50 Practice Questions of Modals in English Grammar with Answers

Fill in the blanks with appropriate modals.

(Answer key given below)

1. She _______ be at home. She left her keys on the table.

2. We _______ go to the party if we finish our work early.

3. You _______ try the new restaurant downtown. The food is delicious.

4. He _______ swim when he was just three years old.

5. I'm not sure if I _______ come to the meeting tomorrow. I have a conflicting appointment.

6. They _______ have studied harder for the exam. They didn't do well.

7. _______ I borrow your pen? I forgot mine at home.

8. We _______ take a taxi. It's raining heavily outside.

9. He _______ have passed the driving test. He practiced a lot.

10. She _______ have left the door unlocked. That's why the house got robbed.

11. You _______ read that book. It's a classic.

12. They _______ stay up late. They have an early morning tomorrow.

13. He _______ come to the party. He wasn't invited.

14. _______ I help you with your luggage?

15. We _______ go to the gym more often. We need to stay fit.

16. I _______ finish this report by tomorrow. It's urgent.

17. They _______ go on vacation next week. Their flights are booked.

18. You _______ eat all the cake by yourself. Share it with others.

19. She _______ be tired. She worked overtime today.

20. He _______ speak French fluently. He studied it for many years.

21. We _______ be careful while crossing the road. It's busy.

22. You _______ ask for permission before using my computer.

23. They _______ play soccer every weekend. It's their favorite sport.

24. _______ I have a glass of water, please?

25. He _______ start saving money for his future.

26. She _______ attend the meeting. She has a prior engagement.

27. We _______ take the bus or walk to the park. It's just a few blocks away.

28. They _______ go to the movies tonight. They have other plans.

29. You _______ bring an umbrella. It might rain later.

30. He _______ have called to inform about the change in plans.

31. She _______ lend you her car if you promise to drive carefully.

32. _______ I have another piece of cake? It's delicious.

33. They _______ visit their grandparents over the weekend. They miss them.

34. We _______ be more mindful of our environment. Reduce, reuse, and recycle.

35. You _______ take a break. You've been working hard all day.

36. He _______ ask for help if he doesn't understand the assignment.

37. She _______ go to the doctor. Her cough has been persistent.

38. They _______ arrive on time for the concert. The tickets are non-refundable.

39. _______ I have a look at your notes? I missed the class yesterday.

40. We _______ buy a new car. Ours keeps breaking down.

41. He _______ stay focused during the exam. It's important.

42. You _______ learn to play the guitar if you practice regularly.

43. They _______ join the club if they meet the membership requirements.

44. _______ I open the window? It's stuffy in here.

45. She _______ take up dancing. It's a great way to stay active.

46. We _______ study harder for the next test. We didn't do well

47. You _______ ask for directions. We're lost.

48. He _______ apologize for his rude behavior. It was uncalled for.

49. _______ I have a piece of advice? I think it might help.

50. They _______ visit the art museum. It's known for its impressive collection.

Answers:

1. must

2. can

3. should

4. could

5. will

6. should

7. May

8. should

9. must

10. should

11. should

12. shouldn't

13. shouldn't

14. Can

15. should

16. must

17. will

18. shouldn't

19. must

20. can

21. should

22. should

23. should

24. May

25. should

26. can't

27. can

28. won't

29. should

30. should

31. will

32. May

33. will

34. should

35. should

36. should

37. should

38. must

39. May

40. should

41. should

42. can

43. can

44. May

45. should

46. should

Please note that in some cases, more than one modal verb can be used, depending on the intended meaning.

All Modals with Definition and Examples

1. Can:

   - Definition: Expresses ability, capability, permission, or possibility.

   - Example: I can swim. Can I borrow your pen?

2. Could:

   - Definition: Expresses past ability, permission, or possibility.

   - Example: I could swim when I was younger. Could I use your phone?

3. May:

   - Definition: Expresses permission, possibility, or uncertainty.

   - Example: May I go to the restroom? It may rain later.

4. Might:

   - Definition: Expresses possibility or uncertainty.

   - Example: She might come to the party. It might be a good idea to call ahead.

5. Must:

   - Definition: Expresses obligation, necessity, or strong probability.

   - Example: You must follow the rules. It must be cold outside.

6. Shall:

   - Definition: Expresses suggestions, offers, or future actions.

   - Example: Shall we go for a walk? I shall do my best to help you.

7. Should:

   - Definition: Expresses advice, recommendations, or expectations.

   - Example: You should study for the exam. It should be a great movie.

8. Will:

   - Definition: Expresses future actions, predictions, or willingness.

   - Example: I will meet you at the cafe. It will rain tomorrow.

9. Would:

   - Definition: Expresses past habits, polite requests, or hypothetical situations.

   - Example: He would always take a walk after dinner. Would you like some tea?

10. Ought to:

    - Definition: Expresses moral obligation, strong recommendation, or expectation.

    - Example: You ought to apologize. He ought to be here by now.

11. Need:

    - Definition: Expresses necessity or obligation.

    - Example: You need to finish your homework. I need to buy groceries.

12. Have to:

    - Definition: Expresses necessity or obligation.

    - Example: I have to go to work. They have to clean their room.

These are the main modal verbs in English, each with specific usage and meaning.

Active and Passive Voice

Active voice: In the Active Voice, the Verb is directly related to the Subject that is, the doer of the action. The focus is on the Subject and not on the action.

For example: She is reading a book.

Passive voice: In the Passive Voice, the Verb is related to the receiver of the action, and the focus is on the action. We have seen in the examples given earlier, 'Short Passives' where the performer of action (agent) is not identified.

For example: The plants are watered by her everyday.

Uses of passive voice:

1. We use passive voice when the subject is not that important that is, when 'what happened' is more important.

For example: I made a mistake. - a mistake was made by me.

(Here making a mistake is  more important than who did it)

2. We also use passive voice when the subject is unknown.

For example: someone left a phone in the hall. -  a phone was left by someone in the hall.

Rules for changing voice:-

(i) Verb should be in transitive form.

(ii) Subject and object are replaced with each other.

(iii) Verb of the sentence undergoes a change

That is verb is changed into 3rd form

Example: play - played, enjoy - enjoyed, walk - walked, talk - talked.

(iv) We add helping verb according to the tense of the sentence.

(v) Nouns change according to the need. They turn into passive form 

Example: he - him, she - her, I - my, we - us.

(vi)'By' is added with the subjects in some cases.

Changes from Active to passive in all tenses are as follows:-

Note:  there is no change from active to passive voice in present perfect continuous, past perfect continuous,future continuous and future perfect continuous tense.

Simple present tense

Sentence: I bake a cake often

Passive voice: A cake is baked by me

Present Continuous tense

Sentence: I am baking a cake.

Passive voice: A cake is being baked by me.

Present perfect tense

Sentence: I have baked a cake.

Passive voice: A cake has been baked by me.

Simple past tense

Sentence: The principal introduced the chief guest.

Passive voice: The chief guest was introduced by the principal.

Past continuous tense

Sentence: The principal was introducing the chief guest.

Passive voice: The chief guest was being introduced by the principal.

