BLISS : CLASS 9 : W B B S E

AUTUMN

love the fitful  gusts  that shakes
 The casement all the day
And from the mossy elm tree takes
 The faded leaf away
Twirling it by the window-pane
With thousand others down the lane

      2
I love to see the shaking twig
 Dance till the shut of eve
The sparrow on the cottage rig
 Whose chirp would make believe

That spring was just now flirting by
In summers lap with flowers to lie

      3
I love to see the cottage smoke
 Curl upwards through the naked trees
The pigeons nestled round the coat
 On dull November days like these
The cock upon the dung-hill crowing
The mill sails on the heath agoing

      4
The feather from the ravens breast
 Falls on the stubble lea
The acorns near the old crows nest
 Fall pattering down the tree
The grunting pigs that wait for all                                                                                                                    Scramble and hurry where they fall.

 

WORD STUDY:

WORDS	SYNONYMS
FITFUL	REFRESHING
GUST	A SUDDEN STRONG RUSH OF WIND
SHAKES	jerks
MOSSY	Covered in moss
ELM-TREE	Semi –deciduous tree
TWIRLING	Spinning round and round
WINDOW -PANE	Glass in a window
TWIG	Slender and soft shoot
EVE	Evening
CHIRP	Call of birds
BELIEVE	faith
FLIRTING	playfulness
LAP	the flat area between the waist and knees of a seated person.
LIE	rest flat on a surface.
SMOKE	visible vapour
CURL	form or or spiral shape.
NAKED-TREES	Trees without leaves
PIGEONS	A bird
COTE	nest
DULL	dreary
COCK	A male bird
DUNG-HILL	Heaped dung of  any animal
CROWING	Call of cock
MILL	factory
SAILS	moves
HEATH	Open land
FEATHER	plumage
RAVEN	A type of crow
BREAST	chest
STUBBLE	The short lower part of the stem of crop
LEA	Grass covered land
ACORNS	Small brown nut of the oak tree
NEST	cote
FALL	drop
PATTERING	Making repeated, quick, light sound
GRUNTING	Sound of
PIG	An animal
WAIT
SCRAMBLE	Move fast
HURRY	Move fast
COTTAGE	hut
RIG	Part of cottage
AGOING	moving
FADED	Loss of colour,pale

 

ABOUT THE POET:

John Clare (13 July 1793 – 20 May 1864) was an English poet. He is popularly  known for his celebrations of the English countryside and sorrows at its disruption.  Jonathan Bate called Clare "the greatest labouring-class poet that England has ever produced. No one has ever written more powerfully of nature, of a rural childhood, and of the alienated and unstable self. In his time, Clare was commonly known as "the Northampton shire Peasant Poet". Clare's knowledge of the natural world went far beyond that of the major Romantic poets and was the most influential poet, apart from Wordsworth, to write in an older style.

SUMMARY:

John Clare is a keen observer of rural nature. His love for nature if praiseworthy. In this poem we find a beautiful pen picture of the season Autumn and happenings. In this season trees shed leaves and look naked. Sudden rush of wind is also a feature of autumn which sheds leaves and shakes the window pane; but here poet opines why he loves the autumn. In autumn, he loves to see the cottage smoke curl upwards through the naked trees, the pigeons nestled round the cote,he cock upon the dung-hill crowing, The mill sails on the heath agoing,The feather falls from the ravens breast  on the stubble lea, small brown nut of the oak tree fall near the old crow’s nest  pattering down the tree and the grunting pigs that wait for all rush to the spot. All these also take place in dull and cold autumn. It means autumn is also full of life and activity that captivates the mind and heart of  romantic people.                                                                                                         

QUESTIONS:

                   i.        What do the fitful gusts shake?

                 ii.        What took away the faded leaves of mossy elm tree?

                iii.        How do the leaves fall?

               iv.        What happens to the leaves of the elm tree in autumn?

                 v.        How many are the leaves falling down?

               vi.        What does the poet love to see?

              vii.        How long will the twig dance?

            viii.        Why did the poet believe that spring was flirting by?

               ix.        Does the poet like to see the cottage smoke? Why and where?

                 x.        Where did the pigeon nestle round?

               xi.        When did the pigeon nestle round?

              xii.        Where is the cock? Why?

            xiii.        Where is the mill?

            xiv.        What falls and where?

             xv.        Where are the acorns?

            xvi.        What are the pigs doing?

          xvii.        What for the pigs scramble and hurry?

        xviii.        Mention all the activities loved by the poet.

            xix.        “On dull November days like these.” Explain why.

             xx.        What are the things the poet loves to see on November days?

            xxi.        Name the birds and their cries mention in the poem?

          xxii.        What is personification? Mention the five things that have been personified in autumn.

        xxiii.        What do the flowers do in summer’s lap?

 

Complete the sentences.

                        i.            I love the _____________________________

                     ii.            The leaves are twirling it by ________________________

                  iii.            The shaking twig will dance _____________ till the shut of eve.

                   iv.            The sparrow is on the _________________________    

                      v.            _________ chirp would make believe, that spring was just now flirting by.
      

                   vi.            The pigeons nestled round ____________________  

                vii.            The cock was upon __________________________

             viii.            The mill sails ___________________________

                   ix.            The feather falls from _____________________________

                      x.            The grunting pigs wait___________

                   xi.             The cottage smoke curls _______________________________

                xii.            The name of  the poet is __________________________