CBSE Class 12 English A Thing Of Beauty Worksheet Set B

Very Short Answer type Questions

Question. Which objects of nature does Keats mention as sources of joy in his poem, ‘A Thing of Beauty’?
Answer: The objects of nature, which are a sources of joy are the sun, the moon, trees-young and old, daffodils, sheep, forests, clear rills, the mid forest brake, musk rose, etc.

Question. What is the message of the poem, ‘A Thing of Beauty’?
Answer: The poem ‘A Thing of Beauty’ gives the message that the things of beauty, which nature provides, never lose their charm. They never move into nothingness. They make a long lasting impression. The things of beauty present in the nature relieve us of worldly worries, thus bringing us eternal joy.

Question. What does Keats consider an endless fountain of immortal drink and why does he call its drink immortal?
Answer: It is nature’s beauty, which Keats considers an endless fountain of immortal drink. According to him, the drink is immortal because of the joy and delight it provides, it never passes into nothingness; the joy is forever and its loveliness ever-increasing.

Question. Mention any four things of beauty that add joy to our life.
Answer: The sun, clear rills, the mid forest brake and the grandeur of the doom are four of the innumerable things of beauty that add joy to our life.

Question. How is a thing of beauty a joy forever ?
Answer: A thing of beauty is a joy forever because its loveliness increases and lasts long. It never passes into nothingness and moves away the pall from our dark spirits.

Question. What image does Keats use to describe the beautiful bounty of the earth ?
Answer: The earth is beautiful in terms of lovely scenes and sights. It produces lovely green trees, delicate daffodils and streams. These come as a healing balm to a person in pain or distress. The poet compares them to a fountain of immortal drink from heaven.

Question. Describe any three things of beauty mentioned in the poem, ‘A Thing of Beauty’.
Answer: Everything in nature is a thing of beauty and a source of pleasure. Some of them are the sun, the moon, old and young trees, daffodil flowers, small streams with clear water, etc.

Question. 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 they face because they are surrounded by the things of beauty in nature. They remove the gloomy pall from our dark spirits. Nature makes us rise above the spite of our despondence and allows us to become attuned to the beauty of nature.

Question. Life is full of sorrows. What brings joy in it?
Answer: Life is full of sorrows. However, the beautiful things given by God give us immense joy. They bring peace and calmness to the mind. One can remove one’s sorrows by admiring sights of nature.

Question. In the hot season, how do man and beast get comfort?
Answer: In the hot season, man and beast get comfort by taking shelter under the shade of the trees, or being one with absorbing nature and the coolness it provides. The things of beauty, which nature offers are simple. However, they have a calming effect on every living being.

Question. 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 they face because they are surrounded by the things of beauty in nature. They remove the gloomy pall from our dark spirits. Nature makes us rise above the spite of our despondence and allows us to become attuned to the beauty of nature.

Question. Why and how is grandeur associated with the mighty dead?
Answer: The mighty dead were powerful persons during their own times. The tales of their achievements have been read and heard. Their lives and deeds look extraordinary and inspirational. Thus, grandeur of the mighty dead is a thing of beauty.

Question. Mention any two things which cause pain and suffering.
Answer: Despondence and lack of noble nature are two of the many things, which cause pain and suffering.

Question. How does a thing of beauty provide shelter and comfort?
Answer: A thing of beauty is present in the nature and brings us eternal joy whenever we need it. It keeps a quiet bower for us to take shelter in and comforts us so as to provide us a sound sleep full of sweet dreams, health and quiet breathing. A thing of beauty present in the nature comforts us also by removing the gloom and misery from our lives.

Question. How do we get joy from life which is otherwise full of sorrows ?
Answer: Life is full of sorrows. However, the beautiful things given by God give us immense joy. They bring peace and calmness to the mind. One can remove one’s sorrows by admiring sights of nature.

Question. What makes human beings love life in spite of troubles and sufferings?
Answer: In spite of troubles and sufferings, human beings love life because one is able to derive pleasure from the nature as well as one’s surroundings. The ‘things of beauty’, which nature provides take away all the gloom and fills one with hope.

