The Ant and the Cricket Poem Extract Based Question Answer

The Ant and the Cricket Poem Extract Based Questions given here to help the student understand and analyse the poem. These extract-based questions will help in preparing for exams also. Do yourself and then check the answer.

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Extract Based Questions: The Ant and the Cricket

I. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:

At last by starvation and famine made bold,
All dripping with wet, and all trembling with cold
Away he set off to a miserly ant,
To see if, to keep him alive, he would grant
Him shelter from rain,
And a mouthful of grain,
He wished only to borrow;
He’d repay it tomorrow;
If not he must die of starvation and sorrow.

1. Why did the cricket set off to the ant?
2. What made the cricket bold?
3. How did the cricket feel when he arrived at the ant’s house?
4. What did the cricket hope to borrow from the ant?
5. Did the cricket plan to repay the ant for what he borrowed?
6. What would happen if the ant did not grant the cricket’s request?

Answers:

1. The protagonist set off to the ant because he was starving and cold, and was hoping to borrow some food and find shelter from the rain.
2. Starvation an famine made the cricket bold.
3. The poem extract states that the protagonist was “trembling with cold” and “dripping with wet”, indicating that he was not feeling well.
4. The protagonist hoped to borrow “a mouthful of grain” and find shelter from the rain.
5. Yes, the protagonist planned to repay the ant tomorrow if he was granted shelter and food.
6. If the ant did not grant the protagonist’s request, he would “die of starvation and sorrow”.

II. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:

My heart was so light
That I sang day and night
For all nature looked gay.
‘‘You sang, Sir, you say ?
Go then’’ say the ant, ‘‘ and dance the winter away’’.

1. To whom is the ant talking ?
2. When was the heart light of the speaker of the first three lines ?
3. What did the ant suggest to her listener ?
4. What was the cricket’s emotional state in the poem extract?
5. What was the ant’s response to the cricket’s singing and happiness?
6. What is the meaning of the phrase “dance the winter away” in the poem?
7. Who is the cricket addressing in the poem extract?
8. How does the ant’s response contrast with the cricket’s happiness?

Answers:

1. The ant is talking to the cricket.
2. The heart of the speaker (cricket) was light during summer.
3. The ant suggested that he should go and dance the winter away.
4. The cricket’s heart was light and they sang day and night because nature looked cheerful.
5. The ant responded by telling the speaker to go and “dance the winter away.”
6. The phrase “dance the winter away” means to enjoy oneself and forget about the cold and hardships of winter.
7. The cricket is addressing the ant expressing his own feelings and experiences.
8. The ant’s response is practical and focused on survival, while the cricket is carefree and joyful.

III. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:

Says the ant to the
cricket, “I’m your servant
and friend,
But we ants never
borrow; we ants never
lend.
But tell me, dear cricket,
did you lay nothing by
When the weather was
warm?” Quoth the cricket,
“Not I!

1. Who is speaking in the poem extract?
2. What does the ant say to the cricket?
3. Did the cricket save anything for the winter?
4. What is the tone of the ant’s voice when he says, “we ants never borrow; we ants never lend”?
5. What is the cricket’s response when asked if he saved anything for the winter?
6. What lesson can be learned from this poem extract?

Answers:

1. The ant and the cricket are speaking in the poem extract.
2. The ant says, “I’m your servant and friend, But we ants never borrow; we ants never lend.”
3. No, the cricket did not save anything for the winter.
4. The tone of the ant’s voice is matter-of-fact and firm.
5. The cricket’s response is, “Not I!” which implies that he did not save anything for the winter.
6. The lesson that can be learned from this poem extract is the importance of planning ahead and saving for the future.