POEM

DUST OF SNOW

Here is the Summary of the poem Dust of Snow:

The short poem by Robert Frost throws light upon the

unimaginable healing power of nature and tiny things. From a bad
mood to ill-health, there is nothing that can’t be cured by nature.
The author was experiencing one such bad day when a crow’s
movement near a hemlock tree dusted snow upon him. The snow
instantly makes him happier. His day gets a lot better. Thus, the
supremacy of nature as a whole made him realise how petty his
problem was. The fact that hemlock tree is poisonous combined
with crow being the indicator of doom and fear are used in the
poem as the carriers of happiness in the life of narrator is ironical.
The poet, through these objects has tried to highlight that
sometimes creatures linked with negative aspects of life can be the
bringer of change and happiness. Being outdoors in nature, with
all it’s unpredictability can benefit anyone, anywhere at any time.

FIRE AND ICE

Summary of the Poem Fire and Ice – Robert Frost’s poem “Fire
and Ice” is a strong symbolic poem where the fire is used as the
emotion of desire and ice, that of hatred. He has used the idea of
two groups who have their own possible explanation for the end of
the world. One is of the opinion that fire alone can destroy each
and every possibility of life on Earth while the other thinks that if
ice as a result of extremely low temperatures could cover the
earth’s surface, it would lead to the end of the world. Both the
components are compared with self-destructing human emotions:
desire and hatred. The poet is original of the opinion that he has
been very closely associated with the “fiery desires” and considers it
capable of bringing human beings on the verge of destruction.
Thus, he considers fire as more competent for destruction. But
then he thinks that “icy hatred” is just as capable of ruining
humans, though slowly and steadily. Therefore, if Earth was to end
twice, ice would be just as good as fire. If a fire would lead to rapid
destruction, ice would lead to silent damage. Similarly, if the fire is
pure passion, ice is pure reason. Thus, the poem, very artistically,
underpins the philosophy that we let our emotions rule us and if
don’t control them they will surely bring us all on the verge of
chaos.

A TIGER IN THE ZOO

A Tiger in the Zoo Summary

The poem written by Leslie Norris explains the agony and

helplessness of a caged tiger that lives in a zoo. The poet explains
what his life could be if he had been a free animal. The poet has
tried to explain about the condition of animals that are caged by
human beings for their own fun.

The poem begins with a description of a tiger that is very beautiful

and is walking in his little cage. He has beautiful stripes on his skin
and has velvet like soft paws. But the tiger is not happy and is quite
angry about being confined in the cage. The poet says that if the
tiger was not confined to the zoo cage, he would have been hiding
himself behind the long grass near some water body, in order to
catch its prey that is the deer. Also, he would have terrorised the
residents of the villages around the forest area. But the reality is
totally opposite to this. He was confined in a cage which was made
up of strong building material and he was helpless there. He could
not show his power to the visitors, therefore, never tried to
terrorize them. The tiger is described as being powerless and
agonized by the poet. He says that during night also he is alone,
hearing the voice of the patrolling vehicles of police and looking at
the stars. The cage life has totally changed the tiger’s personality.
The poet is trying to say that the animal which is famous for its
fearlessness and freedom is confined and sad due to the human
beings who want to derive pleasure by looking at him in the zoo
cage.

HOW TO TELL WILD ANIMALS

How to Tell Wild Animals Summary

The poet is describing the various wild animals. These animals are
very dangerous and she has introduced them one by one in a very
funny way. First of all she tells us about an Asian lion. She says that
if you are visiting the jungles of the east and there you see an
animal which has tawny skin and he roars so loudly that you will
die out of fear. This means that you have seen an Asian lion. Next
in the line is the Bengal tiger that she has explained to be a royal
animal that at once attacks and kills a man. She says by adding
humour that if this beautiful black striped animal kills you and
eats you, then you have surely met a Bengal tiger. After this, she
says that if the reader met an animal that has black spotted skin
and it at once jumps on him, then it means that the reader has met
a leopard. Moreover, she says that if one will cry out in pain, it
maybe of no use as the leopard will not stop attacking him. Then
she moves on to the bear that she says will hug very tightly. This is
the way to recognize a bear as it kills a person by hugging him very
tightly. So, she says that the bear will continue to hug us tightly
and that is the only way to recognize him. After this, she asks a
question to the readers that do they know how to recognize beasts
that hunt their prey. Here she explains about hyenas which she
thinks have a smiling face and the crocodiles that have tears in
their eyes. This can be seen when they are killing their prey. The
last one in the list is the Chameleon. She says that it is a lizard –
like creature which doesn’t have ears and wings just like a lizard.
Only this can help you differentiate between a lizard and
chameleon. She further says that the chameleon has a quality of
changing its color according to the colour of the surface. So, to
explain this she says that if the reader looks at the tree and if he can
only see the tree, this means that there is a chameleon sitting on it
which has already turned its color to brown just like the branch of
the tree.

