“Wandering Singers” by Sarojini Naidu

L-16.   “Wandering Singers” by Sarojini Naidu  Class VII: Summary of the Poem

A.     Answer these questions.

1.      What is the song Wandering Singers about?     Ans. The song is about the band of folk singers who wander from town to town and from village to village to spread the message of love through their singing. They play the lute; a musical instrument as they roam from place to place.

2.      Do the singers stay at one place or do they wander about? What determines where they go?   Ans. They wander about from one place to the other. The call of the wind determines where they go.

3.      What do the singers sing about?   Ans. The song of the Wandering Singers is about the stories of ancient battles or of old kings. They also have songs about the beauty of women and about happy and sad things. All mankind are like their extended family and the world is their home.

Ex. B. Explain these lines from the poem.    1.Where the voice of the wind calls our wandering feet.

Ans. They go where the voice of the wind calls them.

2.All men are our kindred, the world is our home.    Ans. All human-beings are like their extended family and the world is their home.

3.Our lays are of cities whose luster is shed.    Ans. Their songs are about the cities whose glory has faded now.

4.What hope shall we gather, what dreams shall we sow?     Ans. Here the poetess seems to tell us about their sadness about their future. They do not stay at one place. So they cannot gather hope and have dreams about their bright future.

5.The voice of the wind is the voice of our fate.    Ans. It means that their movements depend on the call of the wind.

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Lesson 17: Tom Sawyer B. Answer these questions with reference to the context.

1.      I’ll show you my sore toe!

a.      Who says this to whom?

           Ans. Tom says this to Jim.

b.      Why does he say this?

Ans. He says this to engage Jim in the task of whitewashing.  Jim wanted to see Tom’s sore toe.

2.      Well, I don’t see why I oughtn’t to like it. Does a boy get a chance to white-wash a fence every day?

a.      Who says this to whom?

Ans. Tom says this to Ben.

b.      Does he really like what he was doing? Explain.

Ans. Tom does not like it. Actually he was showing to Ben that it was not a work. It was rather an art.

c.       What was his intention behind this remark?

Ans. His motive was to impress Ben so that he could start whitewashing the fence.

3.      Now, be powerful careful, Ben. I’m risking an awful lot just lettin’ you do that.

A.      Who is the speaker?

Ans. Tom is the speaker.

b.What does he ask Ben to be careful about?

Ans. He asks Ben to be careful in whitewashing.

c.What did he say he was risking? Was he really taking a risk?

Ans. Not at all. He was not risking anything. Actually he was a little bit afraid of Aunt Polly.

4.      If Ben gonna whitewash that last plank I gotta right, too. My kite’s worth more’n an old apple!

a.      Who says this to whom?

Ans Joe says this to Tom.

b.      Why is he ‘fighting’ to whitewash the fence?

Ans. There was a long line in waiting for the turn to brush a lick at the last plank of the fence. Joe also wanted to paint if Ben was given a chance.

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Macavity the Mystery Cat:  3. You’ll be sure……….division sums.” 

  Ans. These lines have been taken from the poem ‘Macavity, the Mystery Cat’ written by T.S. Eliot. The poet tells us that Macavity is the name of cruelty itself. He has broken all human laws. He has committed so many crimes, but he has not been convicted for them.

There is use no use of investigating the matter because Macavity would not be found responsible for those crimes. The Secret Service might say that it is done by Macavity, but that is of no use. He will be half a mile away from the place of crime and may be relaxing or licking his thumbs or may be busy in solving the complicated (difficult) sums of division.