Word Meaning, Summary, Important Questions Of Chapter 11 For Anne Gregory | Class 10
Hindi Meaning Of Difficult Words | Chapter 11 For Anne Gregory
About The Poet | Chapter 11 For Anne Gregory
INTRODUCTION
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was an Irish nationalist. He was educated in London and Dublin, and was interested in folklore and mythology. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. This poem is a conversation between a young man and a young woman. They were arguing about each other regarding the real beauty that les in her.
Short Summary Of Chapter 11 For Anne Gregory
SUMMARY
In this poem, the poet has describes conversation between himself and Lady Gregory’s grand-daughter named Anne Gregory. He tells Anne that her yellow hair is beautiful and that all the young men who claim to be in love with her love her for that hair. In other words, all men love her for her outward appearance and not for her inner beauty. Anne then replies to the poet saying that she can easily dye her hair black or brown or orange, and then she would look ugly. If she looked ugly, then perhaps some man would look beyond her appearance and see her for who she really is on the inside. However, the poet quickly assures her that no such thing will happen. It is a universal truth that men always judge women on their physical appearance alone. The speaker also seems to imply that even if Anne wanted to look ugly, she could not do so for she is a beautiful person inside.
TITLE JUSTIFICATION
TITLE JUSTIFICATION
“For Anne Gregory” is a poem which takes the form of a lovely conversation, the poet could have had with the young girl Anne Gregory belonging to the family of Lady Gregory with whom he had intimate relations. This poem is a conversation between a young man and a young woman. They were arguing about each other regarding what is real beauty.
THEME
THEME
The idea of “beauty” is a cultural conception or one that has been created by human beings themselves. It is believed that women with lighter hair are beautiful, whereas women with darker hair are ugly. This idea is so pervasive that everyone takes it for granted and believes in it blindly. Even Anne Gregory thinks the same way about beauty. She believes that if she dyes her hair black or brown or red. then she will look ugly. However, the poet reaffirms his point by stating that it has been proven that only God could love someone for what they truly are thereby implying that men tend to love people not for themselves but for some or the other attractive attribute in them.
Throughout the poem, the poet has made a critique of men. By repeatedly telling Anne that men love her only for her yellow hair, he has made it clear that men judge women
only by their physical appearance. They never look beyond women’s appearance and try to get to know women for their personality or their inner beauty.
MESSAGE
MESSAGE
The poem, “For Anne Gregory” is a conversation between a young man and a young woman. The poet says that human beings are incapable of seeing inner beauty. They give importance to external or physical beauty. Only God loves us for ourselves irrespective of what we are.
RHYME SCHEME OF THE POEM
TYPE I: REFERENCE TO CONTEXT (VERY SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS)
Read the extracts and answer the following questions:
- “Never shall a young man,
Thrown into despair
By those great honey-coloured
Ramparts at your ear,
Love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair
Questions
(i) What does ramparts refer to?
(ii) What is the colour of Anne’s hair?
(iii) What does the poet mean by, “love you for yourself alone and not your yellow hair?
(iv) Why are the young men in despair?
Answers
(i) Ramparts refers to wall that protects a fort. Here, it has been used metaphorically to mean the lock of hair around Anne’s ear.
(ii) Anne’s hair are honey-coloured.
(iii) The poet means that young men love Anne for her beautiful looks and not for her real character. (iv) The young men are in despair as they are in love with Anne.
- “But I can get a hair-dye
And set such colour there,
Brown, or black, or carrot,
That young men in despair
May love me for myself alone
And not my yellow hair?
Questions
(i) Who is the speaker of these lines?
(ii) Why does Anne say that she can change her colour?
(iii) What does dye refer to?
(iv) What is the rhyme scheme adopted in this stanza?
Answers
(i) The speaker of these lines is Anne Gregory.
(ii) Anne says that she can change her hair colour to show that external beauty is not real permanent.
(iii) Dye refers to the hair color that Anne thinks of using.
(iv) The rhyme scheme employed in this stanza abcbdb.
- I heard an old religious man
But yesternight declare
That he had found a text to prove
That only God, my dear,
Could love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair.”