Past perfect tense

Sentence: The principal had introduced the chief guest.

Passive voice: The chief guest had been introduced by the principal.

Simple future tense

Sentence: The chief minister will interrogate the new building.

Passive voice: The new building will be integrated by the chief minister.

Future perfect tense

Sentence: The chief minister will have integrated the new building.

Passive voice: The new building will have been integrated by the chief minister.

Sentences which have active verbs followed by prepositions:-

Sentence: Mr. Singh looks after the firm.

Passive voice: The firm is looked after by Mr. Singh.

Sentence: My uncle deals in readymade clothes.

Passive voice: Readymade clothes are dealt in by my uncle.

Sentence: My mother looks after the whole household.

Passive voice: The whole household is looked after by my mother.

Active sentences containing two objects:

1. John sent him a letter.

Passive: A letter was sent to him by Jhon.

Or

He was sent a letter by Jhon.

2. I shall tell you an interesting story.

Passive: an interesting story shall be told to you by me.

Or

You shall be told an interesting story by me.

3. He has given you a message.

Passive: A message has been given to you by him.

Or

You have been given a message by him.

4. The clerck issued me a ticket.

I was issued a ticket by the clerk.

Or 

A ticket was issued to me by the clerk.

Passive sentences where 'by' is not used:-

(Prepositions other than 'by' are used in these sentences)

Sentence: She knows you well.

Passive voice: you are well known to her.

Sentence: The bottle contains ink.

Passive voice: Ink is contained in this bottle.

Sentence: I cannot please her

Passive voice: She cannot be pleased with me.

Note: 'By' not used when the subject is either unknown or understood.

Sentence: Someone switched off the light.

Passive voice: The light was switched off.

Sentence: The management asked him to resign.

Passive voice: He was asked to resign.

Sentence: The school fined him for being late.

Passive voice: He was fined for being late.

Sentence: You must do your duty.

Passive voice: Your duty must be done.

Sentence: Someone picked my pocket.

Passive voice: My pocket was picked.

Sentences which contain modals:-

Sentence: We must expect All creatures in this world.

Passive: All creatures must be respected in this world.

Sentence: I can speak English.

Passive: English can be spoken by me.

Sentence: He might suffer a loss.

Passive: a loss might be suffered by him.

Sentence: They must win the match.

Passive: The match must be won by them.

Sentence: you must obey your parents.

Passive: your parents must be obeyed by you.

Sentence: Patient should take his medicine regularly.

Passive: Medicines to be taken regularly by the patient.

Note: while changing active sentences (that contain models) into passive, models will remain same.

Change of interrogative sentences

Two types of interrogative sentences are:-

(i) WH questions: who, whom, when ,where, etc.

(ii) Modal or auxiliary questions: do, does, is, am, are, have, etc.

1. WH questions:-

Who changes to 'by whom' in passive.

For example: who teaches you English?

Passive: by whom are you taught English?

Who stole your book?

Passive: by whom was your book stolen?

2. Modal or auxiliary questions:-

For example: does the shopkeeper sell eggs?

Passive: are the eggs sold by the shopkeeper?

Change of imperative sentences:-

1. Command

Sentence: lock all the doors.

Passive: you are ordered to lock all the doors.

Main verb changes to - to + V1

2. Advice/suggestion

Sentence: Speak the truth.

Passive: You are advised to speak the truth.

3. Request

Sentence: Please help to arrange these books.

Passive: you are requested to help me to arrange these books.

Note: In imperative sentences, 'do not' changes to 'not to'.

 Click here to practice 50+ questions on Active and Passive for thorough understanding.

Essay-02 My Three Passions by Bertrand Russel

Class Notes - English - XI - Elective - Woven Words - Essay:02

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

1. Why does Russell call the three passions ‘simple’?
   
   
   The essay actually is the preface to Bertrand Russell's autobiography. Every human is driven by a force, a passion all her/his life. It keeps her/him going. Some desire money, other, fame. There are some who desire simple satisfaction. Bertie's desires that he chased through his life were simple as well. He was driven by passions that any ordinary man or woman might feel for. For one, he wished love and got it too; he believed that it brought ecstasy. He got married four times to tell. Second, he hungered for knowledge and of course we all seek for it. He was a mathematician, a logician, political activist and wrote vastly on philosophy and contributed to literature, for which he received Nobel Prize as well. Third, he shared "an unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind". He took a stand against World War 1 and Vietnam war. Any human will pity a suffering man or a woman for they have a heart and feel, and so did Russell. Russell was a man who did not lust after materialistic gains; he was born in a prominent aristocratic family of Britain and gave away much of what he inherited. He rose his voice in favour of suffragists and world government. He believed in free thought in religion and morals.
   
   
2. Why has he compared the three passions to great winds?
   
   
   Russell compared his three passions to great winds as they were the driving force in his life. They directed his life and gave him the reason for his existence. These great winds are: the love, the knowledge and the pity for the suffering of the mankind. He found ecstasy in the first two that took him to heaven while the third brought him back to the earth with the practical reality. It appears from the words of the author, these are essential parts of his life. It was because of his passions, he found his life to be worth living and that he would gladly live it again if the chance were offered to him. So, his passions are like the great winds of his life directing him all along.
3. What, according to Russell, is the importance of love in life?
   
   
   Bertrand Russell is of the opinion that love brings ecstasy in one's life. He believes that the bliss that love brings is so magnificent that he could sacrifice the rest of his life for this joy of few hours. It relieves one of loneliness of this world. Russell says that in love he has seen the heaven that the great saints and poets have imagined. Here, Russell has given a spiritual dimension to love. He reached beyond through love and it was pity that brought him back.
4. How does Russell’s definition of knowledge differ from what is commonly understood by the term?Why is the quality of pity earth-bound while the other two passions are elevating?
   
   
   Knowledge is a treasure and Russell was a seeker of it. He craved to know and understood the Pythagorean power by which a number holds sway over the flux. He was a much learned man. He did believe that he achieved a little of it as well and yet he yearned for more. The understanding of the higher subjects, why the stars shine? He beseeched beyond all this and it in turn took him upward toward the heavens.
5. Why is the quality of pity earth-bound while the other two passions are elevating?
   
   Bertrand Russell had three passions governing his life all through. The first two being love and knowledge, which elevated him and took him higher to the heavens that great poets and saints have imagined. However, he said that the third one, i.e., pity, brought him back to the Earth, the reality. The pain in the echoing cries reverberated in his heart. All the sorrow in the wide world forced him to return to the Earth; the children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people that become a hated burden to their children. Russell was moved by the loneliness and poverty and pain that mocked human life. He imagined the ideal life of a human without any suffering and sorrow. So, he longed to alleviate the evil, however, he too suffered. He yet respected the human life and found it worth living and fought throughout his life against all evils. Bertrand fought against the Vietnam war and supported suffragists. Throughout his life he fought in favour of mankind to make this world a better place to live.
6. How have the three passions contributed to the quality of Russell’s life?
   
