THE POETRY OF EARTH

THE POETRY OF EARTH

“The poetry of earth is never dead”. —Where
does the line occur? What does the poet mean by this?
Or, Explain: “The poetry of earth is ceasing
never”.


ANS. The line occurs in Keats’ poem, ‘The Poetry of Earth’.By this the poet means that songs and music of Nature will never stop. They will go on without any break. Any change in season or weather will not affect this. In summer, the song-birds, being tired in the hot sun, take shelter in cooling shade and stop singing. Even then the song of Nature is heard as the tiny Grasshopper sings merrily while
moving about from hedge to hedge in the meadow. Similarly, in the midst of frosty, silent, bleak winter evening, the poetry of earth continues. The shrill cry of the Cricket breaking the silence of the winter evening reminds the drowsy man of the Grasshopper’s delightful song among the grassy hills.



“When all the birds are faint..."—Why are all
birds faint? What do the birds do? Who takes
up the role of the birds and how?

ANS: Song-birds feel exhausted and are faint owing to the scorching heat of the sun in summer.The birds are the natural songsters of the earth. They sing in joy and express the mood of
the season. But here, the birds are exhausted by the intolerable . heat of summer. So they take shelter in the cool shady trees and fall silent.

When the birds retire to cooling shads and stop singing, the void is filled up by the Grasshopper. He sings merrily. He expresses immense joy as he moves from hedge to hedge in the freshly-mown . meadow. In the absence of the song-birds, he takes the lead, luxuriating in the gaiety and abundance of the season. He becomes the bard of summer.

““A voice will run ..."-Where does the line
occur? What Is the ‘voice’ referred to here?
When will the voice run?
Ans. The line occurs in Keats’ poem, ‘The Poetry of Earth’.

The ‘voice’ referred to here is the voice of the
Grasshopper.

In summer, the hot sun threatens to sap every drop of energy. All song-birds are faint with the
scorching heat of the sun. So they stop singing and take shelter in the cool shade offered by the
leafy boughs of the trees. When the birds retire to cooling shade and stop singing, the
void is filled up by the Grasshopper. The Grasshopper becomes the poet of summer,
chirping merrily from hedge to hedge. He takes the lead, luxuriating in the gaiety and
abundance of the season.
 ‘.. he has never done/With his delights”
—Who is ‘he’? What does he do? What does
the extract mean?

ANS: Here ‘he’ is the Grasshopper.

In summer, the scorching heat of the sun makes all the song-birds exhausted. They become
too tired to sing then. At this hour, the Grasshopper comes forward and sings in joy. He
keeps the flow of the song of Nature alive. He expresses immens. joy, luxuriating in the
gaiety of the season. He becomes the poet of the season. When he becomes tired of singing, he stakes rest beneath some pleasant weed only to resume his song with renewed energy.
 The extract shows the tireless effort of the Grasshopper in making Nature vibrant with his songs. His delights never come to an end. As a result, the poetry of earth goes on forever.

“... he takes the lead”—Who takes the lead?
When does he take the lead? How does he °
take the lead? . :

ANS: The Grasshopper takes the lead in Keats’
sonnet, ‘The Poetry of Earth’.

In summer, song-birds are exhausted by the intolerable heat. They take shelter in the cool
shade offered by the leafy boughs of the trees. They stop singing. So a void is created. At this
moment the Grasshopper takes the lead.

The Grasshopper takes the lead by chirping merrily from hedge to hedge. His song expresses
immense joy. The sound of the Grasshopper fills the air and shows summer luxury. When he is
tired, he rests beneath a pleasant weed for a moment to resume his song with renewed energy. Thus the Grasshopper takes the lead as the poet of summer and keeps the flow of the poetry of earth alive even in the scorching heat of summer.

“That is the Grasshopper’..."-What Is
referred to by ‘that'? What does the poet
mean to say? Why does the poet use capital
letter in Grasshopper?

ANS. Here ‘that’ refers to the song of the Grasshopper.

It is summer. All the song-birds are faint with the scorching heat of the sun. They are now
exhausted. So they have stopped singing and taken shelter in the cool shade offered by the
leafy boughs of the trees. When the birds retire to cooling shade and stop singing, the void is
filled up by the Grasshopper. The Grasshopper becomes the poet of summer by chirping
merrily from hedge to hedge. He takes the lead, luxuriating in the gaiety and abundance of
the season.

The poet personifies the Grasshopper by using capital letter. He imagines the Grasshopper
to be the poet of summer.