HSSC - Federal Board

HSC - II (XII Karachi Board) -- Poetry (SECTION - B)

SECTION-B (POETRY)

IF by Rudyard Kipling

 

THE AGE OF INFANCY By Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal

 

THE SEVEN AGES OF MAN By William Shakespeare (from As You Like It)

 

YOU START DYING SLOWLY by Pablo Neruda

 

ULYSSES By Alfred Tennyson

 

STOP ALL CLOCKS By W H Auden

 

SELECTED VERSES FROM SUR SASUI (ABRI) from Shah Jo Risalo translated by Dr. Amina Khamisani

 

POEM #: 01. “IF”

By: RUDYARD KIPLING


POEM #: 02. “THE AGE OF INFANCY”

By: DR. ALLAMA MUHAMMADD IQBAL


POEM #: 03. “SEVEN AGES OF MAN - (FROM AS YOU LIKE IT)”

By: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Q: 01.   Who has composed the poem “Seven Ages of Man”

Ans: The Seven Ages of Man” has been composed by famous dramatist and English literature playwright, William Shakespeare. This poem occurs in ACT II, SCENE VII of Shakespeare’s well and widely known comedy “As You Like It” as a speech delivered by a character named Lord Jacques, a member of the exiled group of nobles, who were obliged to lead an exiled life in the forest or Arden.

 

Q: 02. Describe the idea of William Shakespeare about man and life.                             OR

Q: What characteristic does the poet associate with fourth and fifth stage of man?

Ans: Shakespeare was one of the greatest dramatists of his time and he had devoted an ample part of his life for theatre and plays. He considered this world as a stage. He tells that Human beings are not more than performers or actors who always continue to play their parts on the stage of the world. He has beautifully described the human life and behaviour during different periods of his life and has divided the human life into seven ages right from his birth to his final departure i.e. his death.

 

Q: 03. What are the seven ages of Man?

Ans: Seven ages of man are:

(01) Infant                   (02) A School boy                   (03) Young Lover       (04) A Soldier

(05) A Justice              (06) Old Age                           (07) Very old age / Second Childhood

 

Q: 04.  Describe the 1st age of man.

Ans: According to the poet and dramatist William Shakespeare, each person’s role starts being and infant who is quite innocent, helpless and dependent on others for his life. He is quite feeble and helpless who terribly depends on the nurse. All his necessities and care are looked after by his nurse without whom he can never grow well.

 

Q: 05.  Describe the 2nd age of man.

Ans: In his second age, the man is a school boy when life is amusement and full of playful activities. He is set with his bag for school with shinning face but he cries and shows protest by doing so as he is unwilling and uninterested to go to school. He feels it totally against his freedom. He is reluctant to leave secure and protected environment of his home as he isn’t confident enough to exercise his own discretion.

 

Q: 06.  Describe the 5th age of man.                                                                        OR

What is the significance of the fifth stage of man’s life in the poem “The Seven Ages of Man”?

Ans: In this age, man develops a pot belly as he eats rich and heavy food. He becomes a justice and starts to differentiate between good and bad. It is also a humorous description of the justice in Shakespeare’s age.


Q: 07.  Describe the 6th stage of man’s life.                                                            OR

Q: Describe the sixth stage of man’s life with reference to the poem ‘The Seven Ages Of Man’.

Ans: In sixth age/stage, an old clownish character appears who is physically thin and weak. The man becomes much fretful finding fault with all concerns in this age when his dress of youth becomes loose. He uses glasses and pouch. His manly voice becomes thin and childish and shrilly voice makes his character comic.

 

Q: 08.  What is the behaviour of man in seventh stage of life?                                         OR

Q: Describe the last stage of life as described by William Shakespeare in his poem "The Seven Ages of Man"

Ans: The seventh age closes the chapter of Man’s entire history of eventful life and is the return to second childhood wherein he forgets everything instantly. In this stage of life man has no teeth, no taste, no eye sight and absolutely nothing. He becomes a true picture of distress and helplessness like his childhood. He loses his wit and becomes fretful. He becomes deprived of all energies, dreams and charms of life and feels himself restless in the world without energetic charms, ambition and dreams.