   
   The three passions, the great winds, in the Russell's life contributed immensely to its making. He found his life worth living and had he been given a chance, he would have lived it again. It were not just passions but the three vital virtues governing his life. These gave him directions and were behind all his actions. Bertrand Russell believed in love, knowledge and pity. Whether it was his relationships with women, or fighting against Vietnam war, his stand on Israel, or his support to suffragists it was always these three ideals that ruled all his actions.
   
   

Arms and the Man - Notes for XI Elective English

Class Notes - XI - Elective English - Arms and the Man

Play Summary | Central Idea | Characters

Play Summary

The play begins in the bedroom of Raina Petkoff in a Bulgarian town in 1885, during the Serbo-Bulgarian War. As the play opens, Catherine Petkoff and her daughter, Raina, have just heard that the Bulgarians have scored a tremendous victory in a cavalry charge led by Raina's fiancé, Major Sergius Saranoff, who is in the same regiment as Raina's father, Major Paul Petkoff. Raina is so impressed with the noble deeds of her fiancé that she fears that she might never be able to live up to his nobility. At this very moment, the maid, Louka, rushes in with the news that the Serbs are being chased through the streets and that it is necessary to lock up the house and all of the windows. Raina promises to do so later, and Louka leaves. But as Raina is reading in bed, shots are heard, there is a noise at the balcony window, and a bedraggled enemy soldier with a gun appears and threatens to kill her if she makes a sound. After the soldier and Raina exchange some words, Louka calls from outside the door; she says that several soldiers want to search the house and investigate a report that an enemy Serbian soldier was seen climbing her balcony. When Raina hears the news, she turns to the soldier. He says that he is prepared to die, but he certainly plans to kill a few Bulgarian soldiers in her bedroom before he dies. Thus, Raina impetuously decides to hide him. The soldiers investigate, find no one, and leave. Raina then calls the man out from hiding; she nervously and absentmindedly sits on his gun, but she learns that it is not loaded; the soldier carries no cartridges. He explains that instead of carrying bullets, he always carries chocolates into battle. Furthermore, he is not an enemy; he is a Swiss, a professional soldier hired by Serbia. Raina gives him the last of her chocolate creams, which he devours, maintaining that she has indeed saved his life. Now that the Bulgarian soldiers are gone, Raina wants the "chocolate cream soldier" (as she calls him) to climb back down the drainpipe, but he refuses to; whereas he could climb up, he hasn't the strength to climb down. When Raina goes after her mother to help, the "chocolate cream soldier" crawls into Raina's bed and falls instantly asleep. In fact, when they re-enter, he is sleeping so soundly that they cannot awaken him.

Act II begins four months later in the garden of Major Petkoff's house. The middle-aged servant Nicola is lecturing Louka on the importance of having proper respect for the upper class, but Louka has too independent a soul to ever be a "proper" servant. She has higher plans for herself than to marry someone like Nicola, who, she insists, has the "soul of a servant." Major Petkoff arrives home from the war, and his wife Catherine greets him with two bits of information: she suggests that Bulgaria should have annexed Serbia, and she tells him that she has had an electric bell installed in the library. Major Sergius Saranoff, Raina's fiancé and leader of the successful cavalry charge, arrives, and in the course of discussing the end of the war, he and Major Petkoff recount the now-famous story of how a Swiss soldier escaped by climbing up a balcony and into the bedroom of a noble Bulgarian woman. The women are shocked that such a crude story would be told in front of them. When the Petkoffs go into the house, Raina and Sergius discuss their love for one another, and Raina romantically declares that the two of them have found a "higher love."

When Raina goes to get her hat so that they can go for a walk, Louka comes in, and Sergius asks if she knows how tiring it is to be involved with a "higher love." Then he immediately tries to embrace the attractive maid. Since he is being so blatantly familiar, Louka declares that Miss Raina is no better than she; Raina, she says, has been having an affair while Sergius was away, but she refuses to tell Sergius who Raina's lover is, even though Sergius accidently bruises Louka's arm while trying to wrest a confession from her. When he apologizes, Louka insists that he kiss her arm, but Sergius refuses and, at that moment, Raina re-enters. Sergius is then called away, and Catherine enters. The two ladies discuss how incensed they both are that Sergius related the tale about the escaping soldier. Raina, however, doesn't care if Sergius hears about it; she is tired of his stiff propriety. At that moment, Louka announces the presence of a Swiss officer with a carpetbag, calling for the lady of the house. His name is Captain Bluntschli. Instantly, they both know he is the "chocolate cream soldier" who is returning the Major's old coat that they disguised him in. As they make rapid, desperate plans to send him away, Major Petkoff hails Bluntschli and greets him warmly as the person who aided them in the final negotiations of the war; the old Major insists that Bluntschli must their houseguest until he has to return to Switzerland.

Act III begins shortly after lunch and takes place in the library. Captain Bluntschli is attending to a large amount of confusing paperwork in a very efficient manner, while Sergius and Major Petkoff merely observe. Major Petkoff complains about a favorite old coat being lost, but at that moment Catherine rings the new library bell, sends Nicola after the coat, and astounds the Major by thus retrieving his lost coat. When Raina and Bluntschli are left alone, she compliments him on his looking so handsome now that he is washed and brushed. Then she assumes a high and noble tone and chides him concerning certain stories which he has told and the fact that she has had to lie for him. Bluntschli laughs at her "noble attitude" and says that he is pleased with her demeanor. Raina is amused; she says that Bluntschli is the first person to ever see through her pretensions, but she is perplexed that he didn't feel into the pockets of the old coat which she lent him; she had placed a photo of herself there with the inscription "To my Chocolate Cream Soldier." At this moment, a telegram is brought to Bluntschli relating the death of his father and the necessity of his coming home immediately to make arrangements for the six hotels that he has inherited. As Raina and Bluntschli leave the room, Louka comes in wearing her sleeve in a ridiculous fashion so that her bruise will be obvious. Sergius enters and asks if he can cure it now with a kiss. Louka questions his true bravery; she wonders if he has the courage to marry a woman who is socially beneath him, even if he loved the woman. Sergius asserts that he would, but he is now engaged to a girl so noble that all such talk is absurd. Louka then lets him know that Bluntschli is his rival and that Raina will marry the Swiss soldier. Sergius is incensed. He sees Bluntschli and immediately challenges him to a duel; then he retracts when Raina comes in and accuses him of making love to Louka merely to spy on her and Bluntschli. As they are arguing, Bluntschli asks for Louka, who has been eavesdropping at the door. She is brought in, Sergius apologizes to her, kisses her hand, and thus they become engaged. Bluntschli asks permission to become a suitor for Raina's hand, and when he lists all of the possessions which he has (200 horses, 9600 pairs of sheets, ten thousand knives and forks, etc.), permission for the marriage is granted, and Bluntschli says that he will return in two weeks to marry Raina. Succumbing with pleasure, Raina gives a loving smile to her "chocolate cream soldier."

Theme / Central Idea of the Play

One of Shaw's aims in this play is to debunk the romantic heroics of war; he wanted to present a realistic account of war and to remove all pretensions of nobility from war. It is not, however, an anti-war play; instead, it is a satire on those attitudes which would glorify war. To create this satire, Shaw chose as his title the opening lines of Virgil's Aeneid, the Roman epic which glorifies war and the heroic feats of man in war, and which begins, "Of arms and the man I sing. . . ."

