Whilst studying Upper Primary English you will come across many different types of writing. The epics, such as Ramayana and Mahabharata or the Iliad and the Odyssey, are all forms of poetry. They were originally in the spoken form and were only later written down. Most countries' national anthems are basically poems which reflect their country’s ethos, coupled with some soul searching melodies.
Poems have the power to motivate a whole country, if the people have a comprehension of their meanings.. India’s independence movement was spearheaded by three great poems, its national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana,’ national song ‘Vande Mataram’ and Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite ‘Raghupathi Raghava Rajaram.’ All these come under the genre of poetry.
[readmore]India’s history of literature is characterised in scintillating poetry of Purandaradasa and Sarvajna in Kannada, Kabir Das and Tulsidas in Hindi and Thiruvallavur and Subramanya Bharathi in Tamil. One of India’s most famous literary masterpieces is the Bhagavad Gita, which is in poetry form.
Poetry is one of the more alluring forms of literature, perhaps why it is so well suited to anthems. It attracts poets from all walks of life. Even India’s former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is an excellent poet. Poems also take on a variety of forms such as couplets, sonnets, ballads, limericks, elegies and epics.
Poets take recourse to all facets of the English language, using similes, metaphors, onomatopoeic words, idioms, hyperboles and personification in their works. Some of the greatest poets, including Alfred Tennyson and William Shakespeare, used their command of words and the construction of sentences, lines and stanzas to craft their poems in styles of their own.
A piece of poetry well suited to your reading comprehension studies is Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Where the Mind is Without Fear.’ This is another great motivating poem for Indians. The poem was written during the height of British Rule in India. Rabindranath Tagore’s literature was so captivating that it earned for him the Nobel Literature Prize in the year 1913. Three countries, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, owe their national anthems to the great poet. The quiz that follows is a test of your comprehension of the Rabindranath Tagore poem, ‘Where the Mind is Without Fear.’
1.
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What may be the motivation for writing this poem? |
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[ ] |
Patriotism is the motivation for Tagore to write this poem. |
[ ] |
Tagore wanted to win the Nobel Prize. |
[ ] |
Tagore's publisher wanted him to write the poem. |
[ ] |
The British forced Tagore to write this poem. |
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|
2.
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What type of a poem is 'Where The Mind Is Without Fear'? |
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[ ] |
Epic |
[ ] |
Ballad |
[ ] |
Limerick |
[ ] |
Free Verse |
|
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3.
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Which among the following is a metaphor? |
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[ ] |
'Where the mind is without fear' |
[ ] |
'clear stream of reason’ |
[ ] |
'Where knowledge is free' |
[ ] |
'Where tireless striving stretches' |
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4.
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What figure of speech is “a tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection”? |
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[ ] |
Situational irony |
[ ] |
Idiom |
[ ] |
Personification |
[ ] |
Euphemism |
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5.
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Which of the following is not alliteration? |
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[ ] |
‘head held high’ |
[ ] |
‘where the world’ |
[ ] |
‘dreary desert sand of dead habit’ |
[ ] |
'By narrow domestic walls' |
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6.
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What do Line 7, 'Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way' and Line 8, 'Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit' mean? |
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[ ] |
Tagore wishes the power of reason to be granted to his countrymen so that they can oust the outdated customs and traditions. |
[ ] |
Tagore wanted national highways to be built. |
[ ] |
Tagore wanted to link up all the rivers flowing in India. |
[ ] |
Tagore wanted deserts in India to be made hospitable. |
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|
7.
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What figure of speech is 'dreary desert sand of dead habit’? |
|
[ ] |
Idiom |
[ ] |
Personification |
[ ] |
Metaphor |
[ ] |
Verbal irony |
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8.
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What do Line 3 of the poem, 'Where the world has not been broken up into fragments' and Line 4 of the poem, 'By narrow domestic walls' mean? |
|
[ ] |
The country should not be divided into administrative sub-divisions. |
[ ] |
Tagore wishes for a country that is not broken up on the basis of prejudices of caste, creed, colour, religion or other needless superstitions domestically. |
[ ] |
The country should not be divided on the basis of rivers flowing within the country. |
[ ] |
The country should not be divided into sub-divisions based on food habits. |
|
|
9.
