Treasure Trove Poems Workbook Answers The Patriot
The Patriot Questions and Answers Extract Based
Question 1.
It was roses, roses, all the way,
With myrtle mixed in my path like mad:
The house-roofs seemed to heave and sway,
The church-spires flamed, such flags they had,
A year ago on this very day.
(a) Where was the patriot being carried and why ? Where was he at present ? In which mood was he seen ?
(b) When did the patriot flourish as a popular and favourite leader ? What happened with the patriot when he returned home as a victor ?
(c) What kind of enthusiasm did the people show on his arriving home ? What kind of person was the patriot for his people ?
(d) What kind of image does the line ‘The house-tops seemed to heave and sway’ create ? What significance does the line ‘A year ago on this very day’ hold in contrast of the poem ?
(e) What do the words ‘Rose’ and ‘path’ symbolise ? Give the example of the visual image in the above extract ?
‘(f) Which figure of speech has been used in the following line : ‘The house roofs seemed to heave and sway’ ? Explain it clearly.
Answer.
(a) Patriot was being carried to the scaffold to be executed because he had been declared a traitor for committing some political offences and was sentenced to death. At present, he was moving through the streets as a prisoner to the scaffold. While moving to his death point, he was seen in a contemplative mood.
(b) A year ago, on the same day when he was being taken to be executed, the patriot flourished as a popular and favourite leader. When the patriot returned home as a victor, he had been given a warm and grand welcome by the people of his nation. In the eyes of people, he was the hero of the day. They showed great love and respect for him.
(c) When he returned triumphant over the enemy, the people seemed to be mad after him. They spread the petals of smelling flowers in his way and climbed on the walls and roofs of the houses only to get a glimpse of their favourite leader. They were leaping and jumping. At that time, the patriot was a god-like person for them.
(d) The heaving and swaying motion creates an image of overcrowding, emblematic of the speaker’s importance. It suggests that he was a celebrated figure—one that everyone wanted to see. The significance of the line ‘A year ago on this very day’ is that it diverts our attention to the past tense, ‘a year ago on this very day’, foreshading that something has changed. It develops the self pitying voice of the speaker and its unexpected placing at the end of the stanza one is symbolic of the abrupt end to the public’s devotion towards the speaker.
(e) ‘Rose’ is the symbol of love. In this poem it acts as a symbol of honour and love. ‘Path’ is a symbol of the way of life. In broader sense, it is the route of career. These are the following examples of the visual image.
1. ‘the path strewn with roses and myrtle.’
2. ‘the church-spires blazing with flags of victory.’
(f) In the line given above, the figure of speech personification has been used. The roofs of the houses have been given the human characteristic of heaving and swaying. This has been done to refer to the crowd on the roofs and their frenzy on seeing the patriot, which causes them to clamber over each other and give the impression of swaying.
Question 2.
The air broke into a mist with bells,
The old walls rocked with the crowd and cries.
Had I said, “Good folk, mere noise repels—
But give me your sun from yonder skies!”
They had answered, “And afterward, what else?”
(a) Whose fate does the poet refer in the poem ? When was the patriot given a warm welcome and why ?
(b) In what state was the patriot seen in present time ? What does he recall ?
(c) How do we come to know that the people were mad after him ? Explain the following : ‘The air broke into a mist with bells’.
(d) Explain the following lines :
‘But give me your sun from yonder skies They had answered, ‘And afterward, what else ?’
(e) What brought about the change in patriot’s life ? For what do the words ‘sun from yonder skies’ stands ?
(f) To whom does the patriot address as ‘Good folk’ ? Explain the words : ‘mere noise repels’. What do these words signify ?
Answer.
(a) The poet refers to the fate of a patriot, named Arnold of Brescia. He was an Italian hero. A year ago, the patriot was given warm welcome because he returned triumphant over the enemy.
(b) In present time, the patriot was seen in a very pathetic and miserable condition as he had been declared a traitor and had been sentenced to death. After being arrested he was being led to the scaffold to be hanged for his misdeeds. He was moving to his death point through the streets in a sorrowful and contemplative mood. He recalls that just a year ago, he was warmly welcomed by the people on his return and was regarded as a hero for his glorious victory.
(c) When he returned to his home town as a hero and his procession was going through the streets, the people climbed the old walls and the roofs so that they might be able to get his glimpse. The bells were ringing with so much vehemence that it seemed that the air was getting misty with the bell sounds.
