CBSE Class 6 English Passage Set C

A.1. Read to understand

William Wordsworth, the famous British poet, was one of the most important poets of the Romantic Movement in English Literature.

He was born on 17 April 1770, in the scenic region of north-west England called the Lake District. The beautiful landscapes of the region had an enduring influence on Wordsworth‟s imagination, creating in him, a love for nature. This can be seen in most of his poems. Wordsworth lost his mother when he was eight and at the age of thirteen, his father. Of his four siblings, Wordsworth was most attached to his younger sister, Dorothy. Several of his poems are addressed to his beloved sister.

Wordsworth began attending St John‟s College, Cambridge in 1787. He often spent his holidays on long walking tours, visiting places famous for the beauty of their landscape. In 1790, he took a nearly three-thousands-mile walking tour of Europe, during which he toured the Alps extensively, and also visited nearby areas of France, Switzerland, and Italy. The following year, he graduated from Cambridge without distinction.

In 1843, Wordsworth was made the Poet Laureate of England. A Poet laureate is the official poet of the King of England. By this time, Wordsworth was considered one of the greatest poets of his age. However, when his daughter Dora died in 1847, Wordsworth stopped writing poetry altogether. He died, three years later, on 23 April 1850.

Wordsworth was one of the first poets to actively reflect on the beauty and glory of nature and the power of imagination. His poems continue to be read all over the world by children and adults alike.

A.1.1. Answer the following questions very briefly.

(i) What developed in Wordsworth a love for nature?

(ii) How did Wordsworth spend his holidays?

(iii) What position of honour was given to Wordsworth?

(iv) When did Wordsworth‟s daughter die? What was her name?

A.1.2. Find words from the passage which mean the same as :

(i) renowned (ii) lasting

(iii) think about

 A.2. Read this poem by William Wordsworth and answer the following questions.

The Daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o‟er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host of golden daffodils,

Beside the lake, beneath the trees

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay;

Then thousand saw I at a glance

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves besides them danced, but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay

In such jocund company!

I gazed and gazed-but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

A.2.1. Find words in the poem which mean the following.

(i) broad low valley ___________

(ii) large number ___________

(iii) area of the sea that curves inwards towards the land ___________

(iv) lively, full of energy ___________

(v) feeling of satisfaction that something good has happened ___________

(vi) cheerful and happy ___________