Goldsmith studied ……… at Edinburgh (Scotland) but did not complete it.
Goldsmith applied for the post of …..in India but was found “not qualified”.
Goldsmith toured the continent- Belgium, France, Switzerland and …..?
In 1757 he started in which periodical?
He became a hack-writer.
Famous work- …. first published as Chinese Letters
Famous work -The Traveller is a….?
Drama: Good- natured Man was received unfavourably
Most famous poem?
He was called “an inspired idiot” by?
Who said he “wrote like as an angel, and talked like a poor poll”?
The only novelhe wrote?
Wrote against sentimental drama in …?
Who said “It is almost a misnomer to call them comedies; they are rather homilies of dialogue”?
Important Sentimental Dramatists: Colley Cibber, Richard Steele, Hugh Kelly and ….?
Goldsmith wrote against Sentimental comedy in his essay ?
She Stoops to Conquer is a “… comedy” as described by Goldsmith.
She Stoops to Conquer first performed in … experimentally and then in Covent Garden in March 15…?
The title She Stoops to Conquer is taken from?
Garrick was a…?
“ The comic muse, long sick, is now-a-dying”. Which muse presides over comedy?
Why long sick?
What is ‘now-a-dying’?
Who is referred to as ‘Shutter’?
What is meant by ‘Mankish’ here?
“All is not gold . . . she stumble.” taken from?
“The college you . . .” College means?
Where does the play open?
“Mr. Hardcastle, you are very particular.”- What is the meaning of ‘particular’?
“Ay, and bring back vanity and affection to last them the whole year.”- ‘affection’ means?
“Learning, quotha!”- What does it mean?
“You may be Darby, but I’ll see no Joan”. Darby and Joan refers to?
“Twenty added to twenty, makes but fifty and seven” “make money of that”- meaning.
“… there goes a pair that only spoil each other.” – Spot the figure of speech.
“I’m told he’s a man of an excellent understanding.”- Spot the figure of speech.
“But I vow I’m disposing of the husband…”- Explain.
“tete- a-tetes”- What does it mean?
“Allons!” – “let us go”.
What dramatic function does Tony’s song serve?
“I loves to hear him sing . . . nothing that’s low.”?
“Ariadne”- An opera by….
“. . . forty miles across the country, and we have come above threescore.”- Threescore means?
“A troublesome old blade”?
“Ould Grouse in the gun–room“?
“This is Liberty Hall, gentleman.”- Figure of speech?
“Punch Sir”?
“Worm work, now and then, at elections…” Figure of speech?
“Heyder Ally, Ally Cawn.”?
“Bill of fare”?
“assiduities”. Meaning?
“You’d adore him if you know how heartily he despises me.” Figure of speech?
“Thou dear dissembler!” Meaning?
“Cicero never spoke better”- Who was Cicero?
Find the meanings for the words:
Gothic
Anon
Haspieholls
Basket
Concatenation
Improvements
Crack
Morrice
Oad
Spark
Sample Modular Questions:
Who played vital role in bringing SSTC on stage? A. Johnson B. Garrick C. Horace Walpole D. Sheridan
2. The title of the play is taken from? A. “All for Love” by Dryden
B. “Hind and the Panther” by Dryden C. “Rape of the Lock” by Pope D.
“Comedy of Errors” by Shakespeare
3. Who played the role of Mr. Woodward in SSTC? A. Garrick B. Johnson C.Edward Shutter D.Woodward himself
4. What does the word ‘shutter’ refer to? A. comic actor of that
period B. A statement that makes all shut up C.An instrument attached to
the coffin D.The lid of the coffin
5. “All is not gold that glitters.”- The lines are taken from:A.
Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice” B. Dryden’s “Hind and the Panther” C.
Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors” D.Pope’s “Dunciad”
6. “I vow Mr. Hardcastle, you are very particular”. – ‘particular’
means: A. Fastidious B.Obsessed C. Prejudiced D.Having a hard view
7. “. . . he’s not come to years of discretion yet”- ‘Discretion’ here means: A. Adulthood B.Maturity C. Youth D.Judgement
8. Who among the persons does not belong to Tony Lumpkin’s company? A.Dick Muggins B. Jack Slang C. Tom Twist D.Diggory
9. ‘Concatenation’ means: A.Consternation B.Falsehood C.Chain of thoughts or events D.Continuation
10. The Garden scene occurs in: A. Act II Scene III B.Act V Scene I C. Act V Scene II D.Act III Scene I
This is just a sample of thousands of important questions and
answers. To get the FULL GUIDANCE MATERIALS contact us at
contact@wbsscenglish.com.
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1) Why according to Shaw no man is perfectly free?
Ans- According to Shaw there is no perfectly free man on earth because logically this is impossible. Whether humans like it or not, they must sleep for one-thirds of their lifetime; wash and dress and undress; they must spend a couple of hours eating and drinking; they spend as much time from travelling from one place to another. For half the day they are slaves to their natural requirements, which they cannot shirk.