(d) The people were so mad after their hero that if he had asked them for anything-even the dearest things on which their sustenance depends-they would have readily given it to him; such great was his image. They would then ask him what else he wanted.
(e) The patriot was misunderstood by the people. His valiant deeds were considered to be misdeeds and he had been declared a traitor. The political authority proved him wrong in every way and he was sentenced to death. This brought a great tragic change in his life. The words given above stand for some impossible task which is beyond from human beings’ capacity. If the patriot had desired sun from the sky, the people would have brought it or they would have answered that to bring sun, moon and stars from the sky is not difficult task for them.
(f) The patriot addresses his countrymen as ‘Good folk’. The patriot hates the hollowed slogans uttered by the people in his reception and expects that they should do something impossible for the sake of their country. Slogans play no vital role in the progress of the country, but instead, the countrymen should come forward to cooperate their leader.
Question 3.
Mack, it was I who leaped at the sun
To give it my loving friends to keep!
Nought man could do, have I left undone:
And you see my harvest, what 1 reap
This very day, now a year is run.
(a) Who was patriot ? How was he treated a year ago and after a year ?
(b) Where was the patriot at present ? In what mood was he seeen ? Why does he regret ?
(c) Which mythological allusion does the poet use in the line ‘Mack, it was I who leaped at the sun’ ? What moral does the poet bring to us through this allusion ?
(d) What happened a year ago ? For what does the word ‘harvest’ stand ?
(e) In which line has the poet used figure of speech metaphor ? Explain it clearly.
(f) Why was the patriot sentenced to death ? To whom does he call ‘loving friends’ and what does it signify ?
(g) What does the speaker mean when he says, ‘Nought man could do; have I felt undone’ ?
(h) What does the following line ‘This very day, now a year is run’, show ?
Answer.
(a) The patriot was Arnold of Brescia. He was an Italian hero who had been given a warm welcome by the people on his arriving home as victorious. His paths were covered with roses and myrtles. There were sounds of bells resounding in the atmosphere. The people had flocked to get a glimpse of their favourite leader. They seemed to be very happy and excited. But just after a year he was accused of political offences and was sentenced to death. The people had changed their attitudes and loyalties.
(b) At present, the patriot was moving to his death point through the streets. He was seen in a highly dejected mood because he found that the people had grown completely indifferent towards him and had also shifted their loyalties at other place. While moving to the scaffold, the patriot regrets btecause he thinks that it was he who made a great achievement for the welfare of his countrymen and also made impossible, possible for them after making a hard struggle against heavy odds, but his great achievement and glorious deeds had been forgotten by the people.
(c) In the line given above, the poet uses the mythological allusion of Icarus’ flying to the sky with the help of wings fixed to his arms with wax. As Icarus rose nearer to the sun, his wax melted and he fell into the sea. The patriot like Icarus was overambitious and hence he had his tragic downfall. Overambitiousness often leads to downfall.
(d) A year ago the patriot was given a warm welcome on his return to home. He was considered by the people as a hero for his glorious victory. He was god-like for them. They showed their unbounded love and respect for him. They admired his bravery by shouting slogans. The word ‘harvest’ stands for his achievement which he made for the welfare of his countrymen.
(e) The poet has used figure of speech metaphor in the line ‘And you see my harvest, what I reap’. In this line patriot’s deed have been referred to as harvest and the consequences have been referred to as reaping.
(f) The patriot was sentenced to death because his heroic deeds were considered to be misdeeds and he had been declared a traitor for committing political offences. He calls his people as ‘loving friends’. It signifies that though the people had changed their attitudes and loyalties, the patriot had still sympathetic attitude for his fickle-minded people.
(g) The speaker means to say that if he had left the task unaccomplished, there was none who would have done it. In fact the speaker did a great struggle and hard work to bring peace, happiness and prosperity for his country and countrymen.
(h) While moving to his end, the speaker seems to be sad. Perhaps he is engrossed in thoughts of happy day when he was on the summit of fame and popularity. Indeed it was a year ago when people showed great zeal and enthusiasm in his reception, but unfortunately the good time had gone so soon. Now he was in adverse circumstances.
Question 4.
