English Class 9 Notes Chapter 12

English Class 9 Notes Chapter 12 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa textbook board Peshawar class 9 English guide, Comprehension, Vocabulary and exercise.

English Class 9 Notes Chapter 12

Table of Contents

Comprehension

A. Read out the text and answer the following questions:

Q.1) Who does the poet praise in the poem ‘The Old Woman’? Explain how.

Answer:

The poet praises the beauty of an old woman in the poem ‘The Old Woman.’ We come to know about this as he uses such words/phrases like ‘of an aged face,’ ‘her brood gone from her.’

Q.2) What does the white candle represent in the poem ‘The Old Woman’?

Answer:

In the poem, the white candle represents the light and guidance that the old woman can give to her near and dear ones to lead a successful life. She is the one who shares her life experience with others and in this way enlightens their ways towards success just like the white candle in the holy place.

Q.3) What is the message in the poem ‘The Old Woman’?

Answer:

The message in the poem ‘The Old Woman’ is that in old age people do have their feelings and opinions. Due to their vast life experience, they are the best ones who can guide the young generation about how to lead their life successfully. They enlighten the lives of the young and bless them with warmth and kind-heartedness.

Q.4) Why does the poet compare an old woman to a ‘white candle in a holy place’, the winter sun and the water under a ruined mill in the poem ‘The Old Woman’?

Answer:

The poet compares the old woman to a white candle in a holy place, the winter sun and the water under a ruined mill in the poem as he wants to emphasize the experience that people have in old age and their strength Actually, the poet has described the old lady by different comparisons to suggest steadiness and maturity in the life of an old lady.

Q.5) Do you like this poem ‘The Old Woman’?Why?

Answer:

Yes, I like the poem ‘The Old Woman’ because the poet gives very excellent comparisons to describe the personality of the old woman. Through this poem, we start giving more respect and love towards our elders especially our parents who spent their whole life grooming and training us without thinking about their own needs and desires.

Q.6) What words in the poem help establish imagery?

Answer:

The words that help establish imagery in the poem are ‘white candle,’ ‘spent radiance of the winter sun’ and ‘the waters under a ruined mill.’

Q.8) How many lines and stanzas are there in this poem?

Answer:

There are three stanzas in the poem ‘The Old Woman’. Each stanza comprises 4 lines thus the poem has a total of 12 lines.

Vocabulary

A) Identify the similies in the poem ”The Old Woman.

Answer:
Similes used in the poem are: as a white candle, as the spent radiance of the winter sun and as the waters under a ruined mill.

B) Which lines of the poem ‘The Old Woman’ indicate imagery?

Answer:
The first and second lines ‘as a white candle in a holy place,’ the fifth and sixth lines ‘as the spent radiance of the winter sun’ and the eleventh and twelfth lines ‘as the waters under a ruined mill’ indicates imagery in the poem ‘The Old Woman.

C) Pick out rhyming words from the poem ”The Old Woman.

Answer:
Following rhyming words are present in the poem: place; face, sun; done, still; mill.

Writing

A) Paraphrase the first and third stanza of the poem ‘The Old Woman’.

First Stanza:

In the first stanza of the poem, the poet has amazingly described the old woman by comparing her to the white candle that is placed at a holy place. The reason behind is that he wants to show the importance of the old woman and how she remains calm and guides others and enlightens their path under the light of her life experiences. Apart from this, the white candle represents the beauty of the old woman as though she is old and weak still she owns a special kind of beauty i.e. the beauty of love, peace, kindness and expertise.

Third Stanza:

In the third stanza of the poem, the poet has unveiled the hidden truth of life that children usually leave their parents when they reach their old, ripe age. Here, the poet compares the old woman with the water under the ruined mill. He means by this that as the water is still under the ruined mill, her thoughts remain there with her, they neither vanish nor run away. Although she is all alone, her memories are still fresh and reflect steadiness and maturity in the life of an old woman.

B) Write a summary of the poem ‘The Old Woman’.

Summary:

In this poem, the poet is describing the beauty of an old woman. Though she is old, she still has beauty just like a white candle. As white is associated with peace and candle gives out the light. Similarly, the old woman is calm and she is the one who enlightens the youth of her time with her rich life experience. The old woman is just the radiance of the sun when it is about to set in the winter season. It is similar to the passing of time, the time she has spent in gaining life experience.

At the sunshine the sunset looks beautiful due to radiance, the same thing is for the old lady. In the end, the poet gives a clear picture of the time when parents in their old age are left alone by their children. The old woman’s memories/thoughts are still fresh and crisp in her mind just like the waters of the mill that shows the steadiness and maturity in the life of an old woman.

C) Write an essay of about 100 words on “Appreciating and Respecting Elders”.

Answer:

“Appreciating and Respecting Elders”

We are what we gained from our elders. Whatever we do or think represents the mindset and methodology of our elders that are adopted by them to groom and train us. There comes the time in our life when we just forget that our elders should be appreciated and respected by us. It is very important to give respect to our elders because if today you will respect your elders, your present and future generations will carry those values and will learn to respect you as well when you grow old.

There are some reasons that why we must appreciate and respect our elders such as they are the ones who love us unconditionally and we owe everything in return of their love and kindness, they try to incur strong moral values in us to make us a better human being, they are much more experienced than us in terms of age, education, wisdom & maturity and they deserve to be respected because they have brought you up facing many hardships in life.

Giving the respect to elders does not only mean to show respect in your mannerism, but it is the respect that you must hold in your heart, the respect for their thoughts, feelings and opinions that they have in their old age. Appreciation is also not truly associated with children that they are the only ones who need it.

Appreciation is needed by the elders too. We can appreciate whatever they do even if it is too minor to recognize. In the nutshell, our elders must be respected and appreciated by every one of us. Some simple gestures of us mean a lot to them like shaking their hands, sharing ideas with them, listening attentively, maintaining eye contact or simply just by passing a priceless smile to them. We should give our time to our elders so they can enjoy a healthy ageing life.