FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH - KSEEB - CLASS 10 - COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - MENDING WALL

 

Poem – 08

MENDING WALL

Robert Frost

Comprehension Questions

A. Answer briefly the following questions.

1) “Something” in line 1 refers to:

a) natural causes              b) supernatural causes               c)  man-made causes

Ans: a) natural causes

 

2) How does nature disturb the stones on the wall?

Ans: Water freezes, wind and rain would disturb the stones on the wall.

 

3) How do hunters disturb the stones on the wall?

Ans: Hunters pull down the wall in search of rabbits and remove stones from the wall.

 

4) Who does “they” in line 7 refer to?

Ans: “they” is the hunters in line 7 refers to.

 

5) Who are the two characters in the poem? (Note: the speaker is not the poet)

Ans: The speaker and his neighbor are the two characters in the poem.

 

6) When does the mending of the wall take place?

Ans: The mending of the wall takes place during spring time.

 

7) When the poet says, “we have to use a spell to make them balance”

a) he really means that they had to use a magic spell to make the stones stand one above the other

b)  he is just saying it humorously

c) he regrets that he did not know the magic

Ans: b) he is just saying it humorously.

 

8) “I let my neighbour know…” (line 12) What did the speaker let the neighbour know?

Ans: The speaker let the neighbor to know that the wall between them had broken and it needed repair.

 

9) a) What is referred to as just another outdoor game?

Ans: Mending the wall is referred to as just another outdoor game.

 

b) Why does the speaker call it a game?

Ans: The speaker calls it a game because wall would be destroyed by nature and they have repair now and then.

 

10) What argument does the speaker give to convince his neighbour that they do not need the wall?

Ans: The speaker says that he has apple trees and his neighbour has pine trees, those trees won’t walk in each other properties. Thus, the speaker gives argument to convince his neighbour that they do not need the wall.

 

11) What is the neighbour’s stock reply?

Ans: “Good fences make good neighbours” is the neighbour’s stock reply.

 

12) By building a wall between neighbours, what are we “walling in” and what are we “walling out?”

Ans: Here “walling in” represents detachment, doubt and seclusion and “walling out” represents love and friendship.

 

13) The speaker says, “I rather / he said it for himself”

a) What does “it” refer to here?

Ans: “it” refers to something that didn’t like the wall and wanted to break it.

 

b) What does the speaker mean by this statement?

Ans: The speaker wants his neighbhour to realize that wall is not needed among them and nature will destroy when they build it.

 

14) How does the neighbour carrying a stone in each hand appear to the poet?

Ans: The neighbour is carrying a stone as a savage in each hand.

 

15) Darkness in line 41 refers to

a) darkness In the woods under the shade of a tree.

b)  mental darkness, ignorance

c) his ‘blindness’ to see the light in the speaker’s arguments.

Ans: c) his ‘blindness’ to see the light in the speaker’s arguments.

 

16) Frost says that his poem is a metaphor, saying one thing and meaning another. The wall in the poem is a metaphor. What do you think is the metaphorical meaning of a wall?

Ans: The metaphorical meaning of “The wall” is the space, distrust and seclusion that created between neighbours.

 

17) Why do you think the speaker resents the wall? What does he want?

Ans: The speaker’s neighbour wants to maintain distance as the speaker resents the wall. The speaker doesn’t want any wall between him and his neighbhour and he wants to friendly with him.

 

II. Close Study

Read the following extract carefully. Discuss in pairs and then write the answers to the questions given below them.

 1) “He moves in darkness as it seems to me,

     Not of woods only and the shade of trees.”

 

a) Who does “he” in the first line refer to?

Ans: The neighbour is “he” in the first line refers to.

 

b) What does “darkness” mean here?

Ans: The neighbhour’s sightlessness is “darkness” means here.

 

c) Why does the speaker say that “he” moves in darkness?

Ans: The speaker says that “he” moves in darkness because the speaker’s neighbour doesn’t want to be flexible and sociable.

 

2) “Stay where you are until our backs are turned”

a) Who are these words said to?

Ans: Stones are these words said to.

 

b) Who does “our” refer to?

Ans: The speaker and his neighbour is “our” refers to.

 

c) What is the tone of the speaker?

Ans: Humorous is the tone of the speaker.

 

III. Paragraph Writing

Discuss in pairs the answers to the following question. Individually note down the points and then develop the points into one paragraph answer.

 1) If you were given a chance to live with one of these characters in the poem, who would you like to live with? Why?

Ans: If I get chance to live with one of these characters in the poem, then I would like to live with the speaker. As the speaker’s nature was totally opposite of his neighbour. The friendly nature, open minded and humorous tone attract anyone towards him and no one wants stay away from him. The speaker is more consistent and realistic and has good sense for everything. Here the speaker tries many times to convince his neighbour that they no need wall between them but his neighbour was not open mind as the speaker. The speaker doesn’t want to keep any physical and mental walls between them. Thus, this nature of the speaker makes everyone be neighbour of the speaker.