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1. “It is half rich Bulgarian, half cheap Viennese.”—Where is this line taken from? What is meant by this quoted line?
This line is taken from Shaw’s play, Arms and the Man.
The bed chamber of Raina, described in the very beginning of the play, has the costly furniture and also the cheap fashionable articles bought from Vienna, the capital of Austria. There is a strange mixture eastern and western fashion.
2. What argument does Raina give to save the fugitive soldier?
Raina in Arms and the Man is full of romantic notions. She is proud as she belongs to the Petkoff family and the Petkoffs are famous for their hospitality. They have a library, the only one in Bulgaria. They go to Bucharest every year for the opera season. She has spent a whole month in Vienna. They are not ignorant country folk. So she will save him from his enemy.
3. What are the heroic qualities in the character of Maurya?
If we look at the character of Maurya, we see that she wages a struggle against the sea and emerges sublime. Her heroism emerges in the capacity she shows for suffering and endurance. Finally she rises to the height of tragic heroine when she transcends her personal grief and prays for every soul.
4. “I never nicked seven that I did not throw ames-ace three times following.”—Who is the speaker? What does the speaker mean by this?
Marlow is the speaker of this quoted line in Goldsmith’s play She Stoops to Conquer.
‘Nicked seven’ and ‘ames-ace’, i.e. ambs-ace are the terms related to the game of cards. In the play, Marlow misses the opportunity to seize Miss Hardcastle’s hand as latter’s father enters the room. So Marlow considers it as his ill luck and says that he loses in this game of cards.
5. “The night has been unruly:”—Who says this? Describe the night after the speaker.
Lennox, one of the noble men in Scotland says this in Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth.
According to Lennox, the chimneys of the house, where he and others had slept, were knocked down by the wind. Lamentations and strange screams were heard in the sky. The owl screeched throughout the night. It was as if the earth was in a fever and there was an earthquake.
6. “Throw physic to the dogs; I’ll none of it.”—Who says this line and to whom? Why does the speaker say so?
Macbeth says this to the doctor.
Macbeth asks the doctor if he has any medicine that could cure the troubles of the mind and brain. When the doctor expresses his inability to cure mental disease, Macbeth claims at the doctor to throw his healing art to the dogs as he would have nothing to do with it.
7. ‘In what distant deeps or skies/ Burnt the fire of thine eyes?’--- Where do these lines occur? Explain this extract.
These lines occur in Blake’s The Tyger.
In this extract, the poet wonders seeing the glaring eyes of the tiger, and enquires the Creator if the tiger soared up to the distant skies or descended to the volcanic depths to obtain the fire of its eyes. The speaker seems to be much impressed by the stupendous creation of the tiger.
8. ‘And on her dulcimer she play’d / Singing on Mount Abora.’—Who was ‘she’? What is ‘dulcimer’? Where is ‘Mount Abora’?
‘She’ was a young unmarried Abyssinian woman as mentioned in Coleridge’s poem, Kubla Khan.
‘Dulcimer’ is a musical instrument with strings which are struck with hand-held hammers.
There is no such mountain as Mount Abora. It is the creation of the poet’s mind to give the poem a purely romantic touch.
9. Shelley seems to be a prophet in Ode to the West Wind. Discuss.
Shelley’s revolutionary zeal dreams of a new era free from all sorts of oppression and misery. The winter of misery and sufferings is sure to give way to a spring of peace and prosperity. At the end of the Ode to the West Wind, Shelley strikes this prophetic note to prove himself the worth of it.
10. “Thou wast not born for death, immortal bird!”—Explain.
Keats obviously thinks of the nightingale’s song unchanged in its appeal from age to age. The song of the bird is too beautiful to die. The bird’s song symbolizes the principle of beauty in all things and thus the thought is of an immortal spirit as contrasted with the mortality of human beings who in each generation admire its beauty.
11. “but strong in will/ To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”—Where do these lines occur? Bring out the essence of these lines.
These are the concluding lines of Tennyson’s Ulysses.
Ulysses and his fellow sailors are firmly determined to make new discoveries, to find what they want and never give up the struggle and admit defeat. Their attitude reflects the typical spirit of the Victorian age.
12. Mention the names of the sylphs and their duties in protecting the chastity of Belinda in The Rape of the Lock.
Zephyretta is in charge of regulating the wind generated by fan; Brillante earrings; Momentilla watching the time; Crispissa guarding Belinda’s favourite lock of hair and Ariel himself is in the charge of Belinda’s lap dog, Shock.
13. ‘Courage was mine, and I had mystery; / Wisdom was mine, and I had mastery:’—Who is the speaker? What does the speaker mean by these lines?
The stranger in Owen’s Strange Meeting is the speaker.
The stranger has the courage to face realities and he has also the clairvoyance to look beyond the surface of the things. He continues to say that he also has gained wisdom and has the command over any situation.
14. What does Chalice mean? Why has the author referred to it in Araby?
Chalice means the cup from which Christ had His last supper. It was the Holy Grail for which the knights of the medieval age undertook hazardous and arduous adventure.
The image of the girl in Araby, i.e. Mangan’s sister, was like the chalice which inspired the author’s boyish heart to go through the crowds and noises of the street.
15. ‘Always remember that though nobody likes to be called a slave, it does not follow that slavery is a bad thing.’—Where does this line occur? What idea is expressed here in this quoted line?
This quoted line is taken from Bernard Shaw’s essay, Freedom.
Slavery is not, as a rule, welcomed by anyone. But that does not imply that slavery is always evil thing. In this context, the author shares the view of Aristotle who opines that the law and order and the Government would impossible unless the people obey them. One must make men ignorant idolaters before they will become obedient workers and law abiding citizens.
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