Gujarat Board GSEB Class 9 English Textbook Solutions Reading Comprehension Unseen Poems Questions and Answers, Notes Pdf.

GSEB Class 9 English Reading Comprehension Unseen Poems

Read the following poems carefully and answer the questions given below them :

Question 1.
Have you seen a little dog anywhere about?
A raggy dog, a shaggy dog, who’s always looking out
For some fresh mischief which he thinks he really ought to do.
He’s very likely, at this minute, biting someone’s shoe.
If you see that little dog, his tail up in the air,
A whirly tail, a curly tail, a dog who doesn’t care
For any other dog, he meets, not even for himself,
Then hide your mats, and put your meat upon the topmost shelf.
If you see a little dog, barking at the cars,
A raggy dog, a shaggy dog, with eyes like twinkling stars,
Just let me know, for though he’s bad, as bad as can be;
I wouldn’t change that dog for all the treasures of the sea!
Questions :
(1) What has happened to the poet’s dog? How do you know that?
(2) How shall we know that the dog belongs to the poet if we see it on the road?
(3) What does the poet instruct others to do to avoid damage to be done by his dog?
(4) In spite of all his naughtiness, what does the poet say about his dog? Why?
Answer:
1. The poet’s dog is missing. The poet is asking others if anybody has seen his raggy, shaggy dog.

2. The poet, in this poem, makes the identity of his lost dog very clear. He says that the dog looks raggy and shaggy. Its eyes are like twinkling stars. It is mischievous. Its tail that always keeps up is whirly and curly. The dog had a habit of biting someone’s shoe and barking at the cars. On the basis of these details, we can identify the dog and say that the dog belongs to the poet.

3. The poet says that his dog is very mischievous. He would chew away mats and eat up meat if left unattended. So he instructs others to hide their mats and put their meat upon the topmost shelf.

4. In spite of all his naughtiness, the poet says that though his dog is bad, he wouldn’t change that dog even if he is given offered all the treasures of the sea. He says so because he loves his dog rather too much.

Question 2.
I once had a sweet little doll, dears,
The prettiest doll in the world;
Her cheeks were so red and so white, dears,
And her hair was so charmingly curled.
But I lost my poor little doll, dears,
As I played in the heath one day;
And I cried for her more than a week, dears,
But I never could find where she lay.
I found my poor little doll, dears,
As I played in the heath one day;
Folks say she is horribly changed, dears,
For her paint is all washed away.
And her arm trodden off by the cows, dears,
And her hairs, not the least bit curled :
Yet for old sake’s she is still, dears,
The prettiest doll in the world.
Questions :
(1) What kind of a doll did the little girl have?
(2) Where was the doll found?
(3 ) What changes were found in the doll?
(4) Why did the little girl still love the doll?
Answer:
1. The little girl had a sweet little doll. It was the prettiest doll in the world.
2. The doll was found in the heath. Once when the little girl was playing in the heath, she found the doll there.
3. The doll was horribly changed in the heath. Her paint was all washed away. Her arm was trodden off by the cows. Her hair was no more curled.
4. The little girl still loved the doll because her past memories were greatly attached to the prettiest doll and they were still alive in her mind.

Question 3.
O say what is that thing called Light,
Which I must ne’er enjoy;
What are the blessings of the sight,
O tell, you poor blind boy!
You talk of wondrous things you see;
You say the sun shines bright;
I feel him warm, but how can he make it day or night?
My day or night myself I make Whene’er I sleep or play:
And could I ever keep awake
With me ‘twere always day.
With heavy sighs, I often hear
You mouin my hapless woe;
But sure with patience, I can bear
A loss I ne’er can know.
Then let not what I cannot have
My cheer of mind destroy;
Whilst thus I sing, I am a king.
Although a poor blind boy.
Questions :
(1) What is the thing which the blind boy ‘must never enjoy’?
(2) How does the boy know that the sun is there?
(3) How does the boy make his day and night? When would it always be ‘day’ with him?
(4) Why is it not so difficult for the blind boy to bear the loss of the sun?
Answer:
1. The blind boy ‘must never enjoy’ the thing called ‘Light’.
2. The boy feels the warmth of the sun and knows that the sun is there.
3. The boy himself makes his day or night. When he sleeps, it is night for him. When he keeps awake, it is always a ‘day’ for him.
4. It is not so difficult for the blind boy to bear the loss of the sun because he has never felt the loss of the sun.

