The Blind Boy Poem
Questions and Answers, Notes, Summary
Question 1.
Whose is the voice of the poem?
Answer: The poet as a blind boy is the voice of the poem.
Question 2.
‘The blessings of the sight’- line 3. Can you list out a few of them?
Answer: The blessings of the sight are many. Those who have eyesight they can enjoy the blessings of the sight. They can see the whole world, Nature, Sun, Moon, Stars, Mountains, rivers, parents, friends, etc., In other words, we can say that all most all the things they can see.
Question 3.
How does a blind person understand whether it is day or night?
Answer: Whenever the blind person awakes, it is day and when he sleeps it is a night for him. He ‘can understand the day and like this.
Question 4.
Read lines 13 and 14. Who is sympathizing with whom?
Answer: The reader would sympathize the blind boy. They feel very bad and give heavy sighs and show their sorrow by saying that he was unlucky.
Question 5.
How does the blind pacify himself? Quote the lines that suggest this.
Answer: The blind boy appeased himself, that we can know by the following lines. A loss I never can know Then let not what I cannot have My cheer of mind destroy and then he feels Whilst thus I sing, l am a King, Although a poor blind boy.
Read and appreciate
Question 1.
Who do you think is the person addressed as ‘you’ in the poem?
Answer: ‘You’ in the poem could be anyone who has the gift of sight or all of us who have the gift of sight.
Question 2.
Read the first stanza carefully. The tone of the speaker is one of _____
a. surprise
b. curiosity
c. sadness
(choose the appropriate one)
Answer: b. curiosity
Question 3.
The blind boy can feel _____ of the sun. (fill in the blank)
Answer: warm
Question 4.
What a normal person can easily understand is almost a riddle to the blind boy. What is it?
Answer: The blessings of the sight are almost a riddle to the blind boy.
Question 5.
Identify the rhyme scheme of the poem.
Answer: The rhyme scheme of the poem is as follows.
The rhyming words are
light – sight
enjoy – boy
see – he
bright – night
make – awake
play – day
hear – bear
woe – know
destroy – boy
The rhyme scheme of the poem is abab cbcb dede fgfg hihi.
Question 6.
Match the following and frame appropriate sentence for each phrase thus matched.
Answer: blessings of wondrous things
cheers of sight
talk of mind
Match the following :
1. blessings of sight
2. cheers of mind
3. talk of wondrous things
Question 7.
Read the lines from a poem by D.V.G Does the poem “The Blind Boy ” reflect the same idea? Discuss it in the class.
1. We are very lucky to have the blessings of sight.
2. We should feel happy with what we have to cheer our minds.
3. The people are interested to talk about wondrous things.
Answer:
Yes, ‘The Blind Boy poem also reveals the same gist of D. V.G poem. We don’t think or repent that what we didn’t have. Instead of that, we should feel blessed and happy that what we have. Then we can gain pleasure.
The Blind Boy Additional Questions and Answers
Multiple Choice Questions
Question 1.
‘The Blind Boy’ is the poem written by ____
a. Robert William
b. Colley Cibber
c. William
d. Shakespeare
Answer: b. Colley Cibber
Question 2.
The Blind Boy never enjoyed the _____
a. Warm
b. Sun shining
c. Sun
d. Sun Light
Answer: d. Sun Light
Question 3.
How can the blind boy make it day or ____
a.light
b. warm
c. night
d. pleasant
Answer: c. night
Question 4.
Whenever I sleep or _____
a. awake
b. play
c. sing
d. dance
Answer: b. play
Question 5.
With heavy ______I often hear
a. sighs
b. rain
c. light
d. dark
Answer: a. sighs
Question 6.
But sure with _____I can bear
a. hope
b. joy
c. sorrow
d. patience
Answer: d. patience
Question 7.
My _____ of mind destroy
a. absence
b. presence
c. cheer
d. sorrow
Answer: c. cheer
Question 8.
Whilst thus I sing, I am a _____
a. boy
b. king
c. blind boy
d. poet
Answer: b. king
Question 9.
You mourn my ____
a. helpless
b. ayaken
c. big
d. small
Answer: a. helpless
Question 10.
Although a poor ____boy
a lucky
b. blind
c. happy
d. blessed
Answer: b. blind
II Match the following :
Answer:
1 – f
2 – a
3 – e
4 – b
5 – c
6 – d
Answer the following questions in a word or a sentence each:
Question 1.
Who is the speaker and who is he speaking to?
Answer: The speaker is a blind boy and he is speaking to the readers or to those who have sight.
Question 2.
How can the sun make day or night?
Answer: The sun makes day or night by rising or setting.
Question 3.
What is the outcome of the blind boy himself making the day or night?
Answer: The blind boy says that he never has the night and that it is a day for him always.
Question 4.
How does the blind boy know that people are sorry for him?
Answer: From the heavy sighs made by people.
Question 5.
Who mourns his hapless woe?
Answer: The one who pities the blind boy, the one who has the gift of sight.
Question 6.
What is the loss the boy bears?
Answer: The boy bears the loss of his vision.
Question 7.
What is it that the blind boy cannot have?
Answer: The boy cannot have the gift of sight.
Question 8.
When does the blind boy feel like a king?
Answer: While he is singing, the blind boy does not feel inferior and feels like a king.
Question 9.
Who do you think is the person addressed as ‘you’ in the poem?
Answer: “You’ refers to the people.
Question 10.
How do others feel about the blind boy?
Answer: Others feel sad about the blind boy.
Question 11.
What does the speaker hear with a heavy sigh?
Answer: The speaker hears with a heavy sigh other people pitying him as he was blind.
Question 12.
