CBSE Class 12 English HOTs A Thing Of Beauty Set 04

Question. What pleasure does a beautiful thing give us? Are beautiful things worth treasuring?
Answer: A beautiful thing gives us everlasting joy and pleasure. Beautiful things are worth treasuring because their memory soothes our nerves and inspires us to overcome the depressing elements in life.

Question. List the things of beauty mentioned in the poem. or Mention any four things of beauty that add joy to our life. or Which objects of nature does Keats mention as sources of joy in his poem, 'A Thing of Beauty'?
Answer: Everything in nature is a thing of beauty and a source of joy. Such objects of nature are the sun, the moon, old and young trees, daffodil flowers, small streams with clear water, masses of ferns and blooming musk-roses. All of them are things of beauty. They all add joy to our life.

Question. List the things that cause suffering and pain. or Mention any two things which cause pain and suffering.
Answer: There are many things that cause us suffering and pain. Malice and disappointment are the biggest source of our suffering. Another one is the lack of noble qualities. Our unhealthy and evil ways also give birth to many troubles and sufferings. They dampen our spirits. They act as a covering of sadness on our lives.

Question. What does the line, 'Therefore are we wreathing a flowery band to bind us to earth' suggest to you?
Answer: This line suggests to us that every day we weave a wreath of flowers because it keeps us attached to the beauties of the Earth.

Question. What makes human beings love life in spite of troubles and sufferings? or What makes human beings love life in spite of all the troubles they face?
Answer: Human beings love life in spite of all the troubles and sufferings they face because of all the things of beauty which surround them. These things remove our despondent state and allow us to enjoy the beauty of nature.

Question. Why is 'grandeur' associated with the 'mighty dead'?
Answer: 'Grandeur' is associated with the 'mighty dead', i.e. our forefathers who were glorious in their own time, because our past is full of stories of their glory. They will always be remembered for their glorious achievements.

Question. Do we experience things of beauty only for a short moment or do they make a lasting impression on us? or How is a thing of beauty a joy forever?
Answer: Things of beauty make a lasting impression on us because they are a source of pleasure and motivation forever. The happiness they give never fades away but keeps on increasing.

Question. What image does the poet use to describe the beautiful bounty of the Earth?
Answer: The poet uses the image of nature as an 'endless fountain' pouring onto us from heaven. Nature is a source of endless joy. The sun, the moon, the daffodils, the clear streams, the forests etc, are a few beautiful images that make a deep impact on us.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS 

Read the extract given below and choose the correct option.
“A thing of beauty is a joy forever
Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness; but will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.”

Question. How does a thing of beauty give us everlasting joy?
(a) Gives sound sleep
(b) Increase in loveliness
(c) It never fades
(d) Provide shady place
Answer: (b) Increase in loveliness

Question. What is the effect of increase in its loveliness?
(a) Gives a peaceful sleep
(b) Provides good health
(c) Allows quiet breathing
(d) All of the options
Answer: (d) All of the options

Question. Which one example of the beauty of nature which the poet has given in these lines?
(a) A sound sleep
(b) Trees and gardens
(c) A shady place
(d) Mental peace
Answer: (c) A shady place

Question. The expression 'pass into nothingness' implies that, beautiful things
(a) never increase
(b) create unhappiness among friends
(c) always bring unhappiness
(d) never fade away
Answer: (d) never fade away

Read the extract given below and choose the correct option.
“Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the Earth.
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways
Made for our searching.”

Question. What are the flowery bands that bind us to Earth?
(a) Memory of beautiful and pleasant things
(b) Having a sound sleep
(c) Waking up every morning
(d) A bundle of flowers
Answer: (a) Memory of beautiful and pleasant things

Question. The expression 'Spite of despondency' refers to
(a) health and well-being
(b) hatred and greed
(c) suffering and pain
(d) sadness and depression
Answer: (d) sadness and depression

Question. Why do we prepare a wreath of flowers?
(a) To have memories of sweet dreams
(b) Have sound sleep
(c) To bind us on Earth
(d) To be more strong and fearless
Answer: (c) To bind us on Earth

Question. What are the reasons that made our searching for happiness?
(a) Following wicked paths
(b) Sights of nature
(c) Loss of faith
(d) Both (a) and (c)
Answer: (d) Both (a) and (c)

Read the extract given below and choose the correct option.
Yes, in spite of all,
“Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits.”

