READ THE EXTRACT AND GIVE ANSWERS
There's nobody on the house-top now Just a palsied few at the window set; For the blest of the sight is, all allow, At the Shambles' Gate-or, better yet, By the very scaffold's foot, I trow.
a) Compare the scene on the house-tops a year ago and now as mentioned in the extract above.
b) The speaker says that "there's nobody on the house-top now-". What according to you has changed the situation?
c) What difference is seen in people's attitude towards the patriot earlier and now?
d) What is referred to as "the best of the sight"? Why?
e)Where is the speaker being taken? Why? State whether this action is justified.
Answers
Answer:
a). Here, the speaker notices a stark reversal of the situation that he had experienced one year ago. Today, the house-tops are completely empty and save a very few people, who are handicapped, he sees nobody anywhere. This is so unlike what he had seen exactly one year ago when the roof-tops were filled with a huge crowd standing there to welcome him as a hero.
b). The speaker is sad to see that nobody can be seen on the housetops to welcome him now.
The sight is horrible because the leader is now being taken to the slaughter-house, or it can be better said, the leader thinks, that he is being taken to the gallows to be hanged there.Shamble's Gate and scaffold's foot are two such images that are connected to the death
c). One year ago, he was a hero loved, adored and honored by his people. At that time, people's attitude mirrored the prime of his popularity. Today, the same people hate him and he finds himself disgraced, discarded and deprived of honor and pride. The way people treat him now reflects the lowest ebb of his career from which death alone will bring in the ultimate liberation and relief.
d) The phrase "the best of sight” refers to the sight of the speaker passing through the Shambles' Gate and reaching the gallows. By using it ironically, the speaker indirectly suggests that his people lack sensibility and judiciousness, due to which they behave like a one-dimensional herd with a crude tendency to accept or reject anything without using their ability to reason and think. That is why, when people adored him as their hero, he could notice their presence everywhere. Now, as he has lost their trust and faith, they all want to see him dying. To them, therefore, "the best of sight" is to be offered by the way he approaches his death.
e) to the gallows/ Shambles’ Gate/ scaffold
to be hanged/ he has lost favour / support of the people.