Author: TEAM PROSTUTI

THE POETRY OF EARTH
by John Keats

THE POETRY OF EARTH LAQ
Compiled by
P. K. Bawali

THE POETRY OF EARTH LAQ

Introduction

The argument put forward by Keats in this poem is that, the natural music of the earth never ceases to play through the cycle of seasons. The poem is a sonnet in which the song of the grasshopper is embodied in the octave and that of the cricket is portrayed in the sestet.

THE POETRY OF EARTH LAQ

Introduction to the poet:

John Keats (1795-1821) was a note d poet of the English Romantic Movement He belonged to the second generation of Romantic poets who came after Coleridge and Wordsworth. He is known for his vivid imagery which are noted for their sensuous appeal. Some of his famous works are Ode to a Nightingale Hyperion and Isabella.

NOW READ THE TEXT FIRST:

The poetry of earth is never dead:

When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,

And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run

From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead:

That is the Grasshopper'- he takes the lead

In summer luxury, -he has never done

With his delights; for when tired out with fun

He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.

The poetry of earth is ceasing never:

On a lone winter evening, when the frost

Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills

The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,

And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,

The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills.

[Word Notes:
mead: medow
stone: a device for cooking and heating
wrought: made]

A. CENTRAL IDEA OF THE POEM:

      Nature is full of music Though the season changes, the music and poetry of earth never perish. Neither the hot sun of summer nor the frosty  atmosphere of winter can affect the continuity of the music of Nature Chirping of the Grasshopper fills the void  when all the song-birds are exhausted by the heat of the sun. In winter, the little Cricket’s song triumphs over the silence produced by the winter frost. Thus the whole poem shows the continuity of the music of Nature. The poem appreciates the never-ending music of Nature and justifies the idea that the poetry of earth is never dead.

 B. CRITICAL ESTIMATE OF THE POEM:

 1.  Introduction:

 Keats sonnet The Poetry of Earth is the product of a competition between Keats and his friend. Leigh Hunt. Keats composed the sonnet on the theme proposed by his friend. Both in content and expression “The Poetry of Earth is one of the best sonnets in English literature. It has given us one of the memorable lines ever written: “The poetry of earth is never dead”.

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Development of the Theme:

Poetry of the earth means music in Nature and the music in Nature never stops. This is the theme that Keats develops in the poem, The Poetry of Earth’. The message of this poem is expressed in the following two lines.
Ø  “The poetry of earth is never dead” (opening line); and

Ø  “The poetry of earth is ceasing never” (first line of the sestet).

Through these lines Keats asserts  emphatically that music of Nature is present in every season and will never come to an end. Be it the peak of scorching Summer or the bitterly  cold Winter, the music of Nature adds vitality to the environment in all seasons. In summer, the song ds being tired with the heat of the sun, may top singing. Even then the poetry of earth is ard. While the birds take rest under the shade trees, the Grasshopper sings in joy. It adds to music of Nature, As he moves from hedge to ge in the meadow, he chirps merrily.

Asleep in the valley এর উপর প্রশ্নোত্তর পেতে এখানে ক্লিক করোঃ

Development of the Theme:

    His delightful song expresses the mood of the season. The Grasshopper sings excitedly until he is tired. When he is exhausted, he takes rest beneath a pleasant weed for a moment before resuming his song again. Thus, the Grasshopper becomes the poet of summer. Similarly the Cricket is the poet of winter. In the midst of frosty silent, bleak winter evening, the poetry of the earth continues without any break. The shrill cry of the Cricket breaks the silence of the winter evening.

It seems to drive away the cold spell of the winter. He keeps the music of earth alive. The happy chirping of the Cricket sounds thrilling. It adds new energy and vitality to the dull, lifeless weather. To a halt-asleep person, the Cricket’s song seems to be the continuation of the Grasshopper’s delightful song among the grassy hills. Thus, the poet reiterates To his belief in the continuity of the cycle of seasons and the song of Nature.

Song of Nature: 

While writing about the songs of Nature, usually the poets speak of the songs of the nightingale, the cuckoo and the skylark. But in this poem, Keats speaks of the songs of two chirping insects, the Grasshopper and the Cricket. While the Grasshopper is the poet of summer, the Cricket is the bard of winter. In the poem To Autumn, Keats finds out the music of autumn. He challenges the spring for its well-known music of birds and points out that autumn has its music too.

Sensuous Beauty: 

The sonnet shows the young poet’s taste for beauty. He finds it in all seasons and in all objects of Nature. Here the poet draws a natural picture of summer in octave by using words like “birds’, “faint’, “hot sun’, ‘cooling trees The song of the Grasshopper keeps Nature alive. In the sestet, Keats depicts a tine picture of a lonely winter evening. The frost, the silence, the stove and the Cricket’s song suggest that the season is winter. This sensuous  perception of Nature’s beauty and melody  makes the sonnet a perfect specimen of Keats’ poetry.

Language and Style: 

The sonnet is written in simple language. Both the octave and the sestet begin with the message that the poetry of earth le.. music in Nature can never stop. While the octave is dedicated to Summer, the sestet  is dedicated to winter.

THE POETRY OF EARTH LAQ (LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS):

(Word limit : in about 100 words)

Q1. Justify the significance of the title of the poem, The Poetry of Earth.
Or,
Justify the aptness of the title of the poem, The Poetry of Earth.