There’s nobody on the house-tops now-
Just a palsied few at the windows set;
For the best of the sight is, all allow,
At the Shambles’ Gate-or, better yet,
By the very scaffold’s foot, I trow.
(a) What makes the speaker (the patriot) sorrowful ? What kind of behaviour did the people show for him during his evil days ?
(b) What kind of gloominess pervaded the atmosphere and why ?
(c) How was the patriot treated a year ago ?
(d) Explain the line : ‘Just a paralysed few at the windows set’.
(e) What had made most of the people leave the town ?
(f) The poet brings out a sharp contrast between the past and the present of the patriot. How ?
(g) What kind of mentality of the people does the poet bring to us in the poem ?
(h) In the beginning to what extent were the people mad after their leader ? After a year, how was the scene changed with the patriot ?
(i) What does the poet want to suggest in the poem The Patriot ? For what do the words ‘Shamble’s Gate’ and ‘Scaffold’ stand ?
Answer.
(a) The speaker feels great sorrow to think that the people to whom he struggled a lot and faced hardships to give them happiness and peace, had grown entirely indifferent towards him and had shifted their loyalties at other place. During his evil or adverse days, the people showed great contempt for him. They treated him callously and cruelly.
(b) A year after, when he was being taken for death punishment, the town seems to be desolated as there were only a few people sitting at the windows of the house. Mostly people had gone to see the interesting sight of his execution. It seemed as if there was a kind of gloominess pervaded the atmosphere.
(c) Just a year ago when the patriot entered the city, people welcomed him warmly. His paths were strewn with sweet smelling flowers and myrtles. The church spires blazed with flags. They were shouting slogan after slogan in his reception. They seemed to be showing their great eagerness to get his glimpse.
(d) When the patriot was being taken to the place of execution, no one was seen on the roof of the houses. Only a few invalid people who could not walk to the place of execution, were seen sitting at the windows of their houses. From there, they were seeing the sight of his being carried to his execution point. Perhaps they were also full of contempt against the traitor and deriving joy from this tragic and pitiable sight.
(e) The best sight at the gate of the slaughter house or at the very foot of scaffold made most of the people leave the town. The patriot’s being hanged was the best sight in the eyes of the people and they did not want to miss this sight so they left hurriedly for that place.
(f) According to the poet, the patriot (Arnold of Brescia) who was an Italian hero, was once the worshipped and honourable hero of the Italians but now he had fallen to humiliation and death. Only a year ago he was warmly welcomed by his people for his glorious victory. Now, a year after the day of reception, he fell on evil days. His accomplishments were deemed as political offences. The people no longer admired and loved him, but they showed great contempt for him.
(g) The poet brings to us the fickle attitude of the people or the mob. He shows how love, respect and honour given to someone is momentary and it is subjected to erratic changes. Only a year ago, the patriot was acknowledged as god-like by the public. He was given a hero’s welcome on his arrival in the town, but after a year he was being taken to the scaffold to be executed.
(h) In the beginning the people were so mad after their leader that they were ready to offer him whatever he desired from them. If he had asked them to offer him sun, moon and star from the sky, they would have answered what else he desired. After a year, there was a complete change in the attitude of the people towards their hero. He fell on evil days. He was going to be persecuted and executed in public. At this time, there was none to give him a hearty send-off. The people were enjoying the scene of his execution. They insulted and humiliated him beyond limits.
(i) The poem is a superb example of current political upheaval and changed public opinion. The poet wants to suggest that nothing remains the same in the world of politics. It is a world of self-interest and selfish people who, for individual benefits, may go against the common good of the country. ‘Shamble’s Gate’ was the place where animals were butchered. It was the best place to afford a full view of the execution of the patriot. Scaffold is a raised platform of timber on which the criminal is executed.
5. I go in the rain, and, more than needs,
A rope cuts both my wrists behind;
And I think, by the feel, my forehead bleeds,
For they fling, whoever has a mind,
Stones at me for my year’s misdeeds.
(a) Who was being led to the gallows ? What had he done ? What was his state while moving to scaffold ?
(b) Do you think that the patriot was innocent ? Had he really committed misdeeds or political offences ?
(c) In the earlier stanza, why does the patriot mourn when he was being taken to the execution place and throws his eyes all around him ?
(d) What is the symbolical significance of ‘the rain’ ?
(e) When does the patriot for the first time undergo physical pain ?
