Grade: KS2 Subject: English Date: 18/03/2021

Chapter 8: Exercise 4: ‘How they brought the good news from Ghent
to Aix’
1. When did the horsemen set out on their ride?
Ans: The horsemen set out on their ride at midnight.

2. List, in order, all the towns mentioned in the poem that they rode
through.
Ans: All the towns mentioned in the poem are Lokeran, Boom, Duffled,
Mecheln, Aeroshot, Hasselt, Roos, Looz, Tongres, Dalhem, Aix.

3. Where were they when they first saw the sun?

Ans: When they first saw the sun, they were at Boom (a great yellow star came
out to see).

4. Explain using your own words the lines:

‘With resolute shoulders, each butting away
The haze, as some bluff river headland its spray’.
Ans: This phrase means that the horse was running with full determination.
The writer describes his admiration towards his horse for being immensely
dedicated to the journey and not stopping even because of the fog ahead of
him.

5. Choose two examples of the descriptions of the horses and explain how
they convey the exhausting nature of the ride.
Ans: a) ‘Off her chest, saw the stretched neck and staggering knees’ – This
means that the horse was so exhausted running that the neck muscles were
stretched and the horse had trembling legs.
b) ‘As down on her hunches she shuddered and sank’ – This means that the
horse lost balance and fell because it shivered extremely due to the long
journey.

6. Explain using your own words the line: ‘Neath our feet broke the brittle
bright stubble like chaff.’
Ans: The writer described the oppressive heat of the mid-day sun which dried
everything that came in contact with. This was what the writer suffered
during their journey. The heat was so strong that the dried-up chaffs broke
easily as the writer rode through the fields.

7. Choose two examples of alliteration used by the poet and explain how
they help to bring the events of the poem alive.
Ans: The two examples of alliteration used by the poet are:
‘The cocks crew and twilight dawned clear’
‘Of her chest, saw the stretched neck and staggering knees’
The alliterations used in the poem give us a clear picture of the events taking
place which in turn help to bring the events of the poem alive.

8. By referring closely to the language used in the poem explain how the
poet presents Roland as such a heroic horse.
Ans: The poet admires the horse’s dedication on their journey. Roland’s
‘resolute shoulders,’ the ‘black intelligence’ of his eye, and his ‘fierce lips’ all
distinguish his strength in a way that justifies the celebration that closes the
poem.

9. How does the poem suggest the excitement of the ride?

Ans: The journey was quite dramatic. The towns through which the riders pass
is characterized only by the associated time of night, dawn and day. The poem
includes various incidents and experiences that occur during their journey
which suggests the excitement of the ride.