Answer:
       The title of any piece of literary writing should be apt, attractive and suggestive. The title must attract the attention of the readers and at the same time it must give the hints of what is there inside it.
       In  John Keats’ poem “The Poetry of Earth” the song of the earth continues forever. In summer, the hot sun makes the song-birds tired. So they take shelter in shadowy trees and stop singing. Still a song is heard there. It runs from hedge to hedge in the meadow. This is the song of the Grasshopper. He takes the lead in summer His joy knows no bounds. Whenever he is tired, he rests beneath some pleasant weed only to resume with renewed energy. The poetry of earth doesn’t cease even in winter. In such a quiet, frosty winter evening the little Cricket keeps the music of earth alive. To a person sitting half-asleep near the fire, it seems to be a continuation of the Grasshopper’s song among some grassy hills.
          Thus, the title of the poem is very apt and suggestive.

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THE POETRY OF EARTH

LAQ No 2

Q2. “The poetry of earth is never dead” 
Where does the line occur?
 What does the poet mean by this line?
Or,
Explain “The poetry of earth is ceasing never.’ (1+4)
Answer:
      The above quoted  line occurs in Keats poem, The Poetry of Earth’.
    By this line, the poet means that songs and music of Nature will never stop. They will go on without any break. Any change in season or weather will not affect this. In summer, the song-birds, being tired in the hot sun, take shelter in cooling shade and stop singing. Even then the song of Nature is heard as the tiny Grasshopper sings merrily while moving about from hedge to hedge in the meadow. Similarly, in the midst of frosty, silent, bleak winter evening. the poetry of earth continues. The shrill cry of the Cricket breaking the silence of the winter evening reminds the drowsy man of the Grasshopper’s delightful song among the grassy hills.

THE POETRY OF EARTH

LAQ No 3

Q3. “When all the birds are faint…”
Why are all birds faint?
What do the birds do?
Who takes up the role of the birds and how? (1+2+2)
Answer:
       Song-birds feel exhausted and are faint owing to the scorching heat of the sun in summer.
     The birds are the natural songsters of the earth. They sing in joy and express the mood the season. But here, the birds are exhausted the intolerable heat of summer. So they take shelter in the cool shady  trees and fall silent.
      When the birds retire to cooling shads and stop singing, the void is filled up by the Grasshopper. He sings merrily. He expresses immense joy as he moves from hedge to hedge in the freshly-mown  meadow. In the absence of the song-birds, he takes the lead, luxuriating in the gaiety and abundance of the season. He becomes the bard (singer) of summer.

THE POETRY OF EARTH

LAQ No 4

Q4. “A voice will run” 
Where does the line occur?
What is the voice referred to here?
When will the voice run? [1+1+3]
Answer:
The line occurs in Keats’ poem, The Poetry of Earth
    The ‘voice’ referred to here is the voice of the Grasshopper.
    In summer, the hot sun threatens to sap every drop of energy. All song-birds are faint with the scorching heat of the sun. So they stop singing and take shelter in the cool shade offered by the leafy boughs of the trees.
    When the birds retire to cooling shade and stop singing, the void is fille d up by the Grasshopper. The Grasshopper becomes the poet of summer chirping merrily from hedge to hedge. He takes the lead, luxuriating in the gaiety and abundance of the season.

THE POETRY OF EARTH

LAQ No 5

Q5. “He has never done/With his delights”
Who is ‘he’?
What does he do?
What does the extract mean? (1+2+2)
Answer:
    Here he’ is the Grasshopper.
    In summer, the scorching heat of the sun makes all the song-birds exhausted. They become too tired to sing then. At this hour, the Grasshopper comes forward and sings in joy. He keeps the flow of the song of Nature alive and expresses immense joy, luxuriating in the gaiety of the season. H e becomes the poet of the season. When he becomes tired of singing, he takes rest beneath some pleasant weed only to resume his song with renewed energy.
   The extract shows the tireless effort of the Grasshopper in making Nature vibrant with his songs. His delights never come to an end. As a result, the poetry of earth goes on forever.

THE POETRY OF EARTH

LAQ No 6

Q6. “That is the Grasshopper.”
What is referred to by “that”?
What does the poet mean to say?
Why does the poet use capital letter in Grasshopper?
Answer:
        Here “that” refers to the song of the Grasshopper
        In summer, the scorching heat of the sun makes all the song-birds exhausted. They become too tired to sing then. At this hour, the Grasshopper comes forward and sings in joy. He keeps the flow of the song of Nature alive and expresses immense joy, luxuriating in the gaiety of the season. He becomes the poet of the season. When he becomes tired of singing, he takes rest beneath some pleasant weed only to resume his song with renewed energy.
       The poet personified the Grass hopper by using capital letter.

THE POETRY OF EARTH

LAQ No 7

Q7. Give the substance  the poem, The Poetry of Earth. 
Or,  
What is the theme of the poem, The Poetry of Earth’? 
Or, 
What is the message of the p he message? (5) 

Answer:  
According to Keats, the song of the earth continues forever. In summer, the hot sun makes the song-birds tired. So they take shelter in shadowy trees and stop singing. Still a song is heard there. It runs from hedge to hedge in the meadow. This is the song of the Grasshopper. He takes the lead in summer His joy knows no bounds. Whenever he is tired, he rests beneath some pleasant weed only to resume with renewed energy. The poetry of earth doesn’t cease even in winter. In such a quiet, frosty winter evening the little Cricket keeps the music of earth alive. To a person sitting half-asleep near the fire, it seems to be a continuation of the Grasshopper’s song among some grassy hills.