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What does the last line, 'Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake' convey? |
|
[ ] |
That India was a lazy country and should be made more active. |
[ ] |
That Indians were sleeping a lot and he wants Indians to be awakened. |
[ ] |
That Indians were a lying lot and wanted them to come out with the truth. |
[ ] |
That India should be rid of British Rule and also rid of its innumerable domestic social evils. |
|
|
10.
|
What sentiment does the poem convey? |
|
[ ] |
It conveys that Indians have been suppressed by the oppression of British Rule and Tagore wants India to walk into freedom. |
[ ] |
It conveys that Indians are cowards. |
[ ] |
It conveys that Indians are mired in tradition. |
[ ] |
It conveys that India is consumed by strife. |
|
|
1.
|
What may be the motivation for writing this poem? |
|
[x] |
Patriotism is the motivation for Tagore to write this poem. |
[ ] |
Tagore wanted to win the Nobel Prize. |
[ ] |
Tagore's publisher wanted him to write the poem. |
[ ] |
The British forced Tagore to write this poem. |
|
|
2.
|
What type of a poem is 'Where The Mind Is Without Fear'? |
|
[ ] |
Epic |
[ ] |
Ballad |
[ ] |
Limerick |
[x] |
Free Verse |
|
|
3.
|
Which among the following is a metaphor? |
|
[ ] |
'Where the mind is without fear' |
[x] |
'clear stream of reason’ |
[ ] |
'Where knowledge is free' |
[ ] |
'Where tireless striving stretches' |
|
|
4.
|
What figure of speech is “a tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection”? |
|
[ ] |
Situational irony |
[ ] |
Idiom |
[x] |
Personification |
[ ] |
Euphemism |
|
|
5.
|
Which of the following is not alliteration? |
|
[ ] |
‘head held high’ |
[ ] |
‘where the world’ |
[ ] |
‘dreary desert sand of dead habit’ |
[x] |
'By narrow domestic walls' |
|
|
6.
|
What do Line 7, 'Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way' and Line 8, 'Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit' mean? |
|
[x] |
Tagore wishes the power of reason to be granted to his countrymen so that they can oust the outdated customs and traditions. |
[ ] |
Tagore wanted national highways to be built. |
[ ] |
Tagore wanted to link up all the rivers flowing in India. |
[ ] |
Tagore wanted deserts in India to be made hospitable. |
|
|
7.
|
What figure of speech is 'dreary desert sand of dead habit’? |
|
[ ] |
Idiom |
[ ] |
Personification |
[x] |
Metaphor |
[ ] |
Verbal irony |
|
|
8.
|
What do Line 3 of the poem, 'Where the world has not been broken up into fragments' and Line 4 of the poem, 'By narrow domestic walls' mean? |
|
[ ] |
The country should not be divided into administrative sub-divisions. |
[x] |
Tagore wishes for a country that is not broken up on the basis of prejudices of caste, creed, colour, religion or other needless superstitions domestically. |
[ ] |
The country should not be divided on the basis of rivers flowing within the country. |
[ ] |
The country should not be divided into sub-divisions based on food habits. |
|
|
9.
|
What does the last line, 'Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake' convey? |
|
[ ] |
That India was a lazy country and should be made more active. |
[ ] |
That Indians were sleeping a lot and he wants Indians to be awakened. |
[ ] |
That Indians were a lying lot and wanted them to come out with the truth. |
[x] |
That India should be rid of British Rule and also rid of its innumerable domestic social evils. |
|
|
10.
|
What sentiment does the poem convey? |
|
[x] |
It conveys that Indians have been suppressed by the oppression of British Rule and Tagore wants India to walk into freedom. |
[ ] |
It conveys that Indians are cowards. |
[ ] |
It conveys that Indians are mired in tradition. |
[ ] |
It conveys that India is consumed by strife. |
|
|