THE BALL POEM

The Ball Poem Summary – The poet is talking about a little boy
who has lost his ball. He was playing with his ball. The ball
skipped from his hand and went into the nearby water body. The
poet says that this sight of the boy losing his favorite ball made
him think about the boy and his reaction to this situation. He
further says that the boy was helplessly looking into the water
where his ball had gone. He was sad and was trembling with fear.
He got so immersed in his sorrow that he kept standing near the
harbour for a very long time and kept on looking for his ball. The
poet says that he could console him that he may get new balls or
he could also give him some money to buy another ball. But he
stops himself from doing so because he thinks that the money may
bring a new ball but will not bring the memories and feelings
attached to the lost ball. He further says that the time has come for
the boy to learn his responsibilities. Here the poet wants to say that
now the boy will learn the toughest lesson of life. The lesson of
accepting the harsh realities of life that one day we will lose our
loved ones and our loved things.
AMANDA!

Summary of the Poem Amanda – The poem describes a girl named

Amanda and her mother who is nagging her for her mistakes. She
is first pointed out most probably by her mother for biting her
nails and for not sitting in the right posture. The mother also feels
that Amanda sits in a very lazy manner. To this, Amanda imagines
herself as a mermaid who lives a calm and relaxing life in the
beautiful green sea. Further, she is nagged for not cleaning her
room and shoes and also for not doing her homework. She then
imagines herself to be an orphan because she is now fed up of
being watched by her parents continuously. She says that she
would have enjoyed her freedom then, by making the patterns of
her bare feet on the sand and would live a peaceful life. Next,
Amanda is scolded for eating too many chocolates as this causes
pimples. She is also scolded for not listening to her mother. So,
now Amanda thinks of being Rapunzel, a character from a fairy
tale and wants to live in a huge tower like her. In the tower she
will be alone and will live a peaceful life and will never allow
anyone to come in. Finally, the mother asks her to stop being
moody because she doesn’t want anyone to blame her for harassing
her daughter. At this time the poet has not written any reaction
from Amanda’s side. This constant nagging has made her so sad
that she has even stopped to imagine herself as someone else. She
used to do so in order to escape from the continuous harassment
and dominance of her parents.
THE TREES

The Trees Summary

The poet talks about trees symbolically. They refer to women who
have been healed and are ready to move out of their houses to fulfil
their primary purpose – to renew the forest of mankind. As
women have remained indoors, the forest has become empty, the
birds and insects rendered shelterless. The Sun’s rays do not have
the tree trucks and leaves to fall upon and thus, reach the earth.
She says that the forest will be full of trees the next morning. The
roots of the trees are working hard to separate from the floor of the
veranda where they have remained fixed. The leaves and branches
are moving towards the glass windows. They are desperate to move
out just like a newly discharged patient who has not recovered
completely, moves to the exit door of the hospital in a hurry. The
poet is sitting in her house with the doors of the veranda open. She
is writing letters but does not mention this movement of the trees.
It is night time, the sky is clear and a bright moon is visible. She
can smell the leaves and lichen which seem to be calling out
desperately. She hears the glass of the window pane breaking. The
trees are moving out and the fast blowing wind embraces them.
As the trees have reached the forest, the tall and strong oak tree
overshadows the moon and it seems that the moon has been
broken into several pieces.
FOG

Summary of the Poem

The poet says that the fog which is generally seen during the
winter season is coming towards the city and the harbour just like
a cat. This means that it is approaching the city in a very silent
manner so that no one can notice its arrival. He has compared its
arrival to that of a cat because a cat always enters a place silently.
Next he says that the fog has covered the whole of the city and
harbour and it appears as if it is sitting by folding its legs and
looking around just the way a cat does when it sits on the
haunches and looks around. At the end, he describes the departure
of the fog which very silently and unpredictably, again, similar to
the departure of the cat, vanishes.

THE TALE OF CUSTARD THE DRAGON

The Tale of Custard the Dragon Summary – The tale of custard the
dragon is a ballad. It is a humorous poem about a cowardly dragon
named custard. Custard is a pet of Belinda, a little girl who lives in
a little white house with her pets. She had a black kitten named
ink, a grey mouse named blink, a yellow dog mustard and a
cowardly dragon custard. The poet says that all of them are very
brave except the dragon. Others were described as brave and are
compared with animals like bear, tiger or lion but the dragon is
very timid. He always demands a safe place for himself. All the
other characters make fun of him. But one night they are surprised
by the entry of a pirate in the house. All of them get frightened and
start hiding here and there. But to everyone’s surprise, the dragon
not only tackles him but also eats him up. As all of them are saved
by custard, they thank him. But at the end, they realize that they
used to make fun of the dragon because of his being timid. So, all
of them suddenly start saying that they are more brave and could
have handled the situation in a much better way. Here the poet has
tried to say that sometimes a timid person is the actual hero in the
toughest situations of life.

