The Castle Questions and Answers (12th English Poem 1)
Poem Comprehension Questions
A) All through that summer at ease we lay,And daily from the turret wall,We watched the mowers in the hay
- i) Who does ‘we’ refer to?
- ‘We’ refers to the soldiers.
- ii) What work do the mowers do?
- The mowers cut the hay.
- iii. What could they watch from the turret wall?
- They could watch the mowers working in the hay from the turret wall.
B) Our gates were strong, our walls were thick,So smooth and high, no man could win
- i. How safe was the castle?
- The castle was very safe with strong gates and thick, high, smooth walls that no enemy could climb.
- ii. What was the firm belief of the soldiers?
- The soldiers firmly believed that no man could win against their castle because of its strong defense.
C) A foothold there, no clever trick , Could take us dead or quick, Only a bird could have got in.
- i. What was challenging?
- It was impossible for enemies to find a foothold or use any trick to enter the castle.
- ii. Which aspect of the castle’s strength is conveyed by the above line?
- The lines “only a bird could have got in ” show that the castle was so well protected.
(D) Oh then our maze of tunneled stone ,Grew thin and treacherous as air. The castle was lost without a groan, The famous citadel overthrown,
- i. Bring out the contrast in the first two lines.
- The strong and solid stone walls of the castle became weak and useless like air because of betrayal.
- ii. What is the rhyme scheme of the given stanza?
- The rhyme scheme is a b a a.
E) We could do nothing, being sold.
- i. Why couldn’t they do anything?
- They couldn’t do anything because the castle was betrayed by the guard for gold.
- ii. Why did they feel helpless?
- They felt helpless because the enemy entered without a fight and the soldiers were powerless.
7. Underline the alliterated words in the following lines.
- a) With our arms and provender, load on load.
- load – load
- b) A little wicked wicket gate.
- wicked – wicket
- c) The wizened warder let them through.
- wizened – warder
8. Identify the figure of speech used in the following lines.
- a) A little wicked wicket gate.
- Alliteration – repetition of the consonant sound w.
- b) Oh then our maze of tunneled stone.
- Metaphor – comparing the underground passages to a maze.
- c) Grew thin and treacherous as air.
- Simile – comparison using as.
- d) How can this shameful tale be told?
- Rhetorical Question– asked for effect, not for an answer.
- e) Our only enemy was gold.(Both are correct answer)
- Personification – gold is treated as human
- Irony – It describes a situation that is deeply Ironic.
- Example for irony : A fire station burns down
Paragraph Questions (Slow Learners)
The Castle
TTITLE : The Castle
Poet : Edwin Muir
Theme : Loyalty of soldiers and disloyal warder
- The Narrator was a soldier and they had been in the castle all through the summer.
- They had plenty of arms and food to protect the castle.
- The castle’s gate and wall was strong.
- They were totally stress-free and relaxed.
- Their captain was brave and the soldiers were loyal.
- There was a wicket gate, guarded by a wicked guard.
- He let in the enemies inside the citadel for gold through the secret gallery and Intricate path.
- The strong castle became weak and thin.
- Thus the citadel was captured by the enemies.
- Without fight, the castle was captured.
- So he decided not to disclose this shameful story to anyone.
Moral : We can fight the enemy but we can’t defeat the disloyal.