When the play opens, we hear about the glorious exploits which were performed by Major Sergius Saranoff during his daring and magnificent cavalry raid, an event that turned the war against the Serbs toward victory for the Bulgarians. He thus becomes Raina Petkoff's ideal hero; yet the more that we learn about this raid, the more we realize that it was a futile, ridiculous gesture, one that bordered on an utter suicidal escapade.

In contrast, Captain Bluntschli's actions in Raina's bedroom strike us, at first, as being the actions of a coward. (Bluntschli is a Swiss, a professional soldier fighting for the Serbs.) He climbs up a water pipe and onto a balcony to escape capture, he threatens a defenseless woman with his gun, he allows her to hide him behind the curtains, and then he reveals that he carries chocolates rather than cartridges in his cartridge box because chocolates are more practical on the battlefield. Yet, as the play progresses, Bluntschli's unheroic actions become reasonable when we see that he survives, whereas had the war continued, Sergius' absurd heroic exploits would soon have left him dead.

Throughout the play, Shaw arranged his material so as to satirize the glories associated with war and to ultimately suggest that aristocratic pretensions have no place in today's wars, which are won by using business-like efficiency, such as the practical matters of which Bluntschli is a master. For example, Bluntschli is able to deal with the business of dispensing an army to another town with ease, while this was a feat that left the aristocrats (Majors Petkoff and Saranoff) completely baffled. This early play by Shaw, therefore, cuts through the noble ideals of war and the "higher love" that Raina and Sergius claim to share; Arms and the Man presents a world where the practical man who lives with no illusions and no poetic views about either love or war is shown to be the superior creature.

Characters in the Play

Captain Bluntschli: A professional soldier from Switzerland who is serving in the Serbian army. He is thirty-four years old, and he is totally realistic about the stupidity of war.

Raina Petkoff: The romantic idealist of twenty-three who views war in terms of noble and heroic deeds.

Sergius Saranoff: The extremely handsome young Bulgarian officer who leads an attack against the Serbs which was an overwhelming success.

Major Petkoff The inept, fifty-year-old father of Raina; he is wealthy by Bulgarian standards, but he is also unread, uncouth, and incompetent.

Catherine Petkoff: Raina's mother; she looks like and acts like a peasant, but she wears fashionable dressing gowns and tea gowns all the time in an effort to appear to be a Viennese lady.

Louka The Petkoffs' female servant; she is young and physically attractive, and she uses her appearance for ambitious preferment.

Nicola: A realistic, middle-aged servant who is very practical.

Essay-04 Tribal Verse by G.N. Devy

Class Notes - English - XI - Electictive - Woven Words - Essays:04

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

1. Identify the common characteristics shared by tribal communities all over the world.
   
   
   The essayist identifies some common characteristics shared by tribal communities all over the world. The tribals live in groups that are cohesive and organically unified. They show very little interest in accumulating wealth or in using labour as a device to gather interest and capital. The tribals accept a world view in which nature, human beings and God are intimately linked and they believe in the human ability to spell and interpret truth. They live more by intuition than reason, they consider the space around them more sacred than secular, and their sense of time is personal rather than objective.
2. What distinguishes the tribal imagination from the secular imagination?
   
   
   The tribal imagination is, according to the author, dreamlike and hallucinatory. It admits fusion between various planes of existence and levels of time in a natural way. These characteristics distinguish the tribal imagination from the secular imagination. In tribal stories, oceans fly in the sky as birds, mountains swim in the water as fish, animals speak as humans and stars grow like plants. In tribal imagination, stars, seas, mountains, trees, men and animals, can be angry, sad or happy.
3. How does G.N. Devy bring out the importance of the oral literary tradition?
   
   G. N. Devy brings out the importance of the oral literary tradition by referring to the richness of the works of the tribals that have been handed down from one generation to the other orally. He tries to bring home the point that though the literary compositions have been transmitted orally yet thematically and ornamentally they are very rich. The stories and songs that have come down to the tribals through oral tradition are unique. These compositions present the exclusive world view of the tribals. He points out that the wealth and variety of these works is very enormous. In order to show the importance of the oral literary tradition, Devy throws light on the various characteristics of the tribal arts. He shows that one of the main characteristics of tribal arts is their distinct manner of constructing space and imagery, which might be described as hallucinatory. Playfulness is another dimension of this tradition. Devy advocates that proper recognition should be given to the oral literary tradition in view of its variety and richness.
4. List the distinctive features of the tribal arts.
   
   

   According to the essayist G. N. Devy, the tribal arts display many distinctive features.

   
   

   One of the distinctive features of tribal arts is their distinct manner of constructing space and imagery, which might be described as 'hallucinatory'. In both oral and visual forms of representation, tribal artists seem to interpret verbal or pictorial space as demarcated by an extremely flexible 'frame'. The boundaries between art and non art become almost invisible. In a tribal Ramayana, an episode from the Mahabharata makes a sudden and surprising appearance; tribal paintings contain a curious mixture of traditional and modern imagery.

   
   

   The tribal arts follow strict convention. Every tribal performance and creation has, at its back, another such performance or creation belonging to a previous occasion. The creativity of the tribal artist lies in adhering to the past while, at the same time, slightly subverting it.

   
   

   Playfulness is the soul of tribal arts. The tribal arts rarely assume a serious or pretentious tone. The tribal arts are relaxed and never tense.

   
   

   The tribal oral stories and songs employ bilingualism in a complex manner.
5. ‘New literature’ is a misnomer for the wealth of the Indian literary tradition. How does G.N. Devy explain this?
   
   According to the essayist, the tribal Literature should not be called 'New Literature' as this has been in existence for many years. The songs and stories of the tribals have been transmitted orally and as these have not been written down so many people have been unaware of them. The essayist contradicts the views of the western literary critics who have termed tribal literature as 'New Literature'. He says that there is nothing new in this, what might be new is the present attempt to see imaginative expression in tribal language not as folklore but as literature and to hear tribal speech not as a dialect but as a language.

Essay-03 - Patterns of Creativity

Class Notes - English - XI - Electictive - Woven Words - Essay:03

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

1. How does Shelley’s attitude to science differ from that of Wordsworth and Keats?
   
   
   
   Wordsworth in his poem 'A Poet's Epitaph' looks at science with a critical mind. Even in the poem 'Tables Turned' he praises nature and appreciates the beauty it gives to the humanity: 
   
   "Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;"
   "Enough of Science and of Art;
   Close up those barren leaves;
   Come forth, and bring with you a heart
   That watches and receives."
   
   

   Wordsworth requests us to be more inclined towards Nature because there is more wisdom in it. Keats in his poem 'Lamia' talks of two facets of human nature: one is sensual and other emotional. Keats calls philosophy destructive and pleasure unreal and calls them inseparable. However, it is not that one must take Wordsworth's and Keat's take as absolute. Shelley, for instance, is of a different opinion. For scientists it is best if they consider Shelley. A. N. Whitehead's testimony called Shelley's attitude to Science, an opposite pole to that of Wordsworth. He loved science, and was never tired of expressing in poetry the thoughts, which it suggests. Science symbolised to him joy, and peace, and illumination.
2. ‘It is not an accident that the most discriminating literary criticism of Shelley’s thought and work is by a distinguished scientist, Desmond King-Hele.’ How does this statement bring out the meeting point of poetry and science? 
   