(f) Which figure of speech has been used in the line ‘I go in the rain’ ? What does it show ? What does the bleeding of his forehead and his being dragged to death point symbolise ?
Answer.
(a) The patriot was being led to gallows. His heroic deeds were considered as misdeeds and he had been declared a traitor and was sentenced to death. The patriot who was once worshipped and honoured by the people as their favourite hero, had now become the prey of humiliation and contempt. As the people had shifted their loyalties in changed circumstances, they had nn sympathetic attitude towards him.
(b) In fact, the patriot was innocent. He had not committed any misdeeds or , political offences. It was only out of misunderstanding of the people that he was considered to be a traitor and was being put to death. His death sentence was for wrong reason and although he had tried to persuade the people to , listen to him, it had done no good to him.
(c) When the patriot was being taken to the gallows, he mourns to see the desolated like state of the town as there was none to welcome him. He found the house-tops and streets empty. He feels highly sad at the indifferent attitude of the people and they showed great contempt for him.
(d) As well as making the patriot wet reducing his dignity, the rain can be seen to symbolise how the patriot was innocent as he was washed clean. As well as, rain in general represents corruption creating a negative tense mood.
This describes the people who are clearly corrupt for hanging somebody v who had done nothing.
(e) The patriot undergoes pain for the first time when the strong rope which was tied tightly on his wrists, makes injuries on his wrists and secondly when the people hurl the stones at him. The stone which hits his forehead, gives him great pain. The bleeding of his forehead makes him feel great pain.
(f) In the line ‘I go in the rain’, the poet has used the figure of speech pathetic fallacy (a kind of personification). It shows to the distressed mood and could be seen as a sign of the speaker’s inner crisis and sadness. The bleeding of his forehead can be a symbol of the Crown of Thoms and his being dragged . through the streets mimics the death of Jesus.
6. Thus I entered, and thus I go!
In triumphs, people have dropped down dead.
Paid by the world, what dost thou owe
“Me?”- God might question; now instead,
Tis God shall repay: I am safer so.
(a) What thought makes the patriot feel ‘safer’ ?
(b) What does the patriot say in the line ‘Thus I entered and thus I go’ ?
(c) What is true about the rise and fall of glory ?
(d) Do you think that overambitiousness was the reason of patriot’s downfall ?
(e) How does the patriot feel in the hour of his defeat and sorrow ? How does he feel safe ?
(f) What does the patriot mean when he says, ‘In triumphs people have dropped down dead’ ? Which figure of speech has been used here ?
Answer.
(a) As the poet firmly believes in God and in his judgement, he thinks that God will truly judge that he had done nothing wrong in the world and he was a man of pure heart. The people of this world misbehaved with him by declaring him a traitor and criminal and he had wrongly been sentenced to death. God will show mercy for him and give him a place in his kingdom.
(b) Actually, the patriot entered the town as a hero a year ago when he was given a warm reception by the people. The people in his welcome covered the path with the petals of smelling flowers. They rang the bells and shouted the slogans for him and decorated the chruch towers. Thus the people showed their reverence for him, but a year later he met with a tragic end. He received a harsh and humiliating treatment from the public and was being publicly hanged with stones being pelted at him. Now the people wished him to be killed.
(c) Nothing is stable in this world. It is also true to the rise and fall of glory. Someone who rises high and touches the summit of glory, cannot remain at the top for longer and his downfall is certain. The circumstances are not always same, they are changing. The same thing takes place with the patriot who, a year ago, was welcomed by the public with roses and myrtles and after a year the same public hurls stones at him because he was not in power and was declared a criminal.
(d) Yes, it was patriot’s overambitiousness that during his glorious days he could not think of his downfall. What led him towards his downfall was his vaulting ambition. It can be deduced that the speaker took a step too far and it was his error that led him to cross the boundaries and consequently lose popularity.
(e) The patriot achieves a moral victory in the hour of defeat and extreme. He feels that he has not been rewarded for his services on the earth. If he had been rewarded, God would not have cared him. But, now betrayed and deserted by the people he hopes he would be rewarded by God in heaven. So he feels safe in the bosom of God.
(f) The patriot means to say that sometimes great heroes fall from their climax and die, but such had not happened to him. If he had died in the peak of his power, he would have been happy. The figure of speech alliteration has been used here.
Treasure Trove Poems and Short Stories Workbook Answers