Who cannot make day or night for the boy?
Answer: The sun cannot make the day or night for the boy.
Question 13.
What does the speaker always hear?
Answer: The speaker always hears the sighs of pity of other people for him.
Question 14.
How does the speaker feel when others say the sun shines brightly?
Answer: It makes no difference for the blind boy if the sun shines brightly. He can feel the warmth of the sun, but as far as the light of the day is concerned, there is no difference for the blind boy.
Answer the following questions in 2-3 sentences each:
Question 1.
What is the grievance of the blind boy?
Answer: The blind boy is denied the gift of sight. He does not know what light is or how wonderful the sun looks.
Question 2.
How do others feel about the blind boy? What is his reaction?
Answer: People feel sorry for the blind boy and try to show sympathy towards him. The blind boy says that he does not really understand what he is missing. So he does not feel that his life is miserable.
Question 3.
What a normal person can understand is almost a riddle to the blind boy. What is it?
Answer: We can recognize day and night. The blind boy can feel the warmth of the sun, but doesn’t know how the sun can make day and night because when he falls asleep it is night and whenever he is awake it is day for him.
Question 4.
About which things are the speaker aware of?
Answer: Though the speaker is blind, his other sensory organs are sharp and he can feel what goes on around him. He can feel the warmth of the sun and he even feels the pity of the people around him as he can hear their sighs.
Question 5.
What is the speaker’s approach to life?
Answer: The speaker has a positive approach to life. It is surprising that despite his handicap he does not pity himself, but sings joyously, refusing to be depressed. And while he sings thus, he considers himself a king who is blessed with riches.
Answer the following questions in 6-8 sentences each:
Question 1.
Explain how the boy reacts to his blindness.
Answer: The boy’s reaction to his blindness is a totally unexpected one. Though initially, he expresses his sorrow, he surprises the world by showing that even blindness can be accepted. The poem highlights the spirit of acceptance. Like John Milton, who in his poem ‘On His Blindness’ initially questions God about his cruelty, but later accepts his blindness as the will of God, the blind boy accepts his blindness as a state which is beyond his area of control. He comes up with the simple conclusion that what cannot be changed should be endured cheerfully.
Question 2.
We should feel happy with what we have and never go after what we cannot get’. How has the poet brought out this message in the poem ‘The Blind Boy’?
Answer: Of all the handicaps, perhaps blindness is the most pitiable. Yet, in the poem ‘The Blind Boy’, we see the blind boy, without seeking the sympathy of others, talking about his blindness as if it were a gift. The poet’s intention here is not to celebrate blindness, but to celebrate the positive mental set-up of people who can overcome their difficulties and emerge victoriously.
By making the boy claim that he can make his own day and night without going by the day order, the poet shows that the choice of overcoming an obstacle lies with every one of us, We need to do this because if we allow our problems to bog down our Spirit, we will invite misery upon ourselves. Life is a precious gift of God and it is important that we make the best use of this rare gift.
Question 3.
Describe the life of the blind boy.
Answer: Even though the boy was blind, he made it clear he didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him nor was he going to let anything take away his joy. Even though people feel sorry for him, they shouldn’t because he has patience and knows no different because he has always been blind; he hasn’t lost anything. We shouldn’t let things cause us to lose our cheer because things could be worse.
Even though he was blind and had that disadvantage in life, he still thinks of himself as a king. That optimistic attitude and spirit should be an inspiration to all readers of this poem. The point is to be confident in who you are and don’t feel sorry for yourself o-r expect others to. The blind boy thought highly of himself and displayed confidence despite the fact that he was blind.
Read the following extracts and answer the questions given below them:
Question 1.
O say what is that thing called light, which I must never enjoy.
a) Why is the boy asking about light?
b) Whom is he asking?
c) Why will he never enjoy light?
Answer:
a) The boy is asking about light because he has never experienced it.
b) People with eyesight.
c) The boy is blind. Hence he can never enjoy the light.
Question 2.
Then let not what I cannot have My cheer of mind destroy.
a) Who is the speaker?
b) What is it that the blind boy cannot have?
c) How will the boy’s cheer of mind be destroyed?
Answer:
a) The blind boy.
b) The blind boy cannot have the gift of sight.
c) The blind boy’s cheer of mind would be destroyed if he sat and contemplated how it would be if he could see. He says that he will not allow, what he does not have, to spoil his cheerfulness.
Question 3.
“And could I ever keep awake With me ‘were always day”.
a) Who is the speaker here?
b) What is he trying to convey here?
c) How would it be always day for him?
Answer:
a) The blind boy is the speaker here.
b) The blind boy cannot see the difference between day and night. To him it is day when he plays and night when he sleeps.
c) If he did not sleep it would always be a day for him.
The Blind Boy Poem Summary in English
Colley Cibber wrote the poem “The Blind Boy It is a short poem. The poet here described the feelings of the blind boy. The blind boy never saw the light in his life. How could he enjoy the light that he could not see? He didn’t understand the favor or happiness of the light it gave. The blind boy said that the people would say that the Sun shines brightly, but the blind boy didn’t know it. He could only feel the warmness of the Sun but not the sun or Sunlight.
The day and night are similar to him, so he said that whenever he sleeps i..e., night and whenever he wakes up i.e., day. The others showed pity and gave heavy sighs that blind boy can hear and asked why should you mourn for him. If you feel that I am unlucky, I don’t think so. I could bear this. I don’t know what I lost. I don’t bother about what I do not have. If I bother about that, I would destroy my pleasure. Forgetting all these I am a king while I sing. If you consider me as a poor blind boy but I feel like a king and happy with what I have.
0 Comments