   
   A Desmond King-Hele, a British physicist, is the author of Shelley: His Thought and Work. He said that Shelley's attitude to science emphasises the surprising modern climate of thoughts in which he chose to live. Shelley describes the mechanisms of nature with a precision and wealth of detail. It is a perfect fusion of poetry and science. A scientist critically reviewing a poet's work on science. S. Chandrasekhar points out two examples from Shelley's poetry in support of what is said about him. He points out that in his poem Cloud, a creative myth, a scientific monograph, and a gay picaresque tale of cloud adventure are fused together. Then he cites an example from Prometheus Unbound, which has been described by Herbert Read as the greatest expression ever given to humanity's desire for intellectual light and spiritual liberty.
3. What do you infer from Darwin’s comment on his indifference to literature as he advanced in years? 
   
   
   Darwin, a great scientist, known for his work On the Origin of Species, enjoyed literature only until he was 30, as he said. He enjoyed poetic works of Byron, Coleridge, Shelley, etc. immensely. Shakespeare's historical plays gave him much pleasure. However, as he advanced in his age to reach the benchmark of 30, the charm faded and he began losing interest in pictures and music that once gave him great delight. He tried reading poetry and Shakespeare; however, he found it so intolerably dull that it nauseated him. It is surprising that the answer to this change is in Darwin's own statement. His mind had become some kind of a  grinding machine to process laws out of facts. It caused atrophy of that part of the brain on which higher tastes depended. It was hard for Darwin to infer it as well and, thus, his romance with literature died away.
4. How do the patterns of creativity displayed by scientists differ from those displayed by poets? 
   
   
   Poets are the bards celebrating the nature surrounding them. While, scientists are the ones to harvest nature and its mechanism and mark inventions. Poets such as Wordsworth and Keats criticise humans of exploiting nature. Whereas, scientists on the other hand utilize the given resources of nature to create and invent. However, it is not that there is an enmity between poets and scientists. Shelley said, undoubtedly the promoters of utility, in this limited sense, have their appointed office in society They make space and give time.Here we have Darwin, who enjoyed literature immensely, however, until he was thirty. He said later,' My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts but why this should have caused the atrophy of that part of the brain alone on which the higher tastes depend.Thus, it can be understood, while the poets celebrate the present and arrest it making it all immortal, the scientists create and invent leading us to a tomorrow, thus, marking a difference.
5. What is the central argument of the speaker?
   
   
   In the essay patterns of creativity, S. Chandrasekhar tries to figure out the reason for the difference in the patterns of creativity among the practitioners in the arts and practitioners in the sciences. He did not answer it, rather, he made an assortment of remarks that bore the answer. He cites examples explaining how poets and scientists view each other defining the difference in their views. There are poets such as Wordsworth and Keats who are worshippers of nature, who believe that humans sabotage nature by the technological advancement. However, there are poets like Shelley, who do poetry on science. It is difficult to segregate the views and put them into water tight compartments. Darwin, for instance enjoyed literature immensely as it gave him utmost joy, but only till the age of 30. W. B. Yeats, in praise of Shelley's A Defence of Poetry, called it the profoundest essay on the foundation of poetry in the English language The author of the essay, Chandrasekhar wonders in the end that why is there no such A Defence of Science written by a scientist of equal endowment. Perhaps the answer to the question he knew already.

TALKING ABOUT THE TEXT

1. ‘Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world’.
   
   
   Shelley in his famous essay, A Defence of Poetry, made the given statement. In his work, Shelley expressed his view on poetry and poets. The power of poetry and the beauty of it. It is true that poetry makes every thing immortal by arresting its enchanting beauty. It not just reflects, it has the power to ignite minds and bring change. Poetry inspires humanity. Like Shelley said, ? oets are...the mirrors or the gigantic shadows which futurity casts upon the present; the words which express what they understand not; the trumpets which sing to battle and feel not what they inspire; the influence which is moved not, but moves.It is poetry that bears the future and inspire minds. It beholds the past and mirrors the present as well. Poets are the subtle revolutionaries of our society. In fact, not just poets but all the great authors as well. They are the force that drive the society to newness and are moral critics. They participate in the society not just as viewers, but they keep a watch and express their criticism or appreciation through their work.
2. Poetry and science are incompatible.
   
   
   There are two perspectives to every issue. While poets like Wordsworth and Keats condemn man of exploiting nature and moving towards science, Shelley is a scientific poet, who even in his poems like his Cloud. Shelley loved science and expressed it in his poetry.? It symbolised to him joy, and peace, and illumination. Charles Darwin, being such a great scientist was immensely fond of literature, especially in his youth. However, another scientist, Faraday, who was absolutely engrossed in his scientific experiments about electricity and made great invention. It is always difficult to conclude whether poets and scientists are compatible or not. There will be many such poets and scientists fond of science and poetry. While there will be many who are only concerned about their subject.
3. ‘On reading Shelley’s A Defence of Poetry, the question insistently occurs why there is no similar A Defence of  Science written by a scientist of equal endowment.’
   
   
   A person who is passionate about her/his subject is bound to praise it profoundly. The only difference might be in the medium of expression. While a poet chooses words to praise his subject, a scientist may choose an invention to express his passion. This is natural. Thus, it is so that Shelley came up with a writing piece and Faraday discovering the laws of electromagnetic induction and his discoveries led him to formulate concepts such as 'lines of force' and 'fields of force'. It is not that scientists do not defend their subject, Faraday did defend his discoveries by answering Gladstone that there was every probability of the government taxing the electricity soon. Just the medium one chooses to defend their subject matters.

APPRECIATION

1. How does the ‘assortment of remarks’ compiled by the author give us an understanding of the ways of science and poetry? 
   
   [answer same as that of Q.5. Modify the answer accordingly]
2. Considering that this is an excerpt from a lecture, how does the commentary provided by the speaker string the arguments together? 
3. The Cloud ‘fuses together a creative myth, a scientific monograph, and a gay picaresque tale of cloud adventure’— explain.

L-3 The Rocking-horse Winner - XI English Elective - Woven Words

SUMMARY OF THE STORY 'THE ROCKING HORSE WINNER'

"The Rocking-Horse Winner" by D.H. Lawrence is about a boy named Paul, whose family is constantly troubled by a lack of money. Paul's mother believes that luck is what makes someone wealthy, and she feels that both she and her husband lack this luck. Determined to change their fate, Paul discovers that by riding his toy rocking-horse, he can predict the winners of horse races.

With the help of the family gardener, Bassett, and his Uncle Oscar, Paul starts betting on races and wins large sums of money. He secretly gives this money to his mother in hopes of making her happy, but her desire for more wealth only grows stronger.