 

Q: 09. Jacques takes a disrespectful, humorous view of man’s life in The Seven Ages of Man. Discuss.

Ans: There is no doubt that Jacques has made fun of man in his descriptions of the man such as Young lover sighing like furnace and sings songs for his lover’s eye brows, being justice who becomes fat from eating rich food, as old man with spectacles on nose, pouch on side, wearing pantaloon and slippers, being soldier who was bearded like a pard and jealous in honour etc, show his purposeful examples of humorous view of life.

 

Q: 10. Why does the poet make a comparison between soldier and ‘pard’?

Ans: It is done to compare the bravery of the two. In Shakespeare’s time, soldiers used to keep beard so he has compared it to the hair under the chin of the leopard.

 

Q: 11. Why is a soldier, “Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel”?

Ans:  A soldier becomes jealous, sudden and quick in quarrel to his colleagues, in matters relating to his honour. If his colleague supersedes him in rank or wins more praise because of his bravery, it is natural for a person to feel jealous. On the other hand if a soldier gets dishonoured, he would act suddenly and quarrel, for the sake of his honour or give his life in front of cannon.

 

Q: 12. Describe the last two stages of man’s life as described by the poet in “The seven ages of Man”.

Ans: The last two stages of man’s life are sixth and seventh stages of man. In sixth age man appears as a clown-looking old man on the stage of life, wearing slippers, loose pants with glasses placed carelessly on the tip of his nose and a small bag hanging onto his side containing his stockings of his youth which have now become too wide for his shrunk legs. His big manly voice has changed into a think childlike voice producing the sound of pipes and whistles in it.

 

Q: 13. Why does the schoolboy go to school at snail’s pace?

Ans: The school boy is not at all interested in going to school and by going to school on snail’s pace he shows his protest and complains. He doesn’t want to leave the safe and protected environment of the home as he isn’t confident enough to exercise his own discretion.

 

Q: 14. Why does the lover sigh like furnace?

Ans: When the lover is profoundly feels disheartened, avoided, ignored and rejected by his beloved’s behaviour he sighs loudly.

 

POEM #: 04. “YOU START DYING SLOLWY”

By: PABLO NERUDA

 

        POEM #: 05. “ULYSSES”

      By: LORD ALFRED TENNYSON

 

Q: 01.  Who has composed the poem “Ulysses”?

Ans: The poem, “Ulysses" has been composed by Lord Alfred Tennyson.

 

Q: 02. What is the theme of the poem “Ulysses”?

Ans: Ulysses is a symbol of an ideal hero who has an unconquerable soul and burns with the passion of adventure and knowledge. Ulysses gives the message of putting and continuing efforts till one achieves his objective. They should not be afraid of the hardships, time or fate and must be strong in their will because ‘Where there is a will there is a way.’ 

 

Q: 03. To whom does Ulysses address?

Ans: Ulysses addresses his mariners who will man his ship to one last voyage in his old age. He encourages and inspires them to continue their efforts till they reach their destination and should not submit before any horrors or hardships.

 

Q: 04. What achievements have been described by Ulysses to encourage his mariners?

Ans: Ulysses has described some remarkable, valuable deeds and achievements by the past heroes who are no more in this world. They worked very hard and always welcomed ups and downs very happily. They faced great challenges, storms and difficulties merrily and opposed free minded people.

 

Q: 05. What does Ulysses tell us about old age?

Ans: Ulysses inspires and encourages his companions in the last voyage of their life by telling that no doubt, they have grown old and old age has brought its labours and honours with it. He emphasized that is should be befitting great heroes to face challenges ahead very bravely and happily.

 

Q: 06. What suggestion does Ulysses give to the mariners?

Ans: Ulysses has given some suggestions to his mariners in which he firstly emphasizes on performing some remarkable deeds before the death. He secondly says that they should not be like those who took in battles against their gods as told in Greek Mythology and they should not submit or give up their efforts due to any hardships or horror.

POEM #: 06. “STOP ALL CLOCKS”

By: W. H. AUDEN

 

POEM #: 07. “SELECTED VERSES FROM SUR SASUI (ABRI)” (FROM SHAH JO RISALO)

By: DR. AMINA KHAMISANI