2) Do all social and governmental regulations aim at regulating man’s slavery?
Ans- Shaw says that the object of all honest Governments should be to prevent the unnatural slavery of man to man. But he regretfully observes that the actual motive of all Governments is just the opposite. The Government simply enforces the slavery of man to man and calls it freedom. They also regulate the norms of slavery and try to keep the greed of the master class within bounds. This does not leave the repressed class any freer because they have to choose between one master and the other.
3) What does Shaw think of the right to vote?
Ans- Shaw thinks that the governments simply deceive the public by promising that they have the power to govern the country themselves by getting to choose their representative through their right to vote. A general election is held every five years. At the election, two of their rich friends, who are divorced from the pains the commoners, become the candidates for the election. The candidates themselves are unworthy; therefore, in spite of having the right to vote the people are not free to do whatever they would like to do.
4) How is man’s slavery to nature pleasant?
Ans- Shaw believes that man’s slavery to nature is pleasant because even though she (nature) forces man to eat and drink, she makes eating and drinking pleasurable so much so that some people simply live to eat. The comforts of civilised society and family life are so great that young people are eager to get married and join building societies to realize their dreams.
5) How can slavery be ended?
Ans- Shaw points out that man’s slavery to man is unnatural and must be prevented at any cost. He says that poets do not praise slavery. They say that no man is good enough to be another man’s master. Shaw uses the example of Marx who had advocated that law could only stop slavery. Because there were no proper laws against slavery in those times there were continual civil wars. Thomas More also raised his voice against such a social evil. He believed that peace could be achieved only by compelling everyone to do his own share of work with his own hand and brains, and not to put it on anyone else.
6) What means does the master class use to maintain the upper hand over the slave class?
Ans- The master class through its Parliaments, schools and newspapers, makes the most desperate efforts to prevent the mass from realizing their slavery. By directly controlling their thoughts, the master class prevents the slave class from forming a derogatory opinion of them. Whenever the prople complain, they are told that they themselves are responsible for their misery because of their own wrong choice of their representative. When they try to protest about the system of voting they are reminded that they have been given the Factory Acts and the Wage Board, and free education, and the New Deal, and the dole. They always reassure the slave class that they do not need any more than has been already given to them.
7) How do the master class prevent the upheaval of the downtrodden masses when lead by famous figures?
Ans- Shaw says that whenever famous writers protest against the imposture of the master class, they teach the people that they are traitors of the country. Shaw gives the examples of Voltaire and Rousseau and Tom Paine in the eighteenth century, or Cobbett and Shelley, Karl Marx and Lassalle in the nineteenth or Lenin and Trotsky in the twentieth century. These people are declared atheists and libertines, murderers and scoundrels; and often it is made a criminal offence to buy or sell their books. If their disciples make a revolution, England makes war upon them and lends money to the other powers to join her in forcing the revolutionists to restore the slave order.
8) How is the master class led to accepting the righteousness of human exploitation?
Ans- Shaw regrets that though “the prodigious mass of humbug is meant to delude the enslaved class only, it ends in deluding the master class more completely”. A gentleman whose mind has been formed at a preparatory school run by the master class itself, followed by a public school run by the government and university course, is completely under the false notion of created history and dishonest political economy and snobbery taught in these places. The gentleman’s education teaches him to think highly of himself. He thinks that being socially superior to the commoners is his right to get his work done by the other underprivileged people. He sincerely believes it to be his duty to shed his blood and the blood of others to the last drop in order to defend such a nation which has bestowed so many favours on him.
9) Why do most workers or women vote for their social superiors?
Ans- Shaw notes that great men like Aristotle believed that men must be made ignorant idolaters before they can be made obedient workers and law abiding citizens. One must pretend to have God-like-superiority in order to draw the attention of their social inferiors. Women are no exception to this rule. Shaw notes that when women were enfranchised and given the right to sit in Parliament, first use they made of their votes was to defeat all the women candidates who stood for freedom of the workers and had given them years of distinguished service. They had elected only one titled lady of great wealth. The reason behind such mistaken choice is due to human nature. Human nature can of course be changed through education. But education is provided by the Government and the Government would never like to educate the masses to think against the existing system.
10) How does a civilized society protect its citizens?
Ans- According to Shaw, a civilized society has a Government which frames a constitution enumerating the rights and duties of the citizens. Absolute freedom of the citizens is restricted by the laws of the land, enforced by the police, who will oblige the citizens to do something and not do some others and to pay rates and taxes. If they do not obey these laws the courts will imprison them and if they go too far kill them. If the laws are reasonable and impartially administered the citizens have no reason to complain, because the laws increase their freedom by protecting them against assault, highway robbery, and disorder generally.
11) How should an intelligent trade union movement conduct its affairs?