Questions
(i) Who had found a “text”?
(ii) What does the text prove?
(iii) When did the old man find the text?
(iv) What can only god do?
Answers
(i) An old religious man had found a text.
(ii) The text proves that only God is capable of looking beyond external beauty, into the soul of a person.
(iii) The old man found the text the previous night.
(iv) God can only love people for themselves and for some attraction in them.
- “But I can get a hair-dye
And set such colour there,
Brown, or black, or carrot,
Questions
(i) Who is I in the poem?
(ii) Why does the speaker want a hair-dye?
(iii) What is the poetic device used in the above lines?
(iv) Who is the speaker speaking to?
Answers
(i) “I in the poem is Anne.
(ii) she is talking of getting a hair-dye as she wants to colour her hair brown, black or carrot colour.
(iii) The poetic device used in the above lines a metonymy as ‘carrot’ stands for red colored hair.
(iv) The speaker is talking to a man.
- That he had found a text to prove
That only God, my dear,
Could love you for yourself alone
Questions
(i) Who is the speaker in the above lines?
(ii)Who is referred to as ‘ he”?
(iii) What is it that only God can do?
(iv) Why does the speaker say this?
Answers
(i) The speaker in the above lines is a man.
(ii) He’ refers to a religious man.
(iii) Only God can love Anne for herself.
(iv) He says this as Anne had told him that she wanted to be loved for herself.
TYPE II: SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (30-40 WORDS EACH)
Answer the following questions:
- What does the young man mean by “great honey coloued /Ramparts at your car?” Why does he say that young men are “thrown into despair” by them?
Ans. The young man in the poem praises the great honey colored hair of Anne. Anne’s hair have been called ramparts, meaning a wall. It is called so because they act as a wall, as they prevent young men from looking beyond that yellow hair and into her soul. Her hair is so attractive that young men cannot look at anything else. Anne’s yellow hair is so pretty that young men hopelessly fall in love with her. She is so pretty that everyone wants her, which cannot happen. hence, they are thrown into despair.
- What colour is the young woman’s hair? What does she say she can change it to? Why would she want to do so?
Ans. Anne’s hair are yellow, like the colour of honey. She says that she can change it to black, brown or carrot. She means that she can change it to any colour she wants. Anne says so to show that outer beauty is changeable and not permanent. She wants young men to look in her soul and love her for her inner beauty. In order to do so, she needs to show them the superficiality of her external beauty.
- What are the important things for love for God?
Ans. The man says that an old religious man found a text It proves that for God colours do not matter for love. God loves all the human beings for themselves alone and not their physical attractiveness.
- What does the man say to Anne about love?
Ans. The man says that no man can love a woman for herself alone. It is only God who can love people for themselves. Men’s love is decided by outer appearance.
- What is the message of the poem?
Ans. The poem states that physical beauty may be important for young men or human beings. But God loves human beings irrespective of their colour or physical beauty.
- Between whom does the conversation in the poem take place?
Ans. The poem is a conversation between the speaker. who could be the poet himself, and Anne’s lover or ed friend and Anne Gregory herself. The other speaker believes that young men love Anne for her external beauty but Anne says that external beauty is not real and young men should love her for herself.
- Write the central idea of the poem, For Anne Gregory’.
Ans. People are often charmed and fascinated by the beautiful appearance of a person. We should love a person for his qualities of head and heart and not go after his appearance for appearance changes. It is transitory but one’s qualities are lasting and remain with him till he lives, Only God can love one for what one is and not for what one’s looks.
- What does the speaker say to Anne about men?
Ans. The speaker says about men that most men who love her, do so only because of her yellow, blond hair which signify external beauty. She cannot hope to be loved only for herself as she wishes because it is impossible for men to ignore outer appearances.
- Explain why the speaker mentions God in the poem?
Ans. The speaker mentions God in the poem to assert that only God can love Anne for herself alone. It is so because the speaker wanted to tell Anne that. her desire that men should not see her outer beauty is not going to be fulfilled. The speaker tells Anne that only God can be so great as to ignore external beauty and look beyond it. Man, on the other hand, falls for all things that appear pretty from outside and never bothers about what lies inside.
