Maharashtra Board Class 9 English Unit Two Chapter 2.4 The Fall of Troy PDF Download

The Fall Of Troy

Warming Up!

Building A Story

Form groups of eight. The group leader prepares slips of paper for each of the seven points given below and distributes them among the others. The group sits in a circle, taking their seats according to the number on the slip they have. Then each one completes the sentence on his/her slip without sharing it with the others. The group leader collects the slips and reads all the sentences aloud as one continuous passage. Does the story make sense? The group then works on the story to make it more meaningful and interesting.

1. Once there was a

2. Who lived in a

3. He/She ate

4. She/He went

5. There she/he saw

6. She/He was

7. That is why

This game may be played again, changing the groups, to form new stories.

Teacher's Note

This fun game helps children use their imagination and create stories together. Just like how Bollywood writers create movies by putting together different ideas from different people.

Exam Trick

Remember: Story building teaches you how to connect ideas. In exams, always connect your sentences using words like 'and', 'but', 'because' to make your answer clear.

Points To Remember

Stories are made by joining different ideas together.
Every person's ideas are important in group work.
Good stories make sense when all parts are connected.
Imagination helps you create better stories.
Working in groups teaches teamwork and sharing.

Interviews

(a) Why?: Form groups of five. Choose a familiar character from any one of the epics you know. One person from the group plays the role of that character. Others in the group frame questions related to that character's life. The condition is that all the questions should begin with 'Why...?'. They interview the character using these 'Why-?' questions. Practise and present the interview in the classroom.

(b) How?: Follow the above procedure. Now all questions should begin with 'How-?'

(c) Prepare a short script of your interviews.

Teacher's Note

Interviews help you understand characters deeply by asking good questions. When your parents ask why you did something, that is like an interview at home.

Exam Trick

Remember: Good interview questions start with 'Why' and 'How'. In exams, use these words to show deep thinking about characters.

Points To Remember

Interviews help us learn more about people and characters.
Good questions begin with 'Why' and 'How'.
Listening to answers is as important as asking questions.
Scripts help you plan your interview before you do it.
Practicing interviews makes you a better speaker.

Part I

Epics are long poems that relate the deeds of a great national hero or a great national war. They often tell of a nation's early history. They may be composed and sung or recited for many years before they are actually written down.

The two famous Sanskrit epics are The Ramayana and The Mahabharata, and the two great epics of European literature, written in ancient Greek, are The Iliad and The Odyssey. Just as in Indian literature we go back to stories from The Ramayana and The Mahabharata, so in the literature of western countries, they go back to The Iliad and The Odyssey. Just as children all over India know the names of stories of Ram and Sita, Yudhishthira and Arjuna and Draupadi, so children in western countries know the names of Hector and Odysseus and Achilles and Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world, because of whom the Greek and Trojans fought for ten long years.

Nobody knows for certain who the author of these early epics is. It is thought that they arose and developed with the nation itself, and were handed down from singer to singer till perhaps one great poet gave them their final form.

It is believed that The Iliad and The Odyssey were composed and recited by a blind poet named Homer, who lived about 900 BCE and who wandered from one Greek city or village to another, singing his poems to all who would receive him in their homes and give him hospitality. This wandering singer has been honoured through the ages, not only in Greece but in all Europe, as the Father of European Poetry.

The Iliad is the story of Ilium or Troy, a rich trading city in Asia Minor near the narrow sea that leads from the Aegean to the Black Sea. It was well situated, both for commerce and agriculture. In front of the city was the sea over which sailed the ships of Troy, carrying goods and grain. At the back rose the high peak of Mount Ida, from which flowed many rivers and streams. The valleys among the hills were well-watered and fertile, with corn growing in fertile fields and cattle feeding on the rich grass of the meadows while sheep fed on the slopes of the hills.

Round their city the Trojans had built a strong wall so that no enemy should attack them from the sea. The wall was so broad that people could stand and sit and walk on it. The great gates stood open, and people could go to the seashore outside and come in as they pleased. But in time of war the gates would be closed; and then the city was like a strong fortress, quite safe from all attack, protected by the walls surrounding it, as well as by the hills behind.

Thus, Troy was a strong city, strongly protected by its walls and strongly defended by its brave soldiers. But all the kings and heroes of Greece had declared war against the Trojans, because Paris, a prince of Troy, had persuaded Helen, wife of a Greek king Menelaus, to elope with him. He had brought her to Troy. The Greeks wanted to take revenge on Troy for the wrong done to Menelaus. They sailed to Troy and laid siege to the city. The Trojans, too, fought hard and the siege continued for ten long years.

The fighting went on daily, but the siege did not end. On the one hand, the Greeks could not take the city, and on the other hand the Trojans could not force them to sail away. Every day the Trojans came out of their gates, and the Greeks came out of their tents and ships, and the fighting went on. Sometimes there were great battles between the two armies. Sometimes there were single fights between two great heroes. Sometimes the Trojans had the better of it and sometimes the Greeks. But still the fighting went on.

Great heroes on both sides were killed in the course of the war. After leading the defence of his city for nine years, the brave Hector was at last killed by Achilles, whom none could resist. But Achilles himself was killed later on by a poisoned arrow that entered his heel, the only part of his body where he could be wounded.

Teacher's Note

Epics like The Iliad teach us about bravery and war just like our Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata do. These old stories are still read and loved by people all over the world today.

Exam Trick

Remember: Epics = very long poems about heroes and wars. Think of them like very long movies about important national stories. In exams, always say 'epics are long poems' as your first definition.

Points To Remember

Epics are very long poems about heroes and national wars.
Two famous Indian epics are The Ramayana and The Mahabharata.
Two famous European epics are The Iliad and The Odyssey.
Homer was a blind poet who composed The Iliad and The Odyssey.
Troy was a rich trading city in Asia Minor with strong walls.

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