As Paul becomes more obsessed with finding the winning horse for the big Derby race, he pushes himself to exhaustion. In a final attempt, Paul rides his rocking-horse furiously to determine the winner—Malabar. Although he wins a huge sum of money, the effort takes a toll on him, and he falls seriously ill. Paul dies shortly after, leaving his family wealthy but at a great personal cost.

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT (Q&A)

1. What was the reason for young Paul’s restlessness at the beginning of the story? How did it find expression?
   
   ANSWER:
   
   Young Paul is restless at the beginning of the story because he was told by his mother that they were not lucky therefore don't have enough money to have a car and other luxuries of life. Besides young Paul had a feeling that deep down his mother was not as happy as she appeared to be. She blamed young Paul's father for not being lucky and making her unlucky as well because she was married to him. 
   This restlessness found an expression in the form of young Paul riding his rocking horse and mentally intensified thinking that he was lucky. While riding the horse young Paul appeared to posses some kind supernatural power and his eyes shone bright. 
   
   
2. Why do you think Paul’s mother was not satisfied with the yearly birthday gift of 1,000 pounds for five years?
   
   ANSWER:
   
   Paul's mother was not satisfied with the yearly birthday gift of 1000 pounds for five years because she was an unsatisfied lot. She always had the feeling that she deserved a better treatment from life and this resulted in not showing any enthusiasm for the handsome birthday gift from Paul. Instead Paul started to hear more whispers from the house for more money.
   
3. What was the reason for the anxiety of Paul’s mother as he grew older?
   
   ANSWER:
   
   The anxiety of Paul's mother grew as Paul grew older because now his tense behaviour, and too much indulgence in horse races and betting was taking a toll on his health. She was very concerned so she inquired to her house maid Miss Wilmot about him in the middle of the party. She also tried to send away Paul to a boarding school so that he could focus more on his studies and less on horse races. Little did she realise that the Paul is the victim of her own making. His efforts to prove himself lucky and bring more money in the house took him to the border of autism and finally he paid for his schizophrenic with his life.
   
4. Paul’s final bet made the family rich but cost him his life. Explain. 
   
   ANSWER:
   
   Paul is a child who desperately seeks her mother's love and attention. He want to hear that unlike his father he is lucky. But the mother over burdened with the extra baggage of civility and modern lifestyle doesn't realise her child's intentions. Instead there was a feeling in the household that they need more money and even more money. Paul takes it upon himself to prove that he is lucky. He schizophrenically rides his rocking horse and imagines himself lucky. This he did frequently. Meanwhile he started betting on horse races with the help of Basset, their gardener. He bet only on the horses which he happened to know to be lucky during his frantic rocking horse ridings.
   As the events proceeded and he gifted his mother a handsome amount of 5000 pounds, the voices in the house for money grew louder. The pressure on him compelled to bet on races which he shouldn't have put his money in because he received no hint for the lucky horse from the rocking horse ridings. But he did bet and lost. This made him more morose. Before the Derby he was extremely schizophrenic to get a winner. He stopped eating and thought all the time about the race and winning. He spent much time on his rocking horse to get a clue. In the process he became autistic and seriously ill, but got his hint. He indicated Basset to bet on the horse Malabar and he won 80,000 pounds. But it all was a little too much for the young child and he died.

TALKING ABOUT THE TEXT (Q&A)

1. 'Luck is necessary for success in life'.
   
   ANSWER:
   
   There are many who believe luck is important and one may find many such who believe in hard work. It is not though that those who believe in luck do not work hard. It is just that they believe in “do your best and God will do the rest However, there are those who completely blame their fate for everything and do not do anything to change or improve it. Still there are people that believe that hard work is greater than luck and that it has the power to change the destiny. One may find various beliefs around them and it depends on what they chose to believe in.
   
   
2. Although Paul's mother liked to be rich she did not approve of betting on horses.
   
   ANSWER:
   
   Paul's mother foolishly wished to be rich and yet was not able to achieve or materialise her desire. She blamed it on her husband for being unlucky. However, she was one of those humans who do not tread as per their cloth. She was used to a lavish lifestyle and blamed her husband and misfortune for low income. Yet there was one thing appreciable about her that she was against gambling. She did remark in her conversation with her brother that she had seen her family members pursuing it and how it led to their fall. She advised her son to not indulge in it and made him promise that he will not think about racing horses any more.
   
   
3. What were the voices that Paul heard? Did they lead him to success in the real sense?
   
   ANSWER:
   
   Although the house Paul and his family lived in was a pleasant one, the money they had was not enough to maintain the social position they had to keep up. The mother realised that father had no luck to make enough money so she decided to do something on her own. It was then that the house started whispering from every corner that “there must be more money The sounds started haunting the place and made Paul very uncomfortable and distressed and disturbed him. Though there were expensive gifts coming on Christmas, Paul could hear behind the shining rocking horse that “there must be more money It is plausible that Paul was schizophrenic and imagined the voices on being stressed due to their misery. As it is written in the text that no body said it aloud and there is no mention of anyone else hearing such voices, it is clear that Paul imagined his fears giving them voice. Paul's fear transferred into him through his mother constantly haunted him and became his driving force. The boy was oedipal and unknowingly wished to replace his father from his mother's life. So, the autistic boy drove his shinning horse ferociously until he “got there and would be sure of the horse that would win the next race. There were times when he was not sure, so he would be careful. The gardener Bassett was his partner throughout. Later even uncle Oscar joined as such was the conviction with which Paul used to declare the winning horse's name, and the horse used to win in actual. Call it clairvoyance or sheer luck, which he aspired to have to prove to be worthy of his mother's luck, Paul made money by betting on horses and finally left 80,000 pounds for his family by losing himself.

APPRECIATION

1. Examine the communication channels in the story between
   a. Paul and his mother
   b. Paul and Bassett
   c. Paul and his uncle
   d. Basset and Paul's uncle
   e. Paul's mother and his uncle
   
   ANSWER:
   
   a. Paul and his mother shared the most intimate conversation through eyes. Though they were not actually love bound to each other as in the first paragraph, the author says that it was the children and the mother alone who knew that there was no love in their relation, they knew it because they read in each other's eyes.

   
   

   b. The friendship of Paul and Bassett or to say more clearly their partnership was an affectionate relation between them. Bassett knew and understood what the rest failed to even notice. He brought all the news of racing horses to Paul and then the clairvoyant Paul will decide in his trance who was to be the winner.

   
   

   c. Paul and uncle Oscar became partners soon after uncle discovers that Paul has an uncanny knowledge that makes him predict the winning horse. However, there is more to it, he realises that the whole betting thing was making Paul nervous and was hampering his health. However, Oscar Creswell asks Paul on how to win by betting, to which the child innocently replies that he just knows who is going to win once he “gets there".

   
   
   

   d. Bassett and uncle Creswell shared a bond since long back. However, as Bassett had promised to Paul he never told about his betting to uncle Oscar as well. But later he found himself explaining things to Creswell and the three of them became partners.

   
   
   

   e. It would be totally unfair to call Hester that harsh a lady for she did care about her children after all, however, she gave importance to materialistic gains. When she realised her sons obsession with the racing horses, she asked Bassett the gardener to keep Paul away from Oscar so it did not affect her son's health. She realised that the obsession was proving to be neurotic for her son and she wanted her son to be healthy and for that she risked her relation with her dear brother.
   