- What is the difference between man and God with regard to love?
Ans. Men cannot love a woman for herself alone. Man falls for all things that appear pretty from outside and never bothers about what lies inside. Men’s love is decided by outer appearance. But God’s love is pure. He can love people for themselves irrespective of external appearance.
TYPE III: LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS (100-120 WORDS EACH)
Answer the following questions:
- The poet in the poem For Anne Gregory conveys the message that we should give importance to the inner beauty and not the physical appearance. Elaborate with reference to the poem.
Ans. In the conversation that takes place between Anne Gregory and another speaker, the poet has tried to show that inner beauty is real beauty whereas physical appearance is changeable and hence, superficial. The first speaker says to Anne that young men love her for her beautiful yellow hair and may never love her for what she really is. To this, Anne replies that her hair-colour can be changed into black, brown or carrot, meaning that external beauty is all superficial and men should not love her for that. Through Anne’s reply, the poet has made clear his regard for inner beauty and not physical appearance.
- How right or wrong is it to judge someone on the basis of his/her physical appearance? Discuss with reference to the poem.
Ans. Physical appearances never give a true picture of a person as it can be changed with the help of clothing, make-up and other such things.
Something which is not true and real should not be used to judge a person. A person must be judged on the basis of his behaviour that shows the true characteristics of his inner personality. This is explained by Anne in her reply to the first speaker that her beautiful hair-colour which attracts men is changeable, hence, men should not fall in love with her based on her-hair colour but love her for herself.
- What makes the poem. For Anne Gregory unique?
Ans. There are many features that make this poem unique. The poem is structured as a dialogue between a man and a woman. The dialogue is in three stanzas. There are six lines in each stanza. Enjambment has been used in all the stanzas, each of which is actually a single sentence. Besides, Yeats uses a variety of poetic device. to enhance the poem’s appeal. The poet follows the device of the apostrophe as he is addressing himself to Anne Gregory, but we the readers never see her at any point in the poem. Metaphor is used in the fourth line when he compares Anne Gregory’s hair with the ramparts of a castle. Like the ramparts, her hair also protects her face from being seen fully. Metonymy is used in the ninth line when he uses the word “carrort” to mean the colour orange.
- Through the poem, the poet gives the advice that one must value spiritual beauty over physical beauty. Comment.
Ans. Physical appearances never give a true picture of a person as it can be changed with the help of clothing make-up and other such things.
Something which is not true and real should not be used to judge a person. A person must be judged on the basis of his behavior that shows the true characteristics of his inner personality. This is explained by Anne in her reply to the first speaker that her beautiful hair-colour which attracts men is changeable, hence, men should not fall in love with her based on her-hair colour but love her for herself.
- The poet’s concern is that people are not objects to be valued for their qualities. How is this conveyed through the poem?
Ans. Yeats’ concerns seem to be that people are not objects but should be valued for themselves alone. He questions whether it is possible for man to love a person for himself or herself, regardless of outer appearances. In this poem, the poet describes a conversation between himself and Lady Gregory’s grand-daughter named Anne Gregory. He tells Anne that her yellow hair is beautiful and that all the young men who claim to be in love with her love her for that hair. In other words, all men love her for her outward appearance and not for her inner beauty. Anne then replies to the poet saying that she can easily dye her hair black or brown or orange, and then she would look ugly. If she looked ugly, then perhaps some man would look beyond her appearance and see her for who she really is on the inside. However, the poet quickly assures her that no such thing will happen. It is generally true that men always judge women on their physical appearance alone. The poet seems to be pondering over the issue whether men can love women for their inner beauty ignoring their external appearances altogether.
QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE
- How is the poetic device of metonymy used in the poem?
- What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?
- According to the poet what is it that only God is capable of?
- What is the philosophical question posed in the poem?
- Describe the message that you take from the poem, ‘For Anne Gregory’.
TYPE I: REFERENCE TO CONTEXT (VERY SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS)
TYPE I: REFERENCE TO CONTEXT (VERY SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS)
Read the extracts and answer the following question
- The fog comes
on little cat feet.