Question 4.
Silver star,
O will you be my mother,
Will you stay with me
And kiss me in the black night when I cry?
Laughing wind,
I want you for a brother,
Will you play with me
And tell me stories of the sea and the sky?
Sometimes, O wind,
You know I am lonely
O star, I am afraid
Of sounds and creeping shadows on the wall.
God, they say,
Loves little children, only
1 wish that he had made
Someone to love me and hear me call.
Birds and bees.
And flowers have one another.
The lambkin and the lark
The grey mouse and the squirrel and the deer…
Does God forget
How much I want a mother
To hold me in the dark
And whisper lovely secrets in my ear?
Questions :
(1) What does the child ask from the silver star?
(2) What does the child request the wind?
(3) What is the child afraid of?
(4) What is the tone of the poem?
Answer:
1. The child asks the silver star to be his mother. He wants to stay with her and wishes that she kisses him when he cries in the dark night.

2. The child requests the wind to be his brother. He wants him to play with him and tell him the stories of the sea and the sky.

3. The child is afraid of the sounds made by the wind and of the creeping shadows on the wall created by the light of stars.

4. The poem has a tragic and sad tone. The child craves for the love of his mother and pleads to God to bless him with mother. His mother would whisper lovely secrets in his ear and take care of him.

Question 5.
Sweet and low, sweet and low,
Wind of the Western Sea,
Low, low, breathe and blow,
Wind of the Western Sea.
Over the rolling water go,
Come from the dying moon, and blow,
Blow him again to me;
While my little one, while my pretty one sleeps.
Sleep and rest, sleep and rest,
Father will come to thee soon;
Rest, rest, on mother’s breast,
Father will come to thee soon;
Father will come to his babe in the nest,
Silver sails all out of the west,
Under the silvery moon;
Sleep, my little one, sleep my pretty one, sleep.
Questions :
(1) What is a lullaby?
(2) Who is addressed in the poem?
(3) What is the mother’s request to the wind?
(4) Whom is the mother waiting for?
Answer:
1. A lullaby is a sweet song sung to a child to make it sleep.
2. The wind of the western sea is addressed in the poem.
3. The mother requests the wind to blow to make her child sleep.
4. The mother is waiting for her husband (the child’s father).

Question 6.
Now you are gone to join the ranks of those
whose names will ever line in every heart
With joyous fragrance like the budding rose
That was of you so intimate a part;
You fought and strove to give our nation light,
To bring it freedom, break its binding chain,
You warred against a vast, imperial might You suffered grief and anguish, loss and pain;
But yet you fought, and when at last we won And took our place in freedom’s glowing light You did yourself become the nation’s sun And for her welfare laboured day and night;
Now you are gone, and we who stay behind Will cherish our sweet memories of you And strive with every power of heart and mind To make your dreams of glory come out true.
Questions :
(1) What name do you give to those who die for the sake of their country?
(2) What sacrifices of Pt. Nehru has the poet mentioned?
(3) What did Pt. Nehru do when India won freedom?
(4) What assurance does the poet give to the departed soul?
Answer:
1. Those who die for the sake of their country are called ‘martyrs’.
2. Pt. Nehru fought and strove to give our nation light. He did so to bring it freedom by breaking the bondages of the British rule. He fought against a vast, powerful imperial might. In doing so he suffered grief and anguish, loss and pain.
3. When India won freedom, Pt. Nehru laboured day and night for the welfare of the nation.
4. The poet assures the departed soul, that all the citizens of India will cherish his sweet memories and strive mentally and emotionally to make his dreams of glory come true.

Question 7.
A home they brought her warrior dead,
She nor swooned nor uttered a cry.
All her maidens watching said,
“She must weep or she will die.”
Then they praised him, soft and low,
Called him worthy to be loved,
Truest friend and noblest foe,
Yet she neither spoke nor moved.
Stole a maiden from her place,
Questions :
(1)Whom did they bring home?
(2) How did the maidens praise the warrior?
(3) Why did the warrior’s wife not weep?
(4) When did she weep? What did she say then?
Answer:
(1) They brought the warrior – the woman’s husband – home.

