Treasure Trove Poems Workbook Answers Abou Ben Adhem
Abou Ben AdhemQuestions and Answers Extract Based
Question 1.
Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold: –
(a) Who was Abou Ben Adhem ? What did he believe ?
(b) What did Abou always think ? What did the narrator wish ?
(c) Which incident does the poet describe in the poem ? What does the poet want to impress upon us in the poem ?
(d) Why was Abou able to enjoy peaceful sleep ? What was Abou doing when the angel came in his room ?
(e) Why did Abou wake up ? What did he see ? What do the words ‘dream of peace’ and ‘rich’ suggest ?
(f) Why is the moonlit room compared to a lily in bloom in Abou Ben Adhem ?
(g) Which figure of speech has been used in the line ‘Awoke one night from a deeep dream of peace.’ Give the significance of the book of gold.
Answer.
(a) Abou Ben Adhem was a pious, virtuous and kind-hearted person. He was a true devotee of God. He was also known as Ibrahim Ibn Adhem. He believed that not only loving God, but also loving people who believed in God is great. He sacrificed all the worldly pleasures for serving the distressed humaninty.
(b) Abou always thought of making welfare of the people. He could not see anyone in trouble, so he was ever ready to help those who were found in distress. He thought and believed that true worship of God is to serve humanity or fellow beings. The narrator who addresses himself as Abou Ben Adhem wished that the number of holy, virtuous, noble and kind- hearted men like Abou Ben Adhem might increase in the world.
(c) The poet describes an incident which took place in the life of Abou Ben Adhem. The poet wants to impress upon us the importance of kindness and love to our fellow beings. He says that it is through love of fellow men that we can get the blessings of God’s love.
(d) As Abou was the man of pure conscience and was free from all the evils of the world, he always remained calm and contented and could enjoy a peaceful sleep at night. It was night so Abou Ben Adhem was sleeping in his room when the angel came in his room.
(e) Abou woke up from his sleep because of a dazzling light. He saw the moon¬light like presence of an angel brighten the room. The words ‘dream of peace’ suggest a peaceful dream, a dream which calms one’s mind. The word ‘rich’ suggests that the atmosphere of the room was made better by the moonlight.
(f) The comparison of Abou Ben Adhem’s room in moonlight and in the presence of the angel to a lily in bloom is a symbolic one. Literally, Abou’s cell was filled with moonlight, making it silvery bright that resembled a white budding lily in its beauty. The presence of the angel had made a transformation of the room.
(g) In the line given above, the figure of speech alliteration has been used. The book of gold symbolises heavenly book. It is book on which the angels write. This book contains the accounts of good and bad deeds of all the human beings.
Question 2.
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the presence in the room he said,
“What writest thouV’-The vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, “The names of those who love the Lord.”
(a) What did Abou Ben Adhem see in the room when he woke from deep sleep ?
Was Abou afraid to see the sight of his room ? .
(b) What did Abou ask the angel ? What made him bold enough to do so ?
(c) How did the angel respond toAbou’s question ? Why did Abou Ben lower his tone when the angel gave him reply ?
(d) How did the angel look at Abou ? What kind of effect did the angel’s look have ? What is the vision referred to here ?
(e) For what does the phrase ‘exceeding peace’ stand ? What is referred to as the presence ? What did Abou always remain calm and peaceful ?
(f) What is the attitude of the narrator towards Abou Ben Adhem ?
Answer.
(a) Abou Ben Adhem saw an angel in the room when he woke from deep sleep. There was moonlight and peace in his room. The angel was writing something in a book of gold. No, Abou was not afraid to see the sight of his room.
(b) Abou asked the angel what he was writing. As Abou was noble, virtuous and peace loving, nothing could frighten him. In other words, thbrte’was great peace in his room which made him bold and courageous.
(c) The angel raised its head and with a look of sweet accord answered that he was writing the names of those who loved the Lord. Abou Ben Adhem lowered his tone when the angel gave him a reply because he was told that his name was not included in the list of those who love God.
(d) The angel looked at Abou with a face that evoked kindness. The angel’s look had a calm and soothing effect. There was a kind of serenity at his look which was enough to fascinate someone towards him. Angel or Abou’s supernatural vision is referred to as the vision.
(e) The phrase ‘exceeding peace’ stands for the peace which is beyond comparison. The angel is referred to as the presence. As Abou was noble, virtuous and peace loving and was free from all kinds of prejudices and evils, he always remained calm and peaceful.