Questions
(i) What does the poet mean by little cat feet”?
(ii) Who is the poet?
(iii) Where does the fog come?
(iv) What is the fog compared to?
Answers
(i) ‘Little cat feet here represents the silent s careful steps of a cat. The way fog comes silently resembles the steps of a cat.
(ii) The poet is Carl Sandburg.
(iii) The fog comes over the city.
(iv) The fog is compared to a cat.
- It sits looking
Over harbour and city
Questions
(i) What is referred to as ‘it’?
(ii) What is ‘it’ doing?
(iii) What is the poetic device used in the above line?
(iv) What quality is assigned to the fog?
Answers
(i) ‘It’ refers to the fog.
(ii) It is observing the harbour and the city.
(iii) The fog has been personified in the above It is seen as sitting.
(iv) The fog keeps watch on the city.
- On silent haunches
and then moves on.
Questions
(i) What is referred to here?
(ii) What is the significance of silent haunches?
(iii) What is the fog doing?
(iv) What traits does it have?
Answers
(i) Fog is referred to here.
(ii) Silent haunches give room to the fog to take rest.
(iii) The fog looks over the harbour and the city.
(iv) It is silent and moves on quietly.
- looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
Questions
(i) Who is looking?
(ii) Mention the figure of speech used here?
(iii) What is the figure of speech used in silent haunches.
(iv) Why does the fog move on?
Answers
(i) The fog is looking’.
(ii) The figure of speech used is personification.
(iii) The figure of speech used in silent haunches’ is transferred epithet.
(iv) The fog moves on to cover the rest of the city.
- The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
Questions
(i) Name the poet.
(ii) What is he describing?
(iii) How does the fog move?
(iv) What is the poetic device used in the second line
Answers
(i) The poet is Carl Sandburg.
(ii) He is describing the fog.
(iii) The fog moves like a cat.
(iv) The poetic device used in the second line is metaphor little cat feet.
TYPE II: SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (30-40 WORDS EACH)
Answer the following questions:
- What does Sandburg think the fog is like?
Ans. The poet thinks that the fog is like a cat. The silent steps of a cat and the way it sits on its haunches is very similar to the way fog comes and surrounds the city and looks over it. The quiet nature of the cat and fog are quite alike.
- How does the fog come?
Ans. The narrator is comparing the movement of the fog to the silent, spry footsteps of a cat, an animal who is able to creep toward its destination without warning. Fog often arrives quickly, yet completely, as it covers a city or a harbour. Like a cat who does as it pleases, fog obeys no rules, often shrouding the surroundings like a blanket that does not allow any light.
- Does the poet actually say that the fog is like a cat?
Ans. Find three things that tell us that the fog is like a cat. (Literature Reader, Q No. 1(iv), Page 115) Ans. The poet does not actually say that the fog is like a cat. The fog is metaphorically compared to a cat. The lines which make it clear are, ‘on little cat feet, silent haunches and then moves on
- Does this poem have a rhyme scheme?
Ans. No the poem does not have a rhyme scheme like a traditional poem. “Fog” is a short poem, six lines long, split into two stanzas. It is a free verse poem, having no regular rhyme or set meter.
- How does the poet compare fog to a living being?
Ans. The poet compares the fog to a cat. The silent steps of a cat and the way it sits on its haunches is very similar to the way fog comes and surrounds the city and looks over it.
- What image does the poet give to the fog? What are the similarities between that image and fog? Ans. The poet looks at the fog as a living creature and compares it to a cat. The fog moves like a cat on little cat feet and sits on baunches like a cat. It is quiet, mysterious and sinister like the cat.
- What is the figure of speech used in the phrase “silent haunches
Ans. The figure of speech used here is transferred epithet. Haunches cannot be silent or loud. The characteristic of silence belongs to the cat. But the poet instead of employing the expression ‘silent cat’ transfers the epithet -silence, before the word, “haunches’. This device helps to create the image of a cat sitting silently on its haunches very vividly
- What picture of the fog does the poet paint?
