Question

Read the poem.

The Lesson

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar was a renowned poet, novelist, and playwright during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was one of the first African American writers to earn national prominence for his meaningful representations of what life was like for Black Americans living during this time.

My cot was down by a cypress grove,

And I sat by my window the whole night long,

And heard well up from the deep dark wood

A mocking-bird's passionate song.

And I thought of myself so sad and lone,

And my life's cold winter that knew no spring;

Of my mind so weary and sick and wild,

Of my heart too sad to sing.

But e'en as I listened the mock-bird's song,

A thought stole into my saddened heart,

And I said, "I can cheer some other soul

By a carol's simple art."

For oft from the darkness of hearts and lives

Come songs that brim with joy and light,

As out of the gloom of the cypress grove

The mocking-bird sings at night.

So I sang a lay for a brother's ear

In a strain to soothe his bleeding heart,

And he smiled at the sound of my voice and lyre,

Though mine was a feeble art.

But at his smile I smiled in turn,

And into my soul there came a ray:

In trying to soothe another's woes

Mine own had passed away.

Question 1
Part A

What is a theme of the poem?


Music unites people with different backgrounds and experiences.


Music brings healing comfort to troubled souls.

One must have an open mind to truly appreciate music.


Those who fail to appreciate music fail to appreciate life.

Question 2
Part B

Which lines from the poem best support the answer to Part A?


"Of my mind so weary and sick and wild, / Of my heart too sad to sing."


"Though mine was a feeble art. / But at his smile I smiled in turn,"


"For oft from the darkness of hearts and lives / Come songs that brim with joy and light,"


"But e'en as I listened the mock-bird's song, / A thought stole into my saddened heart,"

Answer 1

Answer:

Question 1

Part A

What is a theme of the poem?

Music brings healing comfort to troubled souls.

Question 2

Part B

Which lines from the poem best support the answer to Part A?

"For oft from the darkness of hearts and lives / Come songs that brim with joy and light,"

Answer 2

The correct answers are-:

Answer 1. Part A- The theme of the poem is that Music brings healing comfort to troubled souls.

• Paul Laurence Dunbar describes how he used to hear the mockingbird sing all night long in this poem. He felt lonely and sad while his life was dimmed, but his heart sang along with the bird, bringing him peace.

• Like the mockingbird cheered him up when he heard it sing, the poet thought he could do the same for someone else. Music, he believed, could cure everything.

Answer 2. Part B- The lines from the poem which support the answer to Part A is the third option which is For off from the darkness of hearts & lives Come songs that brim with joy & light.

• The line suggests that there are songs that can fill the lives of people who are filled with darkness and no purpose or emotion with joy and peace and fill their colourless lives with beautiful hues.

• When people feel sad or troubled by life, music can help them-as the poet helped his brother by singing the mock bird's songs. The very sound of the song brought a smile to his brother's face, and as a result, the poet also felt a ray of happiness and positivity in his life, though it wasn't as beautiful as the mock bird's voice.

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