Ans- Shaw points out that it becomes very difficult for the employees to work under such tyrannical employers. They have only one remedy that of joining a trade union movement. The trade unions use the weapon of strike, which is the device of starving on the enemy’s doorstep until justice is done. The extreme form of strike—the general strike of all workers at the same moment—is also the extreme form of human folly, as, if completely carried out, it would extinguish the human race in a week’s time. And the workers will be the first to die. According to Shaw general strike is madness. Practical trade unionism would never sanction more than one big strike at a time, with all the other trades working overtime to support it.
12) What are Shaw’s views on working hours and retirement?
Ans- At the end of his essay, “Freedom”, G.B Shaw tickles our minds with a question that if we had unlimited freedom would we be able to handle it responsibly? Since absolute freedom is impossible, Shaw leaves his readers to decide for themselves that if they had a choice would they work eight hours a day and retire with a full pension at forty-five, or would they rather work for four hours a day and keep on working till the age of seventy. Shaw wittily concludes the essay by urging his readers to talk this proposition over with their wives and not try to send any replies to him.
13) “Nature may have tricks up her sleeve to check us if the chemists exploit her too greedily”. Critically comment on the statement.
Ans- Science and technology can definitely help produce machines and increase the production of food grains which would directly help equal distribution of wealth. The author reflects on the fact that though we can now cultivate the sky as well as the earth, by drawing nitrogen from it to increase the quality of grass to enhance the quality of food given to the cattle, and consequently improve our cattle, and butter and poultry, it might prove risky. Shaw here is talking about ecological disturbance which is the harsh reality of the modern world.
14) How did the author’s forefathers win freedom for themselves? Give some examples.
Ans- Shaw mockingly points out that whenever countries like England or America are attacked by external forces they try to prevent them. If the said countries are victorious in their assault they note it down in their history books as the glorious triumphs of patriotism. He gives a few examples. The forceful signing of the Magna Carta by King John; the defeating of the Spanish Armada; the beheading of King Charles; the acceptance of the Bill of Rights by King William; the issue and implementation of the American Declaration of independence; the victory of the battles of Waterloo and Trafalgar and the changing of the German, Austrian, Russian and Ottoman Empires into Republics.
15) What, according to Shaw, are the factors that lead to the curtailment of freedom of common men?
Ans- According to Shaw a lot of factors contribute toward the curtailment of freedom of common men. First of all, man is a slave to his own bodily desires and needs. Secondly, he becomes a slave to the fancies of his employers to whom he has to remain obedient in order to feed himself and his family. Thirdly, he is slave to his landlord. Fourthly, the Government of his country, which extracts income tax from him. Fifthly, by the opaque education given to him by the Governmental institutions. Finally, his independence is mocked at through the flawed institution of voting and democracy.
“Lucy Poems” consists of five poems Wordsworth wrote when his mind was at the height of Romantic fancy and idealism. The obvious philosophical inspiration behind this was Rousseau’s Emile... The immediate model for Lucy has been much debated: some argue strongly, like Geoffrey Hartman, in favour of the poet’s sister, Dorothy Wordsworth, some find an image of Annette Vallon and some dismiss all of these in favour of the argument that Lucy is nothing but an ideal construct of the poet’s fancy. Whatever the case may be, the simplicity and beauty of the poems continue to attract the readers to an ideal Romantic world, where a few principles seek to make it different from the real one. The poems appeared in the 1800 edition of the Lyrical Ballads, which was itself a monumental collection of Romantic experiment.
She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways
The Text
She dwelt among the untrodden ways
Beside the springs of Dove,
Maid whom there were none to praise
And very few to love:
A violet by a mossy tone
Half hidden from the eye!
Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.
She lived unknown, and few could know
When Lucy ceased to be;
But she is in her grave, and, oh,
The difference to me!
This poem tells the tale of Lucy’s short journey of life in this world—her growth, perfection and untimely death. The poet informs us that Lucy lived a delicate and solitary life in the world of Nature unpolluted by human intrusion. She lived beside the springs of Dove and she was unknown to human beings who could otherwise praise the greatness of her mind. In her isolation she was also quite stranger to human love.
This kind of situation is very hard to explain and that is why Wordsworth resorts to rhetorical deice: he compares the fragility and the beauty of her existence to that of a violent which blooms by a mossy stone, where it remains half-hidden from others. He compares her unusual beauty to that of Venus, which is seen first in the evening sky shining with exceptional beauty in the midst of approaching darkness of night.
In the final stanza Wordsworth informs the reader of Lucy’s secluded way of life and her sudden death. Just as she lived unknown, she also died unknown. No person other than the poet could know that Lucy became one with Nature. Finally the poet suddenly becomes conscious of the immediate reality that she is no more alive in this world and is sleeping forever in her grave. He feels acute pain in his heart and abruptly ends the poet with equivocal words. Now he can feel the difference of his situation of utter grief that has been created by the loss from the one of divine bliss when she was alive.