Ans. The poet says that the fog comes ‘on little cat feet. He also says that the fog ‘sits looking over harbour and city and then moves on. To show resemblance between the fog and a cat, the poet uses such metaphorical language that the fog is described as if it were a cat
- Why are harbour and city mentioned in the poem?
Ans. The two words are mentioned here as the poet is describing how the fog keeps watch over the harbour and the city and then moves on from there to envelope the rest of the areas.
TYPE III: LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS (100-120 WORDS EACH)
Answer the following questions:
- Carl Sandburg was a keen observer of nature. Discuss with reference to the poem ‘Fog’.
Ans. The poet has taken utmost pleasure in nature and natural phenomenon like fog. Fog is so special to the poet that he cared enough not only to write about it, but also thinks of its resemblance with other things in the world. In his close attention to fog, he found fog resembles a cat, in the way it moves and sits on its haunches. The fact that such a resemblance was found by the poet shows how connected he is to various things in nature. This poem serves as an inspiration for people, to observe keenly and appreciate the many wonders of nature.
- The poem, Fog is a nature poem. Comment
Ans. ‘Fog’ is indeed a nature poem. Fog is so special to the poet that he cared enough not only to write about it, but also thinks of its resemblance with other things in the world. The poet has taken utmost pleasure in nature and natural phenomenon like fog. In his close attention to fog which he found fog resembles a cat, in the way it moves and sits on its haunches. The fact that such a resemblance was found by the poet shows how connected he is to various things in nature. This poem does not have a message as such but undoubtedly it serves as an inspiration for people, to observe keenly and appreciate the many wonders of nature.
- Though a short poem, ‘Fog’ conveys the poet’s sensibility effectively.
Ans. The poem, ‘Fog’ has just six lines. The lines are short. By keeping the lines short, the poet is controlling the pace, keeping it slow. As one reads, one has to slow down to focus because one is not too certain about the next word or line. This reflects the slow fog rolling in. The poet effectively conveys in these six lines his sensibility metaphorically. The poet has taken utmost pleasure in nature and natural phenomenon like fog. In his close attention to fog which he found fog resembles a cat, in the way it moves and sits on its haunches. The brevity and yet the effect of the poem is amazing. Soon the fog and cat become one in the readers’ minds. Well chosen words and metaphors create a vivid image of the fog behaving like the cat.
- Sandburg’s use of the extended metaphor in the poem fog’ is quite apt. Discuss.
Ans. The poem is an extended metaphor as the poet sees the fog as a cat that comes on tiny, silent feet, as cats do. The metaphor is quite apt for many reason, only a cat can move in such a way, almost imperceptibly, and in complete silence. A cat is an independent animal, it doesn’t follow rules, it slips and slides in and out of our lives as it pleases, just like fog. which knows no boundaries. Cats are stealthy. moving in slow motion at times. They appear to be moving in a most mysterious fashion. The reader’s mind becomes filled with this dual imagery of fog and cat, fog turning into a cat, cat morphing back into the fog. By doing this, the poet is introducing the idea that the fog is alive and is an entity. Cats are inscrutable and also have the habit of finding a place which gives them an overview of a landscape or territory. Due to these reasons the metaphor of the cat is quite suitable.
- What is the poet’s attitude to the fog?
Ans. “Fog”, written by Carl Sandburg, was first published in Chicago Poems’. It is a poem that reflects Sandburg’s interest in the natural world and beautifully captures a moment or two when the fog came moving in over the harbour waters, a powerful ima given life through a metaphorical cat. The simple metaphors and imagery the poet uses captivate our imaginations and emotions and ideas of surprise, awe, and fear, to name a few. He observes the fog and its traits keenly and dwell on it enough to see the fog as resembling a cat. He employs well chosen words and poetic devices to convey his thoughts about the fog most effectively. Thus his attitude towards the fog is that of admiration and observation.
QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE
- Why do you think Sandburg chose to begin his poem with a metaphor?
- What is the effect of short lines?
- How does fog move in a catlike way? Why is the imagery of a cat’s movements so important to the poem?
- Where does the fog move onto?
- What is the theme of the poem. ‘Fog’?