2. Answer the following questions very briefly :
Q. 1. Name the poem and the poet ?
Ans. Name of the poem is ‘Ode on Solitude’. Name of the poet is Alexander Pope.
Q. 2. Who is a blessed man ?
Ans. A happy man is he who has some acres of paperal land and who is contented with the belongings with his land.
Q. 3. How does a happy man spend his time ?
Ans. A happy man spends his life at easy, without care and anxiety, with his belongings and contentment.
Q. 4. Who (m) does ‘me’ refer to in the last stanza ?
Ans. In the last stanza ‘me’ refers to the poet himself, as a farmer.
Q. 5. What do you mean by ‘slide soft away’ ?
Ans. The clause ‘slide soft away’ means ‘passes away smoothly’.
Q. 6. What does the poet wish for after death?
Ans. The poet wish for after death not even a tomb stone to be erected at his grave.
Q. 7. How does the poet want to live ?
Ans. The poet wants to live unseen and unknown.
Q. 8. How does the poet want to die ?
Ans. The poet wants to die unlamented and steal from the world.
Q. 9. What are, the features of a happy life?
Ans. A happy man is carefree, quiet, pleasant, without anxiety, free To get study, meditation and entertainment and he lives at ease with contentment.
Q. 10. The poet thinks that those who are content with what they have are happy men. Do you agree ? Give, reasons.
Ans. Yes, I agree to the ‘poet’s idea that those who are content with what they have are happy men.
Contentment is the root of all pleasure and discontentment is the cause of all grief. Happiness is the matter of mind. When I take food and desire to take more food I feel discontent. But, as soon as feel contentment I stop taking food more. Sometimes it is seen that somebody do not want to leave taking food further because he does not feel satisfaction. Such people sometimes go ill of their eating and eating.
Thus, happiness is mental and contentment, too, is mental. So, contentment gives real happiness.
Q. 11. What does the speaker mean by Together mixt, sweet recreation. Can these things be mixed ? Have you ever tried to do so ?
Ans. The speaker means with the expression that a happy man enjoys sound sleep, study and ease together along with other sweet recreation. A happy man take every matter joyfully because he has no cares and anxiety. So, sound sleep, study and ease all things give him pleasure as a recreation.
To mix these things means to take them playfully. Thus, these thing can be mixed. Yes, I always do the same thing, because I do not take anything with a spirit of gain or lose. On the contrary I take everything as my task, the result whatever may do. I don’t feel botheration.
Q. 12. Why does the poet want to live and die stealthily from the world. How many of you would like to do so ? And Why ?
Ans. The poet wants to live and die stealthily because he is contented in his life with what he has with him. He is not desirous to get anything more. He is not even longing to publicize his name and fame, rather he feels it best for his pleasure that his living or dying may not become a concern of other’s subject of pleasure or pain. So, he thinks just for all because he is contented and thus it means no desire remaining to be fulfilled. Nobody of us like to do so because I see none to be contented so.
Q. 13. Is the title of the poem justified ? Can you suggest any other title? Give reasons for your choice.
Ans. Yes, the little of the poem is justified. The poem describes the matter of solitude. Self appreciation and self-contentment is the matter of every body. Toremain contented in one’s self is a good thing for the pleasure of man. Thus, the title is perfect according to the subject matter. As the poem is a lyric so also the title is perfect. I wish to choose a title, ‘Real Happiness’ for the poem because it deals with the some subject matter.