Shakespeare must have conceived of Macbeth as a personality caught up between the old and the new world-views and ethos—the conventional one and the Renaissance one. The former defined man’s place on earth in terms of the biblical world-view presented in the first chapter of the Bible Genesis, which necessarily linked it to the concept of Great Chain of Being, and accordingly dictated the codes of conduct. The later yet to come out fully, on the other, was trying to supplant the old ones with the new and pseudo-scientific one, which was slowly but surely encouraging man to think beyond the traditional framework towards the direction of fullest use of the human potentials. The audience/readers feel sympathetic to Macbeth, not because he possesses the high stature of a tragic hero described by Aristotle. They understand that he is a villain and criminal, but at the same time they also share his “vaulting ambition”, which collides head-on with the ethical parameters in the play.
The play has been presented not only against this backdrop, but also against another situation, which much attention has not been paid to. Actually the play starts at the crucial juncture of Scottish history: the king Duncan has grown old and feeble and sensing this, the rebels and the king of Norway the kingdom attacked. Macbeth along with others must have been conscious of this opportunity as ambitious persons always look forward to. Much has been said and written about his association with the Witches, and even if we ignore them, we hear an echo of the Witches’ words from him on his first appearance on the stage:
“So foul and fair day I have never seen”
We may presume that the grand success in the battles with Duncan’s enemy whetted his ambition before his actual meeting with the Witches. And when he learns from them that “”, he gets greatly moved. His excitement at the “strange intelligence” from the Witches begins to transform into a potent ambition very soon at the fulfilment of the two prophecies as he is greeted by Ross:
“Glamis, and thane of Cawdor!
The Greatest is behind.”
Right from this moment Macbeth begins to feel a split in his personality created by the great pulls of morality on the one hand, and terrible anticipation of the royal reality:
“...why do I yield to that suggestion
Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair...”
Of course, Macbeth demonstrates his good sense when he comments on the prospect of his kingship:
“...Present fears
Are less than horrible imaginings.”
Here it must be pointed out that the king does not act prudently in throwing out the proposal of holding communal feast at Macbeth’s castle in such a fluid condition in which a faithful man like the Thane of Cawdor betrayed his trust. This creates an unthinkable opportunity, which Macbeth must have thought a satanic one, if not providential, to seize upon, and his ambition begins to take the shape of a potent plan even before the hot-headed intervention of Lady Macbeth. Sympathetic critics tend to shift the blame on Lady Macbeth who, of course, resorts to emotional blackmail by underestimating his capability just to goad him towards curving out his way to the throne. But Macbeth, whom the bleeding Captain described with such superlative epithets as “valour’s minion”, “Bellona’s bridegroom” etc. should have withstood the insulting exhortations of his wife.
The real nature of Macbeth only comes out as soon as he commits the murder of Duncan and experiences the psychological and moral effects of the such a heinous act. Combined with this is Shakespeare’s presentation of the popular effects of usurping a rightful king. As Macbeth gets alienated from nature and faces the ordeal of the absence of divine grace, he does not learns from the prick of conscience. On the contrary he goes on to affirm his authority in a wrong way, and here again his authority gets snubbed by the intervention of Banquo’s ghost. It must be pointed out here that right from the Banquet Scene, Lady Macbeth’s powers also begin disintegrate and she cannot provide the same amount of support. However, while Lady Macbeth slowly shrinks from the external reality and recoils in her own personality, the opposite happens with Macbeth, who undergoes a total transformation of personality and becomes more and more dependent on the Witches. He becomes a tyrannical, treacherous and suspicious ruler. He emerges as a confirmed villain when he gets the wife and the child of Macduff killed. All these killings cannot be ascribed to the impact of the prophecies of the Witches.
At this point one is reminded of A.C. Bradley’s view that in Shakespeare’s tragedies character is destiny as a character like Macbeth is himself responsible for his downfall. But as Bradley was a Hegelian idealist, he did not consider the fact that the tragedy of Macbeth also involves the tragedy of the Scottish people who suffer just because of the misdeeds of a king. We are attracted to Macbeth because he shows something of a reflective nature and utters some wise words which arouse our sympathy because we share his human nature, his limitation and some of his flaws too. It is here in the theatrical phenomenon that the fall of the tragic hero effects the catharsis of “pity and fear”, that the character of Macbeth passes the test of the Aristotelian concept of tragic hero who vanishes from the scene forever leaving behind some greater understanding. The audience/readers learns from his experience that if not lived properly,
“Life’s but a walking shadow...
...it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Ans: L.A. Hill prescribes that to write well one should write clearly and logically. For this s/he should think clearly and logically. If s/he cannot do this, s/he should practise it taking on a particular problem.
“At first you may find...very difficult...practice will improve your abilities”. In what context does the author say this?
What does Hill prescribe for improving one’s command of vocabulary?
Ans: Hill prescribes that in order to embolden one’s vocabulary, s/he should read widely and carefully. S/he should keep a notebook and write down striking words and expressions. A good dictionary is also necessary for exact meaning and use of words..
“Writing is 99 percent hard work and 1 percent inspiration”. Why does the author say this?
Ans: Hill thinks that one can learn to write well by regular and frequent practice. Inspiration plays a rare role even for most famous writers. What is necessary most is disciplining oneself to the act of writing.