Question. What removes the pall from our dark spirits?
(a) Following noble ways
(b) Any beautiful object
(c) Sights of nature
(d) All of the options
Answer: (c) Sights of nature

Question. How does beauty help us when we are burdened with grief?
(a) It brings to us hope and faith
(b) Fills us with comfort and joy
(c) Makes us forget our sorrow and suffering
(d) Both (b) and (c)
Answer: (d) Both (b) and (c)

Question. Which figure of speech is used in the last lines of the stanza?
(a) Personification
(b) Alliteration
(c) Metaphor
(d) Simile
Answer: (c) Metaphor

Question. Why are our spirits referred 'From our dark spirits' is a reference to
(a) our own evil actions
(b) our demoralised spirits
(c) feeling of hopelessness
(d) All of the options
Answer: (d) All of the options

Read the extract given below and choose the correct option.
“Such the Sun, the Moon,
Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
‘Gainst the hot season.”

Question. What are the things that give us joy?
(a) Old and young trees
(b) Sun and moon
(c) Daffodils
(d) All of the options
Answer: (d) All of the options

Question. Which of these provide joy and respite in the hot season?
(a) Shades of trees in forests
(b) Daffodils
(c) Clear water streams
(d) Both (a) and (c)
Answer: (d) Both (a) and (c)

Question. What does the word 'brake' implies?
(a) Undergrowth of ferns or bush
(b) Burning of forest
(c) Stubble fire
(d) Large area of grasslands
Answer: (a) Undergrowth of ferns or bush

Question. Describe the role of clear rills.
(a) Cool and clear streams
(b) Cooling shelter
(c) Flowing in green surroundings
(d) Getting away our thirst
Answer: (b) Cooling shelter

Read the extract given below and choose the correct option.
“And such too is the grandeur
of the dooms
We have imagined for the
mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have
heard or read;
An endless fountain of
immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the
heaven’s brink”

Question. What is the thing of beauty mentioned in these lines?
(a) Beauty in death
(b) Stories of ancestors
(c) Lovely tales
(d) All of the options
Answer: (d) All of the options

Question. What image does the poet use in these lines?
(a) Endless fountain
(b) Immortal drink
(c) Heaven's brink
(d) Both (a) and (c)
Answer: (a) Endless fountain

Question. What is the effect of the 'immortal drink' on us?
(a) It gets away our hopelessness
(b) It brings everlasting joy
(c) Brings courage
(d) It shows us the path to heaven
Answer: (b) It brings everlasting joy

Question. What are the 'mighty dead' referred to here?
(a) Heroes
(b) The dead people
(c) Great ancestors
(d) Strong and powerful
Answer: (c) Great ancestors

...and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
‘Gainst the hot season; the mid forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose
blooms; ...........

Question. Identify the poem and the poet.
(a) Keeping Quiet, by Pablo Neruda
(b) A Thing of Beauty, by John Keats
(c) Nightingale, by John Keats
(d) Ode to Skylark, by PB Shelley
Answer: (b) A Thing of Beauty, by John Keats

Question. What is the role of the clear rills?
(a) To give water
(b) To provide coolness in the surroundings
(c) Absorb negativity
(d) To cause rains
Answer: (b) To provide coolness in the surroundings

Question. How has the mid forest brake become rich?
(a) Due to nice smell of musk rose
(b) Due to shady trees
(c) Due to Sun
(d) None of the options
Answer: (a) Due to nice smell of musk rose

Question. Name the figure of speech in 'cooling covert'.
(a) Metaphor
(b) Simile
(c) Personification
(d) Alliteration
Answer: (d) Alliteration

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS 

Question. What does a thing of beauty do for us? or Life is full of sorrows. What brings joy in it? or How do we get joy from life which is otherwise full of sorrows?
Answer: A thing of beauty adds endless joy to our life and helps us to overcome our sadness and hopelessness. The memory of such a thing gives us everlasting happiness.

Question. Mention two things of beauty that Keats refers to in his poem. How do they influence us?
Answer: Two things of beauty that Keats refers to in his poem are beauty in nature and beauty in literature. They influence us by helping us to overcome our sadness and gloom, besides enhancing our mood and uplifting our soul.

Question. According to Keats, what spreads the pall of despondence over our dark spirits? How is it removed? or What spreads the pall of despondence over our dark spirits? How is it removed?
Answer: Keats says that pain and suffering are a part of life which spread the veil of despondence over our dark spirits. But still, we can find hope. The hope and motivation comes from nature and it removes this covering of despondence.

Question. How do beautiful things help us to live a happy life?
Answer: We derive comfort and happiness when we look at objects of beauty. The lasting impression they leave on our minds is a source of permanent joy. They provide us relief from our everyday trials and tribulations and help us live a happy life.

