On the grasshopper and the Cricket by John keats
-Watch this Video for detailed Explanation-
On the grasshopper and the cricket was first published in the year 1817. It remains one of the Keats most loved poems. It has fourteen lines which qualifies it as a sonnet. Every poet has been inspired by nature, and John Keats was no exception. He was a keen observer of his surrounding and even the smallest of insects didn't escape his attention and admiration.
- READ THIS POEM -
- EXPLANATION -
- 1st Part -
The poetry of earth is never dead:When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead
That is the Grasshopper's - he takes the lead
In summer luxury,- he has never done
With his delights; for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
Explanation :
Like every poet Keats has been attracted towards the beauty of nature. He finds nature beautiful in all seasons not only the hot summer and cold winter. He says that the earth is always singing. When the birds stop singing in the hot summer finding cool place, we find the grasshopper singing and flying from hedge to hedge. He sings tirelessly and when it gets tired, it rests beneath some weed.
- 2nd Part -
The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
On a lone winter evening, when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from stove there shrills
The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills.
On a lone winter evening, when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from stove there shrills
The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills.
Explanation :
When the birds are silent in very cold, the earth never stops and expresses its pleasure through different being like the cricket. It sings the beautiful songs from the stones. It seems to be increasing in warmth every moment and half – asleep human being feels it to be a grasshopper’s song coming from grassy hills.
- WORD MEANINGS -
- Poetry of earth : the song of nature
- Faint : lose consciousness for a short time
- New- mown : used of grass
- Mead : meadow
- Delight : great pleasure
- Weed : a wild plant
- Ceasing : bring to an end
- Frost : freeze
- Shrills : sound of air
- Warmth : moderate heat
- Drowsiness : sleepiness
- QUESTION /ANSWERS -
Q. Discuss the following definition of a poem.
A poem is made of words arranged in a beautiful order. These words, when read aloud with feeling, have a music and meaning of their own.
Q. Find in the poem lines that match the following :
(i) The grasshopper’s happiness never comes to an end.
(ii) The cricket’s song has a warmth that never decreases.
Q. The poetry of earth’ is not made of words. What is it made of, as suggested in the poem?
Q. Which word in stanza 2 is opposite in meaning to ‘the frost’?
Q. The poetry of earth continues round the year through a cycle of two seasons. Mention each with its representative voice.
Q. Which insect is the music provider in summer?
Q. What do birds do in winter ? Why?
Q. Which insect breaks silence of the winter ? How?
Q. What is the meanings of the line: ‘The poetry of earth is never dead’?
Q. What is main theme of the poem?
Q. Where do birds take rest in hot summer day?
Q. Where do grasshoppers take rest when he tired?
Q. In which season cricket sing?
Q. What happens to bird during summer?
Q. Where do the birds hide to avoid the heat of the sun?
Q. Discuss the common features between the grasshopper and the cricket?
Q. What happens during winter?
Q. Which words or phrases suggest a sense of relief from the heat of summer in stanza 1?
Q. Who are half lost in drowsiness and why?
Q. Why does the poet believe that the poetry of earth is never dead?
Q. Whose voice do you hear on summer afternoons? Where does he go when he is tired?
Q. Which insect takes over from the Grasshopper in winter?
Q. The grasshopper takes the lead in summer luxury. He has never done with his delights. What luxuries and delights are being referred here?
Q. Explain what the speaker means when he says, ‘The poetry of earth is ceasing never’.
Q. Why does the Cricket’s song sound like the Grasshopper?
Q. Read the Extract and Answer the Following Questions.
A.
The poetry of earth is never dead:
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead
That is the Grasshopper's - he takes the lead
In summer luxury,- he has never done
With his delights; for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
Q. What is an ongoing process in nature?
Q. Where do birds go when heat of the sun rise?
Q. How has the continuity of music maintained?
Q. Name the figure of speech in the above stanza.
Q. Describe the beauty of the poem.
Q. Whose voice would run from hedge to hedge?
Q. The word cooling means……………..
Q. What does the poet mean by ‘the poetry of earth’?
Q. Why do the birds become faint?
B.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
On a lone winter evening, when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills
The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills.
Q. What is ‘ceasing never’?
Q. Who takes up the job of providing rhythm during winters?
Q. From where do the cricket sing?
Q. What is the impact of cricket and grasshopper music?
Q. Which element of nature has been personified in these lines?
Q. Whose voice is heard from the stones?
Q. What happens during winter?
Q. Who is lost in drowsiness?
Q. Who does the cricket’s song resemble to people lost in drowsiness?
Q. Why does the cricket’s song spread warmth?
- ANSWERS -
- SELF EVALUATION TEST -
This is a quiz based test which is consist of 20 Multiple Choice Questions to test your Understanding about this Chapter...
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