CBSE Class 8 English Literature Poem For Every Hill Ive Had To Climb E L Thayer

Ernest Lawrence Thayer (August 14, 1863 – August 21, 1940) was an American writer and poet who wrote the poem "Casey" (or "Casey at the Bat"), which is "the single most famous baseball poem ever written" according to the Baseball Almanac, and "the nation’s best-known piece of comic verse—a ballad that began a native legend as colorful and permanent as that of Johnny Appleseed or Paul Bunyan."

Thayer was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and raised in nearby Worcester. He graduated magna cum laude in philosophy from Harvard University in 1885, where he had been editor of the Harvard Lampoon and a member of the theatrical society Hasty Pudding. William Randolph Hearst, a friend from both activities, hired Thayer as humor columnist for the San Francisco Examiner 1886–88.

SUMMARY

The poet is grateful for all the trials and tribulations in life as he believes that  ‘Hardships Makes Us Stronger.’ So when faced with adversity instead  of looking for  an easy way out, we should not lose hope and never give up .Everybody struggles from time to time, it's in our hands how we handle challenges. Each and every hurdle and obstacle in his life have taught the poet a valuable lesson and made him confident and stronger.

EXERCISES

Ques.1 Answer with reference to context:

a) For every hill I've had to climb,
For every stone that bruised my feet,
For all the blood and sweat and grime,
For blinding storms and burning heat
My heart sings but a grateful song—
These were the things that made me strong!

(i) Identify the poem and poet.

(ii) Identify the poetic device in the second line.

(iii) What is the poet grateful for?

b)For all the heartaches and the tears,
For all the anguish and the pain,
For gloomy days and fruitless years,
And for the hopes that lived in vain,
I do give thanks, for now I know
These were the things that helped me grow!

(i)Identify the rhyme scheme of the given stanza.

(ii)What has helped the poet to grow?

(iii)What is the figure of speech in the first and second line 

Ques.2 Answer the following questions briefly:

a) Develop a central theme about adversity as seen in “For Every Hill I've Had to Climb,” by L. E. Thayer.

b) Do you think obstacles and challenges help to make us a strong person? Give reasons for your answer.

c) Write an instance where someone known to you has emerged a stronger person after facing adversity in his/her life.

Ques.3 Choose the correct answer from the options given beow:

a) The Poem ‘For Every Hill’

(i) Makes the reader feel depressed

(ii)  Makes the reader feel amused

(iii) Makes the reader feel inspired

(iv) Makes the reader feel horrified

b) The poet has overcome  the hurdles and obstacles in his life

(i) In a cowardly manner

(ii) By trying to escape from them

(iii) By trying to pass them on to others

(iv) By facing them bravely

c)  According to the poet, weak people

(i) Are the most successful

(ii) Choose the easy path

(iii) Are always unsuccessful

(iv) Mess up their lives