Question. How does a thing of beauty provide shelter and comfort?
Answer: A thing of beauty provides shelter and comfort in many ways. It is like a bower, a place under the shade of a tree where we can rest. It gives us a sleep full of sweet dreams in the hot weather, the small streams of cool and clear water and the green forests around making it a comfortable place for us to rest.

Question. What does Keats consider an endless fountain of immortal drink and why does he call its drink immortal?
Answer: Keats considers nature's beauty as an endless fountain of immortal drink. He calls its drink immortal as the pleasure and delight given by it never diminishes. It only increases with time. Beauty is like an elixir of life.

Question. What is the 'endless fountain' and what is its effect?
Answer: The 'endless fountain' refers to the beauty of nature. It is a boon from heaven itself. Our life is full of miseries but the infinite delight that we get from beautiful things of nature gives us motivation to continue our journey.

Question. What is the message of the poem, ‘A Thing of Beauty’?
Answer: The message that the poem conveys is that a thing of beauty gives us endless joy. It helps us to come out of sadness and hopelessness. The memory of such a thing is a source of everlasting happiness.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS 

Question. Explain 'A thing of beauty is a joy forever'.
Answer: It is the first line of John Keats' first epic poem, 'Endymion: A Poetic Romance' and of the poem 'A Thing of Beauty'. This line is dramatically very significant because it is multi-layered in its meaning. It explains the effect of beauty on the soul. Beauty heals the negative impulses of our life. It relieves us from being weighed down by worldly worries. Keats, as a romantic poet, brings out the belief in the power of nature to heal and give happiness. A beautiful thing is an object of joy because it gives us mental peace and makes us happy. Its value lies in its effect on us and it never breeds a sense of nothingness. It will not diminish with the passage of time.

Question. Explain 'An endless fountain of immortal drink'.
Answer: This line is taken from John Keats' poem, 'A Thing of Beauty'. That beauty is everlasting, as it creates an eternal joy in the beholder. It is an endless fountain of joy that is immortal as a drink pouring down on us as a water of joy from the edge of heaven's cliff. The eternal joy is like a bliss of heaven on Earth. The poet here says these words in order to explain the nature of the pleasure and joy that is created when a beautiful object is seen by a beholder. The poet here affirms the truth that beauty is not ephemeral, but eternal. The pleasure we receive in perceiving a beautiful object is a gift that is worth treasuring, as the joy removes the gloom in our minds.

Question. Analyse the myth of Endymion in the context of the poem.
Answer: The poem is an excerpt from John Keats' first epic poem 'Endymion', which was published in 1818. The title of this poem is taken from the very first lines of Endymion. According to Greek mythology, Endymion was a handsome young shepherd who lived on Mount Latmos of Asia Minor. He was in love with the moon goddess Selene, who was also known as Cynthia. The enchanted shepherd resolved to seek her in his admiration. This poem echoes the pleasure of the shepherd as he wanders through the forests and finds pleasure in beholding the beautiful sights of nature. That beauty can create joy in the soul that will last forever, is what is conveyed in the poem. The nature with its beauty, the sun, the moon and daffodils gives to life a new meaning and significance.

Question. Analyse the poetic devices used in the poem.
Answer: The poem is rich in images and the use of various poetic devices. Metaphor has been employed in 'moves the pall' where our souls steeped in sadness and hopelessness, are compared to dead bodies covered with a shroud. In the metaphor, 'immortal drink', a feeling of immense joy has been compared to a drink that flows down from heaven's brink, like an endless fountain. There is use of alliteration in 'noble natures', 'simple sheep' and 'cooling covert'. The poem abounds in the use of imagery, as in 'flowery bands', 'daffodils with the green world they live in', 'clear rills', and 'endless fountain.'

Question. 'A thing of beauty is a joy forever.' This is what John Keats says in the poem. Do you think in the present times of acute stress and violence, proximity to beautiful things can lead man to everlasting happiness? Discuss.
Answer: A thing of beauty gives us permanent happiness. When we look at objects of beauty, we feel happy, and the lasting impression that such objects leave on our mind continues to give us pleasure even when they are no longer in our sight. In the present times of acute stress and violence, the objects of beauty attain even greater significance. When our mind is anxious and troubled, the very sight of beautiful things often comes as a relief and provides us comfort and happiness for the moment. Appreciating beautiful things is like appreciating God, who has bestowed them upon mankind as a gift so that we can derive happiness and solace from them. Proximity to beautiful things brings us closer to the Creator, in whom lies the ultimate power to grant us relief from all anxieties and troubles. Therefore, it is sure to bring everlasting happiness at all times.