(2) The maidens praised the warrior soft and low. They called him worthy to be loved, the truest friend and the noblest foe.

(3) The warrior’s wife was rather stunned to see her husband dead. Because of that sudden
shock, she could not weep. ‘

(4) When a nurse of ninety years set the woman’s child upon her knee, the woman burst out weeping. Looking at her child, she said, “Sweet my child, I live for thee”. (My sweet child, I live for you.)

Question 8.
I’m leaving now to slay the foe
Fight the battles, high and low
I’m leaving, mother, hear me go!
Please wish me luck today.
I’ve grown my wings, I want to fly
Seize my victories where they tie,
I’m going Mom, but please don’t cry
just let me find my way
want to see and touch and hear
Though there are dangers, there are fears.
I’ll smile my smiles and dry my tears –
Please let me speak my say
I’m off to find my world, my dreams,
Carve my niche, sew my seams,
Remember, as I sail my streams –
I’ll love you, all the way. – Brooke Muller

Questions :
(1) Why does the young man request his mother to wish him luck?
(2) What is the ambition of the young man?
(3) What promise does the young man give to his mother?
(4) What does the word ‘grown’ signify?
Answer:
1. The young man requests his mother to wish him good luck because he was going to the battlefield to fight against the enemies.
2. The young man wanted to fly and seize victories wherever they lie. He wanted to find his own way and carve his niche.
3. The young man promises his mother that though there are dangers and fears, he would go ahead smilingly drying his tears and get what he wants.
4. In this poem the word ‘grown’ signifies ‘acquired by efforts’.

Question 9.
Oh, sweet content, that turns the labourer’s sweat
To tears of joy, and shines the roughest face;
How often have I sought you high and low
And found you still in some lone quiet place;
Here, in my room, when full of happy dreams,
With no life heard beyond that merry sound
of moths that on my lighted ceiling kiss
Their shadows as they dance and dance around;
Or in a garden, on a summer’s night,
When I have seen the dark and solemn air.
Blink with the blind bats’ wings, and heaven’s bright face
Twitch with the stars that shine in thousands there. -William Henry Davies
Questions :
(1) What does the poet mean by ‘no life heard’?
(2) Explain the image contained in lines 7 and 8.
(3) Why, do you think, has the poet mentioned the labourer?
(4) What message does the poet give us in this poem?
Answer:
(1) The poet means that no sound from living creatures is heard.
(2) The moths fly close to the light near the ceiling. As they fly they touch the ceiling and it appears that they are kissing their own shadows.
(3) The poet has mentioned the labourer because a labourer’s life is difficult and it is only contentment with his lot that can bring him happiness.
(4) The poet gives us the message to seek contentment in lonely quiet places and amidst natural sights.

Question 10.
The frog half fearful jumps across the path,
The little mouse that leaves its hole at eve
Nimble’s with timid dread beneath the swath;
My rustling steps awhile their joys deceive,
Till past, and then the cricket sings more strong,
And grasshoppers in merry moods still wear
The short night weary with their fretting song.
Up from behind the molehill jumps the hare,
Cheat of his chosen bed, and from the bank
The yellowhammer flutters in short fears
From off its nest hid in the grasses rank,
And drops again when no more noise it hears,
Thus nature’s human link and endless thrall,
Proud man still seems the enemy of all. -John Clare
Questions :
(1) Which living creatures (other than man) has the poet mentioned in this poem ?
(2) Write words from the passage that indicate the nervousness or fear of the animals.
(3) Explain the figure of speech in the fifth line.
(4) What does the poet mean when he says that the grasshopper wears ‘the short night weary’?
Answer:
1. The poet has mentioned the frog, the mouse, the cricket, the grasshopper, the hare and the yellowhammer (a small bird) in this poem.
2. fearful, nimble, timid, dread, flutters, hid.
3.

• Personification: The cricket is given the human quality of singing.
• Alliteration: The sound of ‘s’ is repeated pleasingly.

4. The poet means that the grasshopper sings all night so that one who has been awake will get weary of its song.