What is the poem about? (Consider the
speaker, there, symbols, comparisons,
contrasts and conflicts)
Answers
Answer:
Consider speaker, symbols, comparisons, contrasts and conflicts. The poem is about growing up. It talks about how the poet can tell his son to grow up. He also explains what a real man is.
Explanation:
Plus One English Textbook Answers Unit 1 Chapter 4 If (Poem)
August 2, 2019 by Prasanna
Kerala Plus One English Textbook Answers Unit 1 Chapter 4 If (Poem)
If (Poem) Textual Activities Questions and Answers
Activity -1 (Read and Respond)
Question 1.
The first stanza of ‘If’ speaks about the need for self-confidence. Do you agree? Why?
Answer:
Yes, I agree. Without self-confidence, nothing worthwhile can be achieved.
Question 2.
What does the poet say about patience?
Answer:
Successful people exercise patience. Without patience, nothing can be got. In English they say, “Slow and steady wins the race’ and ‘Haste makes waste’.
Question 3.
Explain the poet’s views on honesty and fortitude of character.
Answer:
The poet says that even if people tell lies to you, never follow their examples and start telling lies. A liar is not respected in the society. A liar may succeed temporarily but in the long run he is bound to fail and will be put to shame.
Question 4.
Lines 5-7 speak about the need for righteous behavior in the face of unrighteousness. How far do you agree?
Answer:
I fully agree with the view that in the face of unrighteous behavior, we should face it with righteous behavior. If somebody is bad, we don’t have to become bad and follow his ways. We should learn to conquer hatred with love.
Question 5.
What is the poet’s approach to dreams and longings?
Answer:
It is good to dream but we should not let dreams become our master. We can have longings, but we should never take crooked paths achieve them. We can think — but thinking is not ouraim. Our aim is to act and achieve.
Question 6.
The poet believes that success comes from self control and a true sense of the value of things. Express your views on this.
Answer:
I fully agree with the poet’s views on these aspects. Success comes from self-control and a true sense of the value of things. We should know that all that glitters is not gold. Without self-control we will go astray. Unless we know the true value of things, we may spend our time and energy trying to get things that have no true value. Appearances can be deceptive.
Question 7.
‘Never breathe a word about your loss. ’ What impression do you get about the poet when you read this?
Answer:
I feel that the poet is a strong-willed person. He can keep his secrets. He does not want people’s sympathies. He has fortitude and courage to suffer his adversities without sharing them with others.
Question 8.
What is the message conveyed in the last stanza of the poem?
Answer:
You can talk with the .crowds, but you should not become one of.them and lose your virtue. Even when you walk with kings, you should not lose sight of the ordinary people. You should be beyond getting hurt by your enemies or friends. All kinds of people should be able to count upon you for help. You should forgive and never rush to punish the offender. If you can do all these things you can enjoy on this earth as if you are its master.