NCERT Solutions for Class VIII : On the Grasshopper and Cricket (Poem) Honeydew English

John Keats

Page No: 123

Working with Poem

1. Discuss with your partner the following definition of a poem.
A poem is made of words arranged in a beautiful order. These words, when read aloud with feeling, have a music and meaning of their own.

Answer

Poem is supposedly an artistic piece which contains a speech as well as a song, and is usually rhythmical and metaphorical. These beautiful arrangement of words beautify and add to the essence of the poem. Poems are supposedly read aloud to feel the intense passion and emotion with which they have been composed. The rhyming words in a poem puts various ideas and imaginations of the poet in sync. According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, a poem can be defined as a piece of writing in which the words are chosen for their sound and the images they suggest, not just for their obvious meanings. The words are arranged in separate lines, usually with a repeated rhythm, and often the lines rhyme at the end.

2. ‘The poetry of earth’ is not made of words. What is it made of, as suggested in the poem?

Answer

‘The poetry of earth’ is not made of words, but of the song and the rhythm produced by grasshoppers and crickets in various seasons. The music of the nature never loses its charm even with changing seasons. Summer and winter are the toughest seasons of the year. In summer it is extremely hot and in winter it is very cold. So in these two seasons there are rare songs of joy and music on earth. But here the poet points to the poetry of earth during summer and winter. In summer, the grasshopper seems to be excitedly hopping around, tirelessly, while even in lonely and dark winter nights, one can identify the shrill voice with which the insect cricket sings.

3. Find in the poem lines that match the following.

(i) The grasshopper’s happiness never comes to an end.
(ii) The cricket’s song has a warmth that never decreases.

Answer

(i) In summer luxury — he has never done
With his delights,

(ii) The cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever,

4. Which word in stanza 2 is opposite in meaning to ‘the frost’?

Answer

The word ‘frost’ in stanza 2 differs in meaning with the word ‘grassy’. Frost has a chilly reference which means a degree or state of coldness sufficient to cause the freezing of water. This meaning lacks a green live feeling which is present in the word ‘grassy’. Grassy means something which is like grass or pertains to grass.

5. The poetry of earth continues round the year through a cycle of two seasons. Mention each with its representative voice.

Answer

The poetry of earth continues round the years through the summer and the winter. In summer, the grasshopper’s voice represents the poetry of the earth. While in winter the cricket’s song represents the poetry of the earth.