FOR ANNE GREGORY

Summary of the poem For Anne Gregory

The poem is basically a conversation between the poet, Yeats and a

young girl named Anne Gregory. The poet tells her that if she
finds a young boy who becomes sad because of her rejection, it
doesn’t mean that he was a true lover. He could have been in love
with her because of her beautiful yellow hair. This means that the
boy might be in love with her because of her attractive looks. He
says that a true lover will be the one who will love her for her
inner qualities and not her looks. To this, Anne says that she will
change her looks by dying her hair into some other colour. She
will become less attractive and then, maybe, she will find a true
love for herself. So, at last, he explains to her that the previous
night, he had heard some religious man saying that only God loves
us for what we are. This means that God never loves us for our
looks but for our inner beauty.

PRACTICE QUESTIONS:

How does Frost present nature in this poem? The following

questions may help you to think of an answer.

(i) What are the birds that are usually named in poems? Do you
think a crow is often mentioned in poems? What images come
to your mind when you think of a crow?
(ii) Again, what is “a hemlock tree”? Why doesn’t the poet
write about a more ‘beautiful’ tree such as
a maple, or an oak, or a pine?
(iii) What do the ‘crow’ and ‘hemlock’ represent—joy or
sorrow? What does the dust of snow that the crow shakes off a
hemlock tree stand for?
Answer:

Robert Frost has represented nature in quite an unconventional

manner. While in other nature poems we come across birds such
as nightingales or sparrows, Frost has used a crow in this poem. A
crow can be associated with something dark, black, and
foreboding. That is why, other poets usually mention singing
nightingales or beautiful white doves in their poems.

Also, the poet has written about a hemlock tree, which is a

poisonous tree. He has not written about a more beautiful tree
such as a maple, an oak or a pine tree because these trees symbolize
beauty and happiness. Robert Frost wanted to symbolize the
feelings of sadness and regret, which is why he has used a hemlock
tree.

The crow and the hemlock tree represent sorrow. The dust of snow
that is shaken off the hemlock tree by the crow stands for joy that
Robert Frost experiences. He has, therefore, used an
unconventional tree and bird to contrast them with joy in the
form of snow.

What is the boy now, who has lost his ball,

What, what is he to do? I saw it go
Merrily bouncing, down the street, and then
Merrily over—there it is in the water!

(i) Name the poem and poet.

(ii) What has the boy lost?
(iii) What did he see?
(iv) Where did the ball go?
Answer:

(i) This stanza has been taken from the poem The Ball Poem’
composed by John Berryman.
(ii) The boy has lost his ball while playing.
(iii) He saw the ball going down the street.
(iv) The ball went into the water.

Belinda lived in a little white house,

With a little black kitten and a little grey mouse,
And a little yellow dog and little red wagon,
And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.

(i) Name the poem and poet.

(ii) Who was Belinda?
(iii) Where did Belinda live?
(iv) Who were her companions?
Answer:

(i) This stanza has been taken from the poem “The Tale of Custard
the Dragon” composed by Ogden Nash.
(ii) Belinda was a little girl.
(iii) Belinda lived in a little white house.
(iv) Belinda had four pets—a little black kitten, a little grey mouse,
a little yellow dog and a little red wagon.

The poet in the poem ‘For Anne Gregory’ conveys that We

should give importance to the inner beauty and not to the
physical appearance. Explain with reference to the poem.
Answer:

It is an accepted fact that external beauty is short-lived but inner

beauty remains forever. Inner beauty gives satisfaction and joy. We
should thus learn not to accept things at their face value. We
should try to. discover the inner beauty and strength of a person,
though it is not easy to do so. We should accept the person with
positive and negative values.

As the time passes relations are strengthened. In the poem ‘For

Anne Gregory’ the beloved wants that her lover should love her for
herself not the colour of the hair. She wants to strengthen this fact
that inner beauty is more important than external beauty.

Did you finish your homework, Amanda?

Did you tidy your room, Amanda?
I thought I told you to clean your shoes,
Amanda!

(i) Who speaks these lines and to whom?

(ii) What are the various works she has to do?
(iii) What does the parent think she asked Amanda to do?
(iv) Does Amanda like the advice of the speaker?
Answer:
(i) These lines are spoken by Amanda’s mother to Amanda.
(ii) She must complete homework, clean her room and her shoes.
(iii) The parents think that she asked Amanda to clean her shoes.
(iv) No, she does not like the constant nagging by the poet. She
wants to live without any restrictions.