Read the poem and answer the questions given below it:
When the voices of children are heard on the green,
And laughing is heard on the hill,
My heart is at rest within my breast,
And everything else is still.
They come home, my children, the sun is gone down,
And the dews of night arise;
Come, come, leave off play, and let us away
Till the morning appears in the skies.
‘No, no, let us play, for it is yet day,
And we cannot go to sleep;
Besides, in the sky the little birds fly,
And the hills are all cover’d with sheep.’
‘Well, well, go and play till the light fades away,
And then go home to bed;The little once leaped and shouted and laugh’d
And all the hills echoed.
Questions:
1. What does the nurse tell the children?
2. Do the children agree with their nurse? What reasons do they give to convince her?
3. Is the nurse convinced? How do you know?
4. Give one example each of: (a) Internal Rhyme (b) Alliteration
Answers
1. The nurse tells the little children to come home as it is evening time and the sun has gone down. There is no light, and maybe she even wanted to give the children supper.
2. NO, the children definitely don't agree with the nurse. They want to keep playing without a break. They tell the nurse that it is still day time (which it is not) and that they could not sleep!
3. This answer cannot be stated as the nurse wanted the little ones to come back home but at the same time she was enjoying watching them play happily. But she had duties so mostly she wanted them to come back and stop playing.
4. (a) The rhyme scheme of this poem is
Stanza 1 abcb
Stanza 2 abcbc
Stanza 3 abacdd
(b) Alliteration is the poetic device in which there is repition of same sounding words. Example - rest, breast; play, away