   
2. How has the author linked the symbol of the rocking-horse to Paul's triumphs at the races?
   
   ANSWER:
   

   The rocking-horse is one of the three symbols present in the story that Lawrence has dealt with throughout the story. The horse is symbolic of the victory that Paul achieves at last. The materialistic gain and the importance of money over love. The whispering that haunts Paul that “there must be more money and the rocking-horse are interrelated. The want of money to achieve the love of mother that he never had, he goes on betting and earning more and more, thus, proving his luck. The boy when asked his mother for what is luck, she explained him that luck is what brings one money. The boy is disheartened to know that his father has no luck and so will not make money. He is sad at the implication that he will never have his mother's love who is all consumed by indebtedness. The boy, autistic as he is, with some clairvoyance rides his horse harder and ferociously till he “gets there It shows his desperation to physically win his mother's love by winning the race and thus earning more money, as “there must be more money Post the ride, Paul will stand facing the horse with his legs apart and he would look at the bent head of the horse and its shining eyes. These interpret just one thing, the determination, the wanting, the longing for money. It is about success, money, love and most importantly, winning. And Paul gets it all, he wins and gets her mother the money through his triumphs in races. And he even found her love as she grew too concerned about her son's obsession with the races that eventually killed him.
   
3. The ending of the story is an instance of irony. Suppose Paul had not died at the end, how would you have reacted to the story?

   
   ANSWER:
   

   It is true that a tragedy digs a deeper mark than a happy ending. It causes an emotional catharsis in the audience. Had the story had a happy ending it would have been pleasant, however, the reader would not have felt the emotions and passion that drove Paul to his inevitable climax. Yet some may find it not justified to have killed the boy at the end of the story that went so well with Paul achieving what he wanted all the while, money and love both. He sacrificed his life to bring to his mother what his father couldn't and thus proved to be worthy of her affection, which hungered for. However, one can not have all the happiness in the world. They say that God is cruel when he gives us something, he gives it to us only with one had while taking away with the other our most cherished possession. So, it can not be said that the death of Paul was justified or other way round; however, it is ironical. Had he lived post the Derby win, who knows what shape the story might have taken. Maybe what happens happens for some good yet it would have brought the story to a happy ending had Paul lived.

Poem 01 - The Peacock - English Elective Class XI Notes - Woven Words

Poem 01 - The Peacock

POEM COMPLETE TEXT

His loud sharp call

seems to come from nowhere.

Then, a flash of turquoise

in the pipal tree.

The slender neck arched away from you

  as he descends,

and as he darts away, a glimpse

  of the very end of his tail. 

I was told

that you have to sit in the veranda

  and read a book,

preferably one of your favourites

  with great concentration.

The moment you begin to live

inside the book

a blue shadow will fall over you.

The wind will change direction,

The steady hum of bees

In the bushes nearby

Will stop.

The cat will awaken and stretch.

Something has broken your attention;

And if you look up in time

You might see the peacock

turning away as he gathers in his tail

to shut those dark glowing eyes,

violet fringed with golden amber.

It is the tail that has to blink

for eyes that are always open.

THEME

The theme of this poem is the beauty of nature and the importance of being present in the moment to fully appreciate it. The peacock is used as a symbol of this beauty and is described in vivid detail, capturing the reader's attention and encouraging them to take notice of the world around them. The poem also suggests that we need to let go of distractions and be fully immersed in the present moment in order to truly appreciate the beauty that surrounds us.

SUMMARY OF THE POEM

At the outset of the poem, the poet portrays the peacock's grandeur and loveliness. Throughout the verses, the poet anthropomorphizes the peacock as a male entity, referring to him as 'he.' The bird's piercing cry is difficult to locate, as it appears to emanate from an indiscernible source. The sound actually comes from the peacock, which can effortlessly fly to the top of a pipal or peepal tree, where it is often hidden. Against the verdant background of the pipal tree, the peacock's distinct turquoise hue (a combination of blue and green) glimmers. When it senses a human watching it, it moves its slim neck and darts away, leaving behind only a fleeting glimpse of its tail.

The poet now describes a small ritual for seeing a peacock that she has been advised to follow. One should sit on the veranda and immerse themselves in a book, preferably a cherished favorite. Once the reader is fully absorbed in the book's world, a blue shadow will descend upon them, and the wind will shift, subtly drawing attention to the surroundings. The atmosphere grows tranquil ("The steady hum of bees /In the bushes nearby will stop").

The peacock's cry, similar to that of a cat, will be audible ("The cat will awaken and stretch"), drawing attention. If spotted in time, the observer may catch a glimpse of the peacock. The peacock gracefully turns away, its tail feathers closed like shut eyelids, revealing violet borders and golden amber fillers. "It is the tail that has to blink" (the motion of the tail swaying is likened to blinking), but "the eyes are always open," and the patterns never fade. The observer will feel a sense of inner radiance and stillness that is deep and profound.

The scene's depiction highlights the difficulty of seeing a peacock (underscoring the bird's significance), as peacocks are revered, sacred birds that are not frequently encountered in the world. In Indian culture, peacocks are considered celestial and symbolize beauty and power.

UNDERSTANDING THE POEM

1. Comment on the lines that make you visualise the colourful image of the peacock.
   
   
   The lines which help us visualise the colourful image of the peacock are as follows:
   “a flash of turquoise”, “A blue shadow will fall over you", “To shut those dark glowing eyes”, “Violet fringed with golden amber”.
   These lines give us a clear picture of the magnificent bird in all its glory.
2. What are the cues that signal the presence of the peacock in the vicinity?
   
   
   A loud sharp call, flash of turquoise, a disappearing tail end, a blue shadow, the wind changing its direction and the awakening of the cat and its stretch are an indication that a peacock is in the vicinity.
3. How does the connection drawn between the tail and the eyes add to the descriptive detail of the poem?
   
   
   The pattern on the tail of a peacock looks like eyes, but these eyes cannot be blinked. Rather the tail when contracted appears to give an illusion of blinking a lot of eyes together. This adds to the descriptive details of the poem.
4. How does the poem capture the elusive nature of the peacock?
   
   
   The poem captures the elusive nature of the peacock by describing its activities that signal its presence indirectly. For example in the opening line of the poem we hear “His loud sharp call”, or we get a “glimpse of the very end of his tail” in the last line of the first stanza.
   If someone tries his best to get a glimpse of the elusive bird, he “might see the peacock turning away as he gathers his tail”.
   Such a description presents a very elusive nature of the peacock.
5. The peacock is a colourful bird. How does the poem capture the various colours that its plumage displays?
   
   
   The poem captures the various colours of the peacock’s plumage by use of expressions like “turquoise”, “blue shadow”, “dark glowing eyes” and “Violet fringed with golden amber”. These expressions as we can see present the colours associated with peacocks very beautifully.