Question. What does a thing of beauty do for us ?
Answer: A thing of beauty uplifts one’s mood and provides eternal joy. It makes life worth living in spite of despondence, gloomy days, etc. because its loveliness keeps on increasing and never fades away.

Short Answer type Questions

Question. 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… … …
(a) Who are the ‘mighty dead’?
(b) What have we done for them?
(c) What metaphor has been used for ‘lovely tales’ ?
(d) How is the grandeur of the dooms related to the theme of the poem?
Answer: (a) The ‘mighty dead’ are all the great men.
(b) We have heard and read lovely heroic tales about their grandeur.
(c) The metaphor used for ‘Lovely tales’ is an endless fountain of immortal drink.
(d) The grandeur of the dooms is everlasting beauty; one can find beauty even in death.

Question. Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of nobel natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and Q’er darkened ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits.
(a) Name the poem.
(b) Give one cause of human suffering.
(c) What moves away the pall from our lives.
(d) What does the word ‘gloomy’ mean?
Answer: (a) The name of the poem is ‘A Thing of Beauty’.
(b) One of the many causes of human sufferings is lack of noble nature.
(c) Anything, which we consider beautiful moves away the pall from our lives.
(d) The word gloomy means depressed or sad.

Question. 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 :
(a) What are we doing every day?
(b) Which evil things do we possess and suffer from?
(c) What are the circumstances that contribute towards making humans unhappy and disillusioned with life?
Answer: (a) Every day we renew our bond with nature and it is the beauty of nature that keeps us attached to this earth.
(b) We suffer from lack of goodness in human nature and possess unhealthy and our darkened methods of being human.
(c) The trials and tribulations of life that test our bearance make us despondent in life.

Question. All lovely tales that we have heard or read;
An endless fountain of immortal drink.
Pouring onto us from the heaven’s brink.
(a) Name the poem and the poet.
(b) What is the thing of beauty mentioned in these lines?
(c) What image does the poet use in these lines?
Answer: (a) The given lines are from the poem ‘A Thing of Beauty’ by John Keats.
(b) The things of beauty mentioned in the given lines are the lovely tales heard or read.
(c) In these lines, the poet uses the image of ‘an endless fountain of immortal drink’ to describe the beautiful bounty of the Earth.

Question. ‘It’s 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.
(a) Whose loveliness will keep on increasing?
(b) Identify the phrase which says that ‘it’ is immortal.
(c) What is a ‘bower’?
(d) Why do we need sweet dreams, health and quiet breathing in our lives?
Answer: (a) The loveliness of a thing of beauty will keep on increasing.
(b) ‘Never pass into nothingness.’
(c) A pleasant, shady place under a tree is called bower.
(d) We need sweet dreams, health and quiet breathing in our lives to bear the problems of life, to remove the gloom and to uplift the mood.

Question. Some shape of beauty moves away the pall from our dark spirits.
(a) How does beauty help us when we are burdened with grief?
(b) Explain : “Some shape of beauty”.
(c) Identify the figure of speech used in the above lines.
Answer: (a) Beauty or a thing of beauty removes all sad thoughts, has a soothing effect on our senses and lifts our spirits.
(b) ‘Some shape of beauty’ means anything that is beautiful in the world.
(c) Personification and metaphor.

Question. 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.
(a) Name the poem.
(b) Who are the ‘mighty dead’ referred to here?
(c) What is the endless fountain of immortal drink ?
(d) What does the word, ‘brink’ mean ?
Answer: (a) The name of the poem is ‘A Thing of Beauty’.
(b) Here, the ‘mighty dead’ refers to the great people of the world, the people we respect and/or our ancestors as well.
(c) The endless fountain of immortal drink is all the wonderful tales told to us when we were children and all the great books read by us.
(d) The word ‘brink’ means the extreme edge at the top.