(f) The narrator shows great admiration and respect for the protagonist. In fact, he has used a parenthesis ‘may his tribe increase !’ within brackets in the very first line as gesture to cast his blessings on Abou and to declare that this’ man is indeed worth remembering for generations to come.
Question 3.
“And is mine one?” said Abou. “Nay, not so,”
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly still; and said, “I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men.”
(a) Whom did Abou see in his room when he awoke from a deep sleep ? Why did Abou’s room look beautiful and bright ?
(b) How did the angel react when Abou asked him what he was writing ? What made Abou bold to speak to the angel ?
(c) Why was Abou curious ? How did Abou feel at the angel’s denial? Why ?
(d) What is the sifnificance of the foilwing lines :
‘I pray thee, then,
write me as one that loves his fellow men.’
(e) Explain the following : ‘Abou spoke more low but cheerly still’.
(f) What did Abbu request the angel and why ?
Answer.
(a) Abou saw an angel in his room when he woke from a deep sleep. Abou Ben ‘ Adhem’s room looked very beautiful and bright as a lily in bloom due to the presence of the angel. In fact the room was illumined with a divine light in the form of the angel.
(b) When Abou asked the angel what he was writing, the angel raised his head with a calm and sweet look and threw a glance at Abou. The calm state of Abou’s mind made him bold to speak to the angel.
(c) Abou seemed to be very curious to know if the angel had included his name in the list of those who love God. When the angel told him (Abou) that his name was not in the list, he was little bit shocked and felt sad because he had always been a true and sincere devotee of God and never committed any kind of evil deed. He had been loving and serving his fellow beings.
(d) Abou’s request was so polite that it made a sharp contrast to his previous communication with the angel. Moreover, it is for that politeness that the angel could not turn down his request but wrote his name and went off.
(e) Abou lowered his tone and felt a little bit sad when the angel gave him reply that his name was not in the list. But he could maintain his calmness due to his nobility and kind-heartedness.
(f) Abou requested the angel to write his name as lover of the human beings because he was kind, sympathetic and compassionate for his fellow beings and was always ready to help them in their distress. He whole-heartedly loved and served his fellow beings.
Question 4.
The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night
It came again with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blest,
And lol Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest.
(a) What did the angel do when asked by Abou to include him in the list as the lover of mankind ? Why did Abou not care of vanishing the angel ?
(b) What did the angel show Abou when he came the second time ? Why did Abou feel great surprise ?
(c) Why was Abou’s name on the top of the list ?
(d) What moral does the following line ‘Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest’ bring to us ?
(e) How does the poet Leigh Hunt present the character of Abou Ben Adhem in his poem ?
(f) What true message has the poet conveyed in the depth of the poem.
Answer.
(a) When Abou requested the angel to submit his name in the list as the lover of human beings, the angel said nothing and remained silent for a moment, but he wrote something in heavenly book and disappeared. When the angel disappeared without showing any result to Abou, Abou was entirely careless towards it because he was a pious and noble soul. For him, there was no need to be afraid of anything as he did nothing wrong in his life.
(b) The next night, the angel came the second time with a great wakening light. He showed Abou the names of those who had been blessed by God’s love. Abou was extremely surprised to see his name on the top of the list.
(c) Abou’s name was on top of the list because God loves those who love their fellow men. The reason for this is that God loves all His creatures. Among all his creatures, God loves man most. Whoever loves God’s creatures especially man, God also loves him.
(d) Abou was pious, kind-hearted and a man of pure conscience. He had been loving, serving and caring his fellow beings selflessly, so his name was included at the top of the list of those who were loved and blessed by God. It brings us a great moral that we should love humanity and care for the people. If we want to get God’s love, we should love our fellow beings.
(e) In Leigh Hunt’s poem, the character of Abou Ben Adhem is a simple yet charming one. In the first place, he seems to be a man of calm and composure. Secondly, he is bold and rather straightforward. He is not rude. He is rather very respectful and puts his request 7 pray thee, then, Write me as one that loves his fellow men’. The poet comments Abou spoke more low’. Here the words ‘pray’ and ‘that’ instead of ‘who’ mark his humble nature.
And, last but not the least, Abou is a lover of the human race. His name tops the God’s list of people who love God. Actually his love for his fellow men is greater than the other’s love for God.
(f) The poet has beautifully pictured how each one of us should think and how when we start thinking for others; we are truly blessed by God for our deeds. Loving God is not meant only by saying, but it is our deeds that ultimately God would count, and for every good deed that we do, we are being noted in God’s book and being blessed.
Treasure Trove Poems and Short Stories Workbook Answers