Madhyamik English; Lesson 4; My Own True Family

                                            My Own True Family

Edward James 'Ted' Hughes was a noted poet of English Literature and had been the Poet Laureate of Great Britain from 1984 till his death. His famous works include 'Birthday Letters', 'The Hawk in the Rain', and 'Tales from Ovid'

[The British Poet Laureate is an honorary position appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Prime Minister. The role does not entail any specific duties, but there is an expectation that the holder will write verse for significant national occasions. The origins of the laureateship date back to 1616 when a pension was provided to Ben Jonson, but the first official holder of the position was John Dryden, appointed in 1668 by Charles II. source - wikipedia] 

The poem describes the magical experience of a young child in an Oakwood, and indicates that human beings and trees should thrive as a single family. It focuses strongly on the need to protect our natural environment for the welfare of mankind.

EXPLANATION:  “Once I crept in …to a stake”

The poet once went to an oakwood in search of a deer. There he met with a very weak and feeble old woman. She showed a bag to the poet and said that she knew his secret which perhaps made the poet very curious.

Then the old woman began to shake her bag in a magical way and suddenly the poet found himself surrounded by a tribe and he was tied to a stake.

EXPLANATION: “They Said…but never grew”

The tribes were nothing but the oak trees and they said to the poet that they are his own true family. They expressed their unhappiness saying that human beings chop them down, they torn them up. They threatened the poet that they would kill him unless he made a promise to stop this.

They made the poet to make promise that from now on he would plant more trees whenever one tree is cut. If the poet would not make the promise then the old oak tree would devour him.

EXPLANATION: “This was my dream…heart was a tree”

But this incident is not a real incident. It is happening in the dreams of the poet.  But when the poet wakes up his inner conscience has already transformed. He feels sorry for the trees. He on behalf of mankind realizes his mistake and his heart is filled with compassion for the trees.

                                                 Comprehension Exercises

1. Choose the correct alternative to complete the following sentences:

a) Creeping in an Oakwood, the poet was looking for a

iii) Stag

b) Whenever an Oak tree is felled, the number of trees the poet must plant is

ii) two

c) When the poet came out of the Oakwood, his heart was that of a

ii)tree

2. State whether the following sentences are True or False. Provide sentences phrases / words in support of your answer.

a) True

S.S – “I have your secret in my little bag”

b) False

S.S – “we are chopped down, we are torn up, you do not blink an eye.”

c) False

S.S – “When I came out of the oakwood, back to human company.”

3. Answer the following questions:

a) When did the poet come twice awake?

Ans- When the old woman whom the poet met in an oakwood opened the bag to show a magic, the poet came twice awake.

b) What would happen to the poet if he failed to make the promise?

Ans – If the poet failed to make the promise, the black oak tree would wrinkle over him and rooted him among the oak trees. This way he would die.

c) What was it that altered the poet?

Ans –The dream which the poet saw about the ill fate of oak trees has altered the poet completely. When he awoke from his dream he felt compassionate with the trees.

4. Change the following into indirect speech:

a) Rahul asked Dipa,”Will you go to school today?”

Ans – Rahul asked Dipa if she would go to school that day.

RULE : 1. Look at the Reporting Verb. here it is ‘asked’, it is in past form.

       2. If Reported speech (the portin in inverted comma) is a yes/no question, then to remove the inverted comma we should use if/whether.

                    3. If Reported speech is in Future Indefinite Tense, then shall/will is changed to should/would according to subject.

                   4. The Reported speech should be rewritten as a Statement.

b) Rita said to Ayesha, “Please give me a glass of water.”

Ans - Rita requested Ayesha to give her a glass of water.

RULE :        1. If Reported Speech is a request then in Indirect Speech we must use ‘requested’ or ‘request’ according to the form of Reporting  Verb.

             2. To remove inverted comma we use ‘to’ here and not ‘That’ or ‘If’.

c) The old man told the little girl, ”May you be happy”

Ans - The old man wished that the little girl might be happy.

RULE:     1. If the Reported speech is an Optative Sentence, we should use the word ‘Wished’ in place of the Reporting Verb.

          2. Here ‘that’ is used to remove inverted comma.

          3. The Reported speech is rewritten as Statement.

SOME MORE EXAMPLES:

1. He asked me, “ Will you come tomorrow?”

He asked me if I would come the next day.

2. The receptionist said to me, “Please sign the register.”

The receptionist requested me to sign the register.

3. He said, “May God bless you”.

He prayed that God might bless him.

5. Do as directed:

a) Ranjan said, “who does not know the name of Rabindranath?” (Change into affirmative sentence)

Ans - Ranjan said that everybody knows the name of Rabindranath.

b) Sangeeta runs faster than any other girl in her class. (Rewrite using the positive degree of ‘faster’)

Ans - No other girl in the class runs as fast as Sangeeta.

7. Your school is going to organize the Inter-school District Sports Competition. Suppose you are the secretary of the Sports Club of your school. Write a notice (within 100 words) calling students to participate in the competition. Mention the time, date and venue of the competition. Your notice should be countersigned by the Headmaster/Headmistress of your school.

                                               NAWAB BAHADUR’S INSTITUTION

                                                                                                                                                                                                                             NOTICE                                             19/11/2016

It is hereby notified that the school is going to host the Inter - school District Sports Competition from 1^st December 2016 to 7^th December 2016 in our school premises. Teams from different schools in our district will participate in the sports competition. Many events will be there details of which will be announced later. The willing students are requested to submit their names to the game’s teacher. One candidate can participate maximum in three events.  Honourable Sports Minister of the state will inaugurate the programme. The students are asked to maintain discipline throughout the programme.

                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Secreetary

      Counter signed by                                                                            Sports Club

Headmaster