How does Hill advise the reader to find topics for writing?
Hill advises the budding writer to read the newspapers carefully so that s/he may find examples of human joys and tragedies, which will give ideas for writing. S/he should also keep a notebook for writing down ideas.
How, according to Hill, should a writer present his/her theme?
Ans: According to Hill, the opening paragraph should be written in such a way that it is able to catch the reader immediately. It should contain the gist of the topic. One may start with a paradoxical point of view, but it should be cleared away in the rest of the writing.
What are the things that Hill advises the writer to avoid?
Ans: Hill advises a writer not to put in his/her personal problems which may not interest the readers. He also forbids the budding writer to force his/her personal impression upon the readers through writing. He also says that a writer should not imitate someone else’s style. S/he should not employ jargons, officialese, obsolete expressions, rhetorical expression and empty verbiage.
Why is autumn called “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness...maturing sun”?
Ans: The plants and fruits which were born in spring attain maturity in autumn. The rays of the sun help the fruit ripen. The poet imagines that autumn and the sun act together to supply the vines with grapes.
“Until ten...clammy cells.” Explain the situation as imagined by the poet.
Ans: In autumn when the late flowers are still in bloom, the bees go on collecting honey in spite of the fact that during summer they had collected enough honey. They mistake autumn for summer and think that the summer will never while their cells are overflowed with honey.
How does the poet personify autumn in the poem?
Or, Any question on the second stanza.
Or, Imaginative power of the poet.
Ans: Keats here presented autumn in its four striking aspects of the seasonal activities. First, autumn is seen as the harvester, seated careless on the granary floor with the gentle breeze playing with her hair. Secondly, autumn is personified as a tired reaper who falls asleep drugged by the fragrance of poppy. Thirdly, autumn is imagined as a gleaner on her way home across a brook with load of corns on her head. Fourthly, autumn is seen as a cider-presser who, seated beside a vat, watches the apple-juice oozing out.
Why does the poet say “Where are the songs of Spring?”
Or, What makes the poet put this question?
Ans: In the final stanza of the poem the poet reaches the understanding that with the attainment of maturity of everything in nature, the resourcefulness in nature is on the verge of giving way to bareness and scarcity of the winter. So nature is visibly taking the shape towards the direction. This makes the poet mourn while comparing the vitality and vibrancy of spring with those of autumn.
Explain the expression “...barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day/And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue...”
Ans: The declining autumnal sun casts its glow on the clouds, which take a rosy flavour. When this glow of the setting sun is cast on the bare fields with stumps, everything looks rosy.
Why does the poet say “...thou hast thy music too...”? What constitutes the music of autumn?
Ans: In the final stanza of the poem the poet reaches the understanding that with the attainment of maturity of everything in nature, the resourcefulness in nature is on the verge of giving way to bareness and scarcity of the winter. But he is also conscious of the fact that autumn has its own beauty and music. The numerous sounds produced by the gnats, swallows, lambs, crickets and Robin Red Breast collectively produce the autumnal symphony.
What characterises the music of autumn? Or, Why does the autumnal music bear a melancholic overtone?
Ans: In the final stanza of the poem the poet reaches the understanding that with the attainment of maturity of everything in nature, the resourcefulness in nature is on the verge of giving way to bareness and scarcity of the winter. The insects and animals instinctively understand this and that is why the sounds made by them are marked by apprehension and sadness.
The autumnal pathway to the Coole Lake is still mysterious. The photo is published under the generous permission of Ms. Leah Hansen, and it originally appeared in twingomatic.blogspot.com.
How does Yeats portray the beauty of autumn?
Ans: In the poem The Wild Swans at Coole Yeats presents a sombre beauty of the autumnal landscape. The trees are leafless and the paths across the wood are dry. The Cole Lake is full of water to the brim. As there is no wind, its surface is so calm that the clear sky is reflected on it.
How many swans were there in the Shore of Coole Lake?
“I have looked upon those ...tread”. Why does the poet say that “now my heart is sore”?
Ans: Nineteen years ago when the poet first visited the lake one day at a twilight of autumn, he saw the swans fly through the air in small circles lover by lover. When they flew away above his head joyously, the whole air was filled with the music of their wings. All this made him happy and content. But now he has grown old in body and soul. He feels bitter and sad at the fact that he now cannot enjoy the sight as he had done in his youth.
“Their hearts have not grown old....” Why does the poet say so?
Ans: Standing on the shore of the Coole Lake after a gap of nineteen years the poet feels that unlike himself, the swans have not grown old in body and spirit. Full of youthful vigour they can enjoy paddling through the cold water and winning the hearts of their beloved and mating with them.
Why does the poet call the swans “mysterious creatures”?
Ans: As darkness looms large over the surface of the Coole Lake, it seems to the poet that the swans, as if, belong to a different world different from the humans, a world not marked by mutability.
