creator.
7. ‘Pun’ can be defined as play on words based on their different meanings. Example : ‘Writing with a broken pencil is pointless.’ In this poem there is an example of Pun. Find and make a sentence of your own. Share a joke with the class where the use of ‘Pun’ creates humour.
This actor has lots of dates.
8. Write a paragraph on the points in each block given below to get a summary on each of the four stanzas of the poem.
Ans.