Question. 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 :
(a) What are the flowery bands that bind us to the earth ?
(b) What message do the above lines, convey?
Answer: (a) The flowery band that binds us to the earth are new memories we make and hopes we form every morning when we wake up. These too are few of the many beautiful things, which keeps us grounded and make us happy during our time of grief.
(b) The above lines convey that even if the world is full of gloomy days, despondency and lacks people of noble nature, the things of beauty that we are surrounded with bring us hope and joy.

Question. 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: yes in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits.
(a) Name the poem and the poet.
(b) Why are we ‘despondent’?
(c) What removes ‘the pall from our dark spirits’?
Answer: (a) The lines have been taken from the poem ‘A Thing of Beauty’ by John Keats.
(b) We are despondent because of the unhealthy and over-darkened ways of humans and that the world lacks noble people.
(c) According to the poet, even if the world is not worth living because of the innumerable reasons that ultimately result in gloom and depression, the zeal to live a happy and content life can be derived from the sight of the beautiful bounties of nature around us. These beautiful things remove the pall from our dark spirits.

Extract Based Questions

1.
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: yes, in spite of all

Question. Based on the poem, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.
Statement 1: The earth without the beautiful things is a place full of despair and unpleasantness.
Statement 2: The ornate band created by human beings; ushers hope in their lives.
i) Statement 1 is true but Statement 2 is false.
ii) Statement 1 is false but Statement 2 is true.
iii) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 can be inferred.
iv) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 cannot be inferred.
Answer: Both statement 1 and Statement 2 can be inferred.

Question. In which of the following options can the underlined words be replaced with despondence‘?
i) The man paced about the room showing restlessness.
ii) A chat with a close friend can take away our blues.
iii) I was in jitters, seeing the boy trapped in the trench.
iv) Being dogged is what led him to negotiate the challenges.
Answer: A chat with a close friend can take away our blues

Question. Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing a flowery band to bind us to the earth –We tie ourselves to the Earth with _____.
i) life
ii) band of flowers
iii) gloom
iv) beautiful things
Answer: beautiful things.

Question. Which of the following causes suffering and pain to human beings on earth ?
i) Unhealthy and miserable ways
ii) Lack of humane qualities
iii) Days that are sad and depressing
iv) All of these
Answer: All of these

Question. Explain-‘in spite of all’.
Answer: In spite of all negative qualities and evils mentioned by the poet can infuse positivity and joy in our lives.

Question. Which of the following phrases have the poetic device expressed in ‘leaping lizard’?
i) inhuman dearth
ii) gloomy days
iii) over darkened ways
iv) noble natures
Answer: noble natures.

2.
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits. 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; the mid forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;

Question. Pick the option that matches the words / phrases with the literary device.
Word/ phrase Literary device
Word/ phrase Literary device
1. simple sheep
A. imagery
2. gloomy days
B. metaphor
3. bower quiet
C. symbolism
D. transferred epithet
i) 1-C, 2-D, 3-B
ii) 1-B, 2-A, 3-D
iii) 1-D, 2-B, 3-C
iv) 1-C, 2-A, 3-B
Answer: 1-C, 2-D, 3-B

Question. “In all things of nature there is something marvellous.” According to the poet, what are the things that have a sublimating effect on the minds of human beings?
Answer: All beautiful things found in nature, which surround us, have a sublimating effect on our minds,
things like sheep, daffodils, musk roses, streams of water, trees, etc. fill our hearts with joy and delight. Nature’s beauty is evident in the sun and the moon.

Question. ‘From our dark spirits’ in the poem ‘A Thing of Beauty’ implies to___________________
Answer: Our dampened and demoralised spirits

Question. What message does the poem ‘A Thing of Beauty’ convey?
i) Beauty never fades away .
ii) A beautiful thing is joy forever.
iii) Beauty raises the spirit higher.
iv) All the above
Answer: All the above

Question. Choose the option that displays the same poetic device as used in the sixth line of the extract.
(i) I'm as happy as I can be.
(ii) Life is a roller coaster ride.
(iii) Nature is God's gift to us.
(iv) The dazzling divas enchanted all.
Answer: The dazzling divas enchanted all.

Question. What sprouts a shady boon for sheep?
Answer: trees