The poem “Ode to the West Wind” directly conforms to Shelley’s poetic creed. Poetry, Shelley writes in “A Defence of Poetry”, “…awakens and enlarges the mind by rendering it the receptable of a thousand unapprehended combination of thought. Poetry lifts its veil from the hidden beauty of the world.” Consistent with this theory of poetc creation, Shelley’s Romanticism is filled with “vehement feelings, ecstatic, mournful, passionate, desperate or fiercely indignant”. Sometimes he makes a sudden turn of the theme and talks about himself just like the movements in Beethoven’s symphonies. It is in this that he is unique among the Romantics—looking for a better world of liberty, equality and fraternity in his idealistic project of life. For this, he is seen to be pessimistic about the present but highly optimistic about the future to come.
The Romantic poets made frequent use of the wind as a soothing symbol. But in Shelley’s treatment it is not a “correspondent breeze”; it is rather ferocious in its energy. M.H. Abrams says “because of the ferocity the wind becomes a vast impersonal force, which the poet needs as a symbol of both destruction and creation”. Herein lies the importance of the wind as the metaphor for revolutionary social change.
In the very first stanza West Wind appears with an accumulated force–a “breath of Autumn’s being”—to blow away the dead leaves. Shelley compares the West Wind to a magician because, just as a powerful magician drives away ghosts, the wind performs same kind of operation by sweeping away the dead things in autumnal nature by remaining itself invisible. The phrase “pestilence-stricken multitude” here, on the surface level, refers to the leaves, which are decomposing on the ground. But symbolically the ‘multitudes’ refers to the entire human society, which, the poet thinks, in a state of degeneration.
“…O thou
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed
The wing’d seeds, where they lie cold and low,
Each like a corpse within its grave.”
The West Wind carries the seeds with wing-like devices down to the ground where those remain dormant. During spring, however, when Zephyr, the warm and gentle wind will blow across the land, the seeds, shooting forth from the ground, will grow into plants. Here Shelley seems to have a very swift vision of the spring. He sees that just as with the onset of spring shepherds go out with their flocks of sheep for tending on the green field, the gentle breeze similarly causes the buds to bloom and carry the fragrances from one place to another. The West Wind moves with a terrific force and makes massacre of all that stand in its way. But it takes care to preserve the seeds under the soil so as to ensure a resurrection in the world of nature with the advent of the spring. In this way, the West Wind becomes both a “destroyer and preserver”.
In the second stanza the wind changes its field of operation; it is set in air, in the “steep sky”. The West Wind, while operating in the sky, moves along with all its might, Shelley imagines, just as the stream of a river. In so doing it forces accumulated clouds—right from the surface of the ocean up to the sky—to disintegrate. The Wind performs this kind of function by forcing the clouds to—just as it the leaves of the trees to fall off. Shelley here may be referring to the scientific fact that clouds are created in the sky out of the evaporation of water from the surface of the water bodies on earth. But in the immediate context of the poem, he must have observed the clouds to have been accumulated right from the surface of the ocean up to the great heights of the sky. That is why he imagines the clouds as the inter-connected boughs of the ocean and the sky. Shelley compares the clouds ravaged by the power of the wind to the uplifted hair of a Maenad in order to convey the sense that the West Wind operates possessed by some supernatural force.
In the European seasonal cycle, autumn is the season which stands just before winter, at the end of which a year closes. So before the coming of winter West Wind passes over earth destroying the old degenerate things and making horrible sounds. The howling of the wind is, therefore, imagined by the poet to be the dirge or the funeral song for the closing year. Shelley here addresses the clouds, accumulated from the surface of the ocean up to the great heights of the sky, as “angels of rain and lightning” because they obviously indicate that rain and lightning are approaching soon.
By the expression “the dome of a vast sepulchre” Shelley here refers to the closing night which will serve as the dome of a vast tomb, in which the closing year will be buried. The accumulated water vapors also make the roof over the dying year and the atmosphere seems to be solid because of thick layers of dense clouds. The point is that Wind operates with the same and single point agenda: it destroys the dead and preserves the living.
In the third stanza the realm of the ruling West Wind is the sea, both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and both the surface and the vegetation beneath. Shelley here has personified the Mediterranean, which perhaps in its sleep is dreaming of destruction of the palaces. During summer the Mediterranean and the Roman palaces and, the towers which remain submerged, are all quiet as if they seem to be sleeping because no storms appear to ruffle the surface of the sea in that season. But the wind agitates the sea and the palaces seem to quiver on account of the tremendous motion of the waves. This may be easily taken for allusions to Shelley’s hope for political change in Italy, for the collapse of the kings and kingdoms. Shelley here must have tried to bring home a political philosophy. The old palaces and towers symbolize corrupt, degenerate and old power, old order and institutions. All these should be destroyed, the poet dreams along with the sea, in order to make way for new beginning.
As the scene shifts to the Atlantic, “the somnolent summer yields to the ruthless autumn”. The reader is taken not only to the Atlantic, where its smooth surface has turned into a deep waves, but under it, where woods and foliage are forced to dispossess themselves of foliage upon hearing the Wind’s voice.