Poem-02 - Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds - English Elective Class XI Notes - Woven Words

Poem-02 - Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds by William Shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

PARAPHRASE OF THE POEM

Let me not declare any reasons why two true-minded people should not be married. Love is not love which changes when it finds a change in circumstances, or bends from its firm stand even when a lover is unfaithful: Oh no! it is a lighthouse that sees storms but it is never shaken; Love is the guiding north star to every lost ship, whose value cannot be calculated, although its altitude can be measured. Love is not at the mercy of Time, though physical beauty comes within the compass of his sickle. Love does not alter with hours and weeks, but, rather, it endures until the last day of life. If I am proved wrong about these thoughts on love, then I recant all that I have written, and no man has ever [truly] loved.

Explanation

The poem is titled "Sonnet 116" and is a sonnet written by William Shakespeare. It is a love poem that celebrates the power and endurance of true love.

The poem begins with the speaker stating that true love is not hindered by external forces or impediments. The love described is not a love that changes with circumstances or that is affected by external influences. Instead, it is an "ever-fixed mark" that remains constant even in the face of adversity.

The speaker then goes on to compare true love to a star that guides wandering ships, emphasizing the importance and value of this type of love. The poem suggests that true love is a force that is not easily swayed by time or external factors.

The next stanza refers to the inevitable effects of time and aging, represented by "rosy lips and cheeks / Within his bending sickle's compass come." However, the speaker argues that true love is not subject to the same limitations and that it endures even in the face of aging and death.

Finally, the poem concludes with the speaker stating that if he is wrong in his beliefs about true love, then he has never written anything of value and no one has ever truly loved. This line reinforces the strength and conviction of the speaker's beliefs about love.

Overall, the poem celebrates the power and endurance of true love, emphasizing that it is a force that remains constant even in the face of adversity and the passing of time.

Imagery Used in the Sonnet 116

Sonnet 116 uses a variety of powerful and vivid imagery to convey the idea of enduring, true love.

In the first quatrain, the speaker uses the metaphor of a "marriage of true minds" to describe the nature of true love. This image evokes the idea of two people who are deeply connected and united in their love for one another.

The second quatrain uses a nautical metaphor to describe true love as an "ever-fixed mark / That looks on tempests and is never shaken." The image of a fixed mark or beacon that guides ships through storms suggests that true love provides stability and direction in difficult times.

The third quatrain compares true love to a star that guides lost ships, suggesting that love is a guiding force that leads people through the challenges of life. The image of the star is also associated with beauty and wonder, emphasizing the idea that true love is a precious and valuable thing.

In the final quatrain, the speaker uses the metaphor of Time as a "bending sickle" that inevitably takes away youth and beauty. However, the speaker argues that true love "bears it out even to the edge of doom," suggesting that it is an enduring force that remains steadfast in the face of aging and death.

Overall, the imagery used in Sonnet 116 emphasizes the strength, endurance, and guiding qualities of true love. By comparing love to enduring symbols such as a fixed mark, a star, and a beacon, the speaker creates a powerful image of love as a guiding force that can lead people through the challenges of life.

NOTES 

marriage...impediments (1-2): T.G. Tucker explains that the first two lines are a "manifest allusion to the words of the Marriage Service: 'If any of you know cause or just impediment why these two persons should not be joined together in holy matrimony'; cf. Much Ado 4.1.12. 'If either of you know any inward impediment why you should not be conjoined.' Where minds are true - in possessing love in the real sense dwelt upon in the following lines - there can be no 'impediments' through change of circumstances, outward appearance, or temporary lapses in conduct." (Tucker, p. 192). 

bends with the remover to remove (4): i.e., deviates ("bends") to alter its course ("remove") with the departure of the lover. 

ever-fixed mark (5): i.e., a lighthouse (mark = sea-mark).

Compare Othello (5.2.305-7): 

Be not afraid, though you do see me weapon'd;

Here is my journey's end, here is my butt,

And very sea-mark of my utmost sail. 

the star to every wandering bark (7): i.e., the star that guides every lost ship (guiding star = Polaris). Shakespeare again mentions Polaris (also known as "the north star") in Much Ado About Nothing (2.1.222) and Julius Caesar (3.1.65). 

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken (8): The subject here is still the north star. The star's true value can never truly be calculated, although its height can be measured. 

Love's not Time's fool (9): i.e., love is not at the mercy of Time. 

Within his bending sickle's compass come (10): i.e., physical beauty falls within the range ("compass") of Time's curved blade. Note the comparison of Time to the Grim Reaper, the scythe-wielding personification of death. 

edge of doom (12): i.e., Doomsday. Compare 1 Henry IV (4.1.141): 

Come, let us take a muster speedily:

Doomsday is near; die all, die merrily. 

_____ 

Sonnet 116 is about love in its most ideal form. The poet praises the glories of lovers who have come to each other freely, and enter into a relationship based on trust and understanding. The first four lines reveal the poet's pleasure in love that is constant and strong, and will not "alter when it alteration finds." The following lines proclaim that true love is indeed an "ever-fix'd mark" which will survive any crisis. In lines 7-8, the poet claims that we may be able to measure love to some degree, but this does not mean we fully understand it. Love's actual worth cannot be known – it remains a mystery. The remaining lines of the third quatrain (9-12), reaffirm the perfect nature of love that is unshakeable throughout time and remains so "ev'n to the edge of doom", or death. 

In the final couplet, the poet declares that, if he is mistaken about the constant, unmovable nature of perfect love, then he must take back all his writings on love, truth, and faith. Moreover, he adds that, if he has in fact judged love inappropriately, no man has ever really loved, in the ideal sense that the poet professes. The details of Sonnet 116 are best described by Tucker Brooke in his acclaimed edition of Shakespeare's poems: 

[In Sonnet 116] the chief pause in sense is after the twelfth line. Seventy-five per cent of the words are monosyllables; only three contain more syllables than two; none belong in any degree to the vocabulary of 'poetic' diction. There is nothing recondite, exotic, or metaphysical in the thought. There are three run-on lines, one pair of double-endings. There is nothing to remark about the rhyming except the happy blending of open and closed vowels, and of liquids, nasals, and stops; nothing to say about the harmony except to point out how the fluttering accents in the quatrains give place in the couplet to the emphatic march of the almost unrelieved iambic feet. In short, the poet has employed one hundred and ten of the simplest words in the language and the two simplest rhyme-schemes to produce a poem which has about it no strangeness whatever except the strangeness of perfection. (Brooke, p. 234)

UNDERSTANDING THE POEM

1. ‘Constancy’ is the theme of the poem. Indicate the words, phrases and images that suggest the theme.
   
   
   "an ever-fixed mark", "never shaken"; "Love’s not Time’s fool", "Love alters not", "bears it out even to the edge of doom" are some of the expressions that suggest the theme that love is permanent.
2. Why do you think the poet has used so many ‘negatives’ to make his statement?
   
   
   ‘negatives’ are an effective tool to prove one’s point. It highlights the other side of the coin to bring home the positive points of the statement very effectively. In this case the poet puts forward all the negative aspects that love is taken for, and then argues that love is something permanent and beyond physical beauty.
3. What does the line ‘I never writ, nor no man ever loved’ imply?It implies that if the poet is proved wrong about these thoughts on love, then he will recant all that he has written, and no man has ever [truly] loved.