THE DARKLING THRUSH
......Thomas Hardy......
TEXT:
I leant upon a coppice gate
When Frost was spectre-grey,
And Winter's dregs made desolate
The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
Had sought their household fires.
The land's sharp features seemed to be
The Century's corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
Seemed fervourless as I.
At once a voice arose among
The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
Upon the growing gloom.
So little cause for carolings
Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
And I was unaware.
WORD NOTES:
- Leant - bent
- Coppice - bush
- Dregs - sediment
- Eye of the day - sun
- Nigh - nearby
- Corpse - dead body
- Outleant - laid in a lying posture
- Crypt - dome
- Bleak - colourless
- Evensong - song sung in the evening
- Illuminated - unlimited
- -Beruffled - disorder
- Plume - feathers
- Caroling - songs of joy or praise
- Good night air - farewell song
IMPORTANT QUESTION:
1. In the poem Darkling thrush'- Darkling means?
In the dark.
2. The mood of the poet is....
Optimistic.
3. Which season is mentioned in the poem?
Winter.
4. "I lent upon a coppice gate"- what is meant by lent?
Bent upon.
5. "I leant upon a coppice gate"- coppice means?
Bush.
6. "The weakening eyes of the day"- It is the symbol of....
The sun.
7. "The weakening eyes of the day"- why is the eye of the day weakening?
Due to the winter season.
8. "The tangled bine stems scored the sky"- here the word scored means..
Marked by drawing lines.
9. How did the bine stems scored the sky?
Like strings of broken Iyre.
10. " The century's corpse outleant " what is compared to century's corpse outleant?
Sharp features of the land.
11. " The century's corpse outleant " - here outleant means..
Laid in lying posture.
12. "His crypt the cloudy canopy"- here the word crypt means?
Dome.
13. "His crypt the cloudy canopy"- here his refers to...
Century's corpse
14. Who makes the crypt of the century's corpse?
The cloudy sky.
15. "The wind his death lament"- whose death lament is referred to here?
Century's corpse.
16. Who comprises the death lament of the dead century?
The wind.
17. "At once a voice among /the bleak twigs overhead"- it refers to the voice of...
The Thrush
18. The Thrush was ....
Aged , frail, gaunt, and small.
19. "In blast -beruffled plume"- here blast -beruffled means...
Storm wrinkled
20. "So little cause of caroling "- caroling means...
Song of joy or praise.
21. "So little cause of caroling"- why there is so little cause of caroling?
The atmosphere is desolate and dull.
22. "Where of he knew and I was unaware "- who knew?
The Thrush.
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