The fourth stanza begins, as pointed out by Michael Ferver somewhat the way Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony” begins, by briefly recapitulating the themes of the first three movements. Now, the Wind is seen in the fourth stanza in relation to the poet himself:
“If I were a dead leaf thou mightest bear;
If I were a swift cloud to fly with thee.”
As an idealist and as an extremely sensitive soul, Shelley was in much distress to see mankind exploited and being dehumanized by the corrupt, degenerate and old political powers and institutions. He wanted to see mankind reach an ideal state of life based on fraternity, equality and democracy. And that is why he was seeking revolution, which he refers to as his “sore need”. Shelley erupts in Romantic agony,
“Oh! Lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!
I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!”
The poet wants to preach the words of revolution to mankind. But he knows that lacks the energy to do so. In order to acquire the strength and speed of the West Wind, he wants to be a piece of cloud, a leaf and a wave. The poet now remembers that in his boyhood he was full of energy and vigor, and as such that he would not refrain himself from competing with the cloudlets borne away in the sky by the wind. But now he lacks the energy to do so and that is why he seeks to be invaded by the fierce wind so that he may be supplied with energy and inspiration. Again, Shelley here thinks of himself as having accumulated the degenerate habits and ideas. In order to be refreshed and reinvigorated, the poet invites or rather prays to the Wind to invade his self. He wants this also with the intention of acquiring some of the fierce energy of the wind in this process. The West Wind comes into being during autumn with its predestined function of destroying the old and degenerate, thereby paving the way for the new. As it is destructive, its processes are bound to have certain sad implications. But destruction is also a necessary prelude to a new awakening, which implies sweetness.
He longs to be invaded by the fierce spirit of the Wind and cleaves with it to become,
“…through my lips to unawaken’d earth
The trumpet of my prophecy!”
At last he is optimistic of the future and closes the poem with a prophecy:
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”
It becomes clear that the poet invokes the example of the operations of the west wind in nature because, in turn, he wants to spread his message of resurrection through this poem and other poems he plans to compose. In other words, an evidence of a natural phenomenon in nature turns out to be a poetic inspiration for him.
1. Why does Shelley compare the West Wind to a magician?
Or, Explain the expression, “Like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing".
Or, In what sense does the West Wind become an ‘enchanter’?
Ans: Shelley compares the West Wind to a magician because, just as a powerful magician drives away ghosts, the wind performs same kind of operation by sweeping away the dead things in autumnal nature by remaining itself invisible.
2. Why does Shelley address the Wind as “the breath of Autumn’s being”?
Ans: Shelley imagines the West Wind here as a restless anthropomorphising force, as a spirit, which comes to being as a result of special climactic condition during the season, autumn.
Who are referred to as “pestilence-stricken multitude”?
Ans: The phrase here, on the surface level, refers to the leaves, which are decomposing on the ground. But symbolically the ‘multitudes’ refers to the entire human society, which, the poet thinks, in a state of degeneration.
3. “Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air”—Explain the expression.
Ans: With the onset of spring shepherds go out with their flocks of sheep for tending on the green field. The gentle breeze similarly, the poet imagines, causes the buds to bloom and carry the fragrances from one place to another.
4. What is referred to here as “azure sister of the spring”? What is its significance in relation to the West Wind?
Ans: The West Wind carries the seeds with wing-like devices down to the ground where those remain dormant. During spring, however, when Zephyr, the warm and gentle wind will blow across the land, the seeds, shooting forth from the ground, will grow into plants.
Why is the West Wind called “destroyer and preserver”?
Ans: The West Wind moves with a terrific force and makes massacre of all that stand in its way. But it takes care to preserve the seeds under the soil so as to ensure a resurrection in the world of nature with the advent of the spring. In this way, the West Wind becomes both a “destroyer and preserver”.
5. Explain the expression “winged seeds”.
Ans: Certain plants and trees in nature produce seeds which are formed in such physical condition that those may be transported by the wind from one place to another. This natural device is employed by the plants and trees to perpetuate their lines over a wide area of land. Shelley suggests that the West Wind performs just this function in nature.
6. How does Shelley equate “Loose clouds” with “earth’s decaying leaves”?
Ans: The West Wind, while operating in the sky, moves along with all its might, Shelley imagines, just as the stream of a river. In so doing it forces accumulated clouds—right from the surface of the ocean up to the sky—to disintegrate. The Wind performs this kind of function by forcing the clouds to—just as it the leaves of the trees to fall off.
7. Explain the expression “...tangled boughs of heaven and ocean”.
Ans: Shelley here may be referring to the scientific fact that clouds are created in the sky out of the evaporation of water from the surface of the water bodies on earth. But in the immediate context of the poem, he must have observed the clouds to have been accumulated right from the surface of the ocean up to the great heights of the sky. That is why he imagines the clouds as the inter-connected boughs of the ocean and the sky.
