Question

Topic 1: Solitude (Poem)
Q1. What makes a man happy, according to Pope in "Solitude"?
Q2. What is meant by the lines ' and not a stone, Tell where I lie ' ?
Q3. The poem was written in 1700's.Do you think such a life is suitable in the current times? Give reason
for your answer.
Q4. Explain the stanza with reference to the context.
" Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire,
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter fire"
Q5. What is the central idea of the poem.

Answer 1

Q1. What makes a man happy, according to Pope in "Solitude"?

• According to Pope in 'Ode on Solitude', the happy man who has a few ancestral acres of land and his desires and aspirations are bound by it and he feels satisfied with the air of his own land.

Q2. What is meant by the lines ' and not a stone, Tell where I lie ' ?

• The poet wants to be 'unseen', 'unknown' and hide himself from the world. So that the ‘stone’ after his death could not say where he was buried.

Q3. The poem was written in 1700's.Do you think such a life is suitable in the current times? Give reason

for your answer.

• I think just because of the population, this kind of life is not suitable at present, there is not enough space to live in peace. Although some have ancestral acres of land and small families.

Q4. Explain the stanza with reference to the context.

''Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,

Whose flocks supply him with attire,

Whose trees in summer yield him shade,

In winter fire"

• In this stanza, the poet speaks of a happy man whose 'herds' gives him milk and who feeds him like bread from his own land. He has own 'flocks' for attire. His own land has ‘trees’ for shade and branches to light fires.

Q5. What is the central idea of the poem.

• The central idea of the poem is that in order to be a happy man we need to be happy in small things. Moreover we need our ancestral acres of land to fulfill our wishes and aspirations. We don't need fame. whatever we are it's enough for us.

Answer 2

Q1. What makes a man happy, according to Pope in "Solitude"?

Ans: According to Pope happy is the man who lives in his native place, far away from the din of cities and towns, having his own resources for his living.  

Q2. What is meant by the lines ' and not a stone, Tell where I lie ' ?

Ans: In the poem Ode to Solitude, Alexander Pope eulogizes solitude. According to him the man who has plenty of solitude and lives away from the din of city life, having meagre needs, relying on the meagre parental resources, is the happiest of all.  

He also wishes to live a life of such solitude; and finally he wants to die in solitude without anyone knowing even where his grave is.

Q3. The poem was written in 1700's.Do you think such a life is suitable in the current times? Give reason for your answer.

Ans: Yes, living a life of tranquility and peace is possible. For such a life, one will have to go to mountains or in the countryside. There are many people who live such a life.  

Q4. Explain the stanza with reference to the context.

" Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,

Whose flocks supply him with attire,

Whose trees in summer yield him shade,

In winter fire"

Ans: This extract is from the poem ‘Ode on Solitude’ by Alexander Pope. In these lines the poet is explaining the joys of a life full of solitude. A person who has his own cows, sheep, and goats, he can enjoy pure milk and wool from them. If he has his own orchards, then he has plenty of fruit to eat. These orchards provide cool shade during the summer season.  

Q5. What is the central idea of the poem.

The central idea of the poem is that a man who has his own resources and home, far away from the noisy hubbub of cities and towns, is indeed a happy man.