This post provides Answer and solutions to textbook exercises given Class 7 English Book ‘Gul Mohar’.
Summary
This poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson is about sadness after losing a close friend. The poet looks at the sea waves crashing on the rocks. The waves keep moving, just like life keeps going. Children play happily, ships sail forward, but the poet feels stuck in his grief.
The poem teaches us that:
- Nature goes on, no matter how we feel.
- Life continues with joy and activity.
- Memories of loved ones stay forever in our hearts.
It is called an elegy because it is written to remember someone who has died.
In short: The poem shows the pain of losing someone dear, but also reminds us that while the world moves forward, love and memories never fade.
Gul Mohar Class 7 English Textbook Exercises with Answers
Understanding the Poem
1. Who or what is being addressed in the first line?
Short Answer
The poet is addressing the sea. He speaks to it as if it can hear and understand his feelings.
Long Answer
In the first line, the poet addresses the sea, especially its powerful waves breaking against the rocks. This is an example of apostrophe, where a poet speaks directly to something that cannot reply. The sea becomes a silent listener to the poet’s deep sorrow.
2. In the first stanza, what does the speaker wish he could do? What does it say about his state of mind?
Short Answer
The speaker wishes he could express the thoughts and feelings in his heart. This shows that he is deeply sad and unable to put his grief into words.
Long Answer
The speaker wishes that he could express the painful thoughts rising in his heart. However, his grief is so deep that words fail him. This shows that he is emotionally disturbed and overwhelmed by the loss of someone very dear to him.
3. Look at the second and third stanzas. What has been described and what is it in contrast to? How does the contrast sharpen the emotions in the poem?
Short Answer
The poet describes children playing, a sailor singing, and ships sailing safely. These happy scenes are contrasted with his own sadness. This contrast makes his grief appear even more painful.
Long Answer
In the second and third stanzas, the poet describes ordinary life going on as usual. The fisherman’s boy plays happily with his sister, the young sailor sings, and the ships continue their journeys. These cheerful scenes are contrasted with the poet’s deep grief over the loss of a loved one. The contrast shows that while the world continues normally, the poet remains trapped in sorrow. This makes his emotions stronger and more touching.
4. “Will never come back to me.” What will never come back to the speaker? Why?
Short Answer
The happy days he shared with his loved one will never come back because that person has died and cannot return.
Long Answer
The speaker says that the “tender grace of a day that is dead” will never return. This means the beautiful moments and happiness he once shared with his loved one are gone forever. Since the loved one has died, those joyful days cannot be brought back.
5. What is the difference between sadness and grief? What are the lines that bring out the grief of the speaker? Underline them.
Short Answer
Sadness is a feeling of unhappiness, but grief is deep sorrow caused by losing someone close. The following lines show the speaker’s grief:
- “And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.” - “But O, for the touch of a vanish’d hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still!” - “But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me.”
Long Answer
Sadness is a temporary feeling of unhappiness, while grief is a much deeper emotion caused by the death or loss of someone we love. The speaker’s grief is shown through his longing for the touch and voice of the loved one who is no longer alive and his acceptance that those happy days can never return.
The lines that clearly express his grief are:
- “And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.” - “But O, for the touch of a vanish’d hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still!” - “But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me.”
6. How does the poem show that life and nature go on despite what happens to human beings? How is this idea linked to the sea?
Short Answer
The poem shows that children keep playing, sailors keep singing, ships continue sailing, and the sea keeps breaking against the rocks. This shows that life and nature continue even when people suffer personal loss.
Long Answer
The poem shows that life does not stop because of one person’s sorrow. Children continue to play, the sailor sings happily, ships safely reach the harbour, and the sea keeps crashing against the rocks without changing. The sea symbolises the continuous flow of nature and time. It reminds us that while people experience grief and loss, the natural world moves on in its own steady way.
Appreciating the Poem
1. This poem uses personification in the first stanza. Which thing is given human qualities and how?
Short Answer
The sea is given human qualities. The poet speaks to it as if it can hear and understand his feelings.
Long Answer
The sea is personified in the first stanza. The poet directly addresses it by saying, “O Sea!”, treating it like a living listener. Although the sea cannot speak or understand, the poet shares his sorrow with it as if it were a person. This makes his emotions more powerful.
2. Which words have been repeated in the poem? What effect does the repetition produce?
Short Answer
The words “Break, break, break” are repeated. The repetition creates the sound of the crashing waves and emphasises the poet’s continuous grief.
Long Answer
The poet repeats “Break, break, break” at the beginning and near the end of the poem. This repetition (called epizeuxis and also forming a refrain) reflects the endless movement of the sea. It also suggests that the poet’s sorrow keeps returning, just like the waves that never stop crashing against the rocks.
3(a). Which words, phrases or lines express sadness and longing (a strong desire, especially for something which is difficult or impossible to have)?
Short Answer
The following lines express the poet’s sadness and longing:
- “And I would that my tongue could utter / The thoughts that arise in me.”
- “But O, for the touch of a vanish’d hand, / And the sound of a voice that is still!”
- “But the tender grace of a day that is dead / Will never come back to me.”
Long Answer
The poet’s longing is shown through several emotional lines. He wishes he could express his feelings, longs for the touch and voice of the loved one he has lost, and accepts that the happy days of the past will never return. These lines clearly express his deep grief and helplessness.
3(b). Which stanza captures a different mood—one of joy and light-heartedness?
Short Answer
The second stanza has a joyful and light-hearted mood. It describes the fisherman’s boy playing with his sister and the young sailor singing happily.
Long Answer
The second stanza stands out because it describes cheerful scenes of everyday life. The fisherman’s boy plays happily with his sister, and the sailor sings while rowing his boat. These joyful pictures contrast sharply with the poet’s sadness and make his grief even more touching.
4. Silence—or the inability to speak—has been mentioned twice in this poem. Who are the two people who cannot speak? Why?
Short Answer
The two people are:
- The poet, who cannot express his deep feelings in words.
- The loved one who has died, whose voice is now silent forever.
Long Answer
The poem mentions silence in two ways. First, the poet says that he wishes his tongue could express the thoughts in his heart, showing that his grief is too deep for words. Second, he speaks of “the sound of a voice that is still,” referring to the loved one who has died and can never speak again. These two kinds of silence make the poem deeply emotional.
Going Furthur
This section has 3 questions. The students attempt themselves Q 1 and 3.
A model answer for Question 2 is provided here.
2. If the sea could reply to the speaker, what do you think it would say?
Sample Answer:
If the sea could reply, it might say:
“I understand your sorrow, and I have watched people laugh, cry, and say goodbye for countless years. Your loved one cannot return, but the happy memories you shared will always live in your heart. Like my waves, life keeps moving forward. Though your pain is deep today, time will slowly help you find peace. Cherish your memories, for true love is never forgotten.”