8. Who is a Maenad? Why does Shelley compare the clouds to the uplifted hair of a Maenad?
Ans: Maenad is a frenzied woman-worshipper of Bacchus, the Greek god of wine. Shelley compares the clouds ravaged by the power of the wind to the uplifted hair of a Maenad in order to convey the sense that the West Wind operates possessed by some supernatural force.
9. Why does Shelley call the West Wind, “dirge of the dying year”?
Ans: In the European seasonal cycle, autumn is the season which stands just before winter, at the end of which a year closes. So before the coming of winter West Wind passes over earth destroying the old degenerate things and making horrible sounds. The howling of the wind is, therefore, imagined by the poet to be the dirge or the funeral song for the closing year.
10. Whom does Shelley address as “angels of rain and lightning” and why?
Ans: Shelley here addresses the clouds, accumulated from the surface of the ocean up to the great heights of the sky, as “angels of rain and lightning” because they obviously indicate that rain and lightning are approaching soon.
11. What does Shelley refer to as “the dome of a vast sepulchre”?
Ans: By the expression Shelley here refers to the closing night which will serve as the dome of a vast tomb, in which the closing year will be buried. The accumulated water vapours also make the roof over the dying year and the atmosphere seems to be solid because of thick layers of dense clouds.
12. How does Shelley personify “the Mediterranean”?
Ans: During summer the Mediterranean and the Roman palaces and, the towers which remain submerged, are all quiet as if they seem to be sleeping because no storms appear to ruffle the surface of the sea in that season. But the wind agitates the sea and the palaces seem to quiver on account of the tremendous motion of the waves.
13. Explain the line: “I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!”.
Ans: At the very end of the fourth stanza of the poem “Ode to the West Wind” Shelley refers to the troubles, sorrows and the bitter disappointment of life which are inevitable to every human being. Shelley was no exception to it. More importantly, as he was an idealistic and Romantic, he was deeply hurt by the bitter experiences of life.
14. Where is Baiae’s Bay?
Ans: The Baiae’s Bay is situated on the western coast of Italy near Naples. Vesuvius stands close to the Bay. The Bay is famous for islands formed from the deposit of lava.
15. What is the significance of the phrase “old palaces and towers quivering”?
Ans: Shelley here must have tried to bring home a political philosophy. The old palaces and towers symbolise corrupt, degenerate and old power, old order and institutions. All these should be destroyed, the poet dreams along with the sea, in order to make way for new beginning.
16. What does the poet refer to as “sore need”
Or, What is the “sore need” the poet refers to?
Ans: As an idealist and as an extremely sensitive soul, Shelley was in much distress to see mankind exploited and being dehumanised by the corrupt, degenerate and old political powers and institutions. He wanted to see mankind reach an ideal state of life based on fraternity, equality and democracy. And that is why he was seeking revolution, which he refers to as his “sore need”.
17. “If even I were in my boyhood...seemed a vision”—Explain.
Ans: The poet now remembers that in his boyhood he was full of energy and vigour, and as such that he would not refrain himself from competing with the cloudlets borne away in the sky by the wind. But now he lacks the energy to do so and that is why he seeks to be invaded by the fierce wind so that he may be supplied with energy and inspiration. (The expression “scare seemed a vision” means it did not seem impossible in his boyhood.)
18. Why does the poet wish to be “a dead leaf”, “a swift cloud” and “a wave”?
Or, Why does the poet wish to “share the impulse of thy strength”?
Ans: The poet wants to preach the words of revolution to mankind. But he knows that lacks the energy to do so. In order to acquire the strength and speed of the West Wind, he wants to be a piece of cloud, a leaf and a wave.
19. “Make me thy lyre”—Explain.
Ans: Shelley here in the poem Ode to the West Wind thinks of himself as having accumulated the degenerate habits and ideas. In order to be refreshed and reinvigorated, the poet invites or rather prays to the Wind to invade his self. He wants this also with the intention of acquiring some of the fierce energy of the wind in this process.
20. “The tumult of thy mighty harmonies/
Will take from both a deep, autumnal tone
Sweet though in sadness—”
Why does Shelley say this? How can sweetness remain side by side sadness?
Ans: The West Wind, the poet thinks, comes into being during autumn with its predestined function of destroying the old and degenerate, thereby paving the way for the new. As it is destructive, its processes are bound to have certain sad implications. But destruction is also a necessary prelude to a new awakening, which implies sweetness.
21. What does Shelley want to mean by “Thy mighty harmonies”?
Ans: The West Wind, as it blows across the world, produces horrible sounds. The poet takes it for granted that the wind possesses a pattern of its operation like musical composition. But since it is destructive in nature, its sounds are horrible.
22. “Drive my dead thoughts...my words among mankind”—Explain.
Ans: Towards the end of the poem “Ode to the West Wind”, it becomes clear that the poet invokes the example of the operations of the west wind in nature because, in turn, he wants to spread his message of resurrection through this poem and other poems he plans to compose. In other words, an evidence of a natural phenomenon in nature turns out to be a poetic inspiration for him.
