Animals by Walt Whitman

 The Poem: Animals by Walt Whitman

The theme of the Poem

The poet loves animals for their qualities. They are peaceful and self-reliant. They do not commit any sin like human beings. They do not have to lie awake and weep over their sins. Humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago. They make their idols, posters, etc, and worship them by kneeling their heads. They do not discuss their duty to God. They are satisfied. They do not flatter each other. They do not forget if affection is shown to them. They are not selfish like human beings.

Questions & Answers

Q1. Mention two things that humans do and animals don’t.

Ans. Humans lie awake and weep over their sins at night. They also bore others by discussing their duty to God. The animals don’t do these acts.

Q2. Do Humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago?

Ans. Yes, humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago. They make their idols, posters, etc, and worship them by kneeling their heads.

Q3. What are the ‘tokens’ that the poet says he may have dropped long ago and which the animals have kept for him?

Ans. The tokens are the feelings of love, affection, sympathy, and kindness to others. The poet dropped them a long time ago. But the animals keep these with them.

Q4. What does the poet observe about the animals?

       Or why does the poet admire animals?

Ans. The poet observes that the animals are innocent. Time has not changed their nature. They are what they are from the inside. They are peaceful, satisfied, and self-reliant. But humans hide their real feelings. They are selfish.

Q5 How are animals different from human beings?

 Ans. The poet observes that the animals are innocent. Time has not changed their nature. They are what they are from the inside. They are peaceful, satisfied, and self-reliant. But humans hide their real feelings. They are selfish.

Q6. How do humans make the poet sick?

Ans. Humans make the poet sick by discussing their duty towards God.

Q7. Why are human beings unhappy and dissatisfied?

Ans. Human beings are greedy about possessing material things. Their desires are unlimited. So they are dissatisfied and unhappy.

7. Animals: Stanzas for Comprehension

Stanza 1

I think I could turn and live with animals,

they are so placid and self-contained,

I stand and look at them long and long.

Meaning: 1. Turn: change 2. Placid: peaceful self-contained: self-reliant

Questions:

1. Name the poem and its poet.

Ans. The poem is ‘Animals’ and the poet is Walt Whitman.

2. Who is ‘I’ in the above lines?

Ans. ‘I’ is the poet.

3. Mention two qualities of the animals shown in the above stanza.

Ans. The animals are peaceful and self-reliant.

4. Why does the poet stand and look at them for long?

Ans. The poet is very much impressed by the animals. So he stands and looks at them for a long.

5. Why does the poet wish to live with them?

Ans. The poet loves the qualities of animals. So he wishes to live with them.

6. What does the poet wish in the above lines?

     Ans. The poet wishes to become an animal and start living with them.

  7. Why does the poet wish to live with animals?

 Ans. …because they are peaceful and independent.

8. Find out from the stanza the word that means the following: (i) peaceful (ii) self-reliant and independent

Ans. (i) placid (ii) self-contained

Stanza 2

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,

They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,

Questions:

1. Name the poet and its poet.

Ans. The poem is ‘Animals’ and the poet is Walt Whitman.

2. Who does the word ‘they’ refer to?

Ans. It refers to animals.

3. What do ‘they’ not do at night?

Ans. They do not lie awake and weep over their sins.

4. How do they not make the poet sick?

Ans. They do not make the poet sick by discussing their duty to God.

5. What do ‘they’ not do about their condition?

Ans. They do not complain about their condition.

6. What do human beings do about their sins at night?

Ans. They lie awake and weep over their sins at night.

7. What is the meaning of ‘sweat and whine’?

Ans. It means to make a complaint.

Stanza 3

Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,/ Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago,/ Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.

Word meanings: 1. demented: crazy 2. Kneels: bends

1. Name the poet and its poet.

Ans. The poem is ‘Animals’ and the poet is Walt Whitman.

2. Write about only two qualities of the animals mentioned in the above stanza.

Ans. The animals are not dissatisfied and crazy about owning things.

3. Who are crazy about owning things: human beings or animals?

Ans. Human beings are crazy about owning things.

4. Who is unhappy over the whole earth?

Ans. Human beings are unhappy over the whole earth.

 5. Find from the above stanza the word that means: crazy

Ans. demented

Stanza 4

So they show their relations to me and I accept them,

They bring me tokens of myself, they evince them plainly in their possession I wonder where they get those tokens,

Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?

1. Name the poet and its poet.

Ans. The poem is ‘Animals’ and the poet is Walt Whitman. 

2. Who shows their relation to the poet?

Ans. The animals show their relation to the poet.

3. What are the tokens mentioned in the above stanza?

Ans. These are the feelings of affection and love.

4. What had the poet dropped negligently?

Ans. The poet dropped the feelings of love and affection to the animals negligently.

5. What wonders the poet?

Ans. The poet wonders about the memory of the animals about their relationship with the poet.

6. Find out from the stanza the words that mean the following:

Show b. clearly  c. carelessly

Ans. a. evince b. plainly  c. negligently