Daybreak

1. Give the substance of the poem “Day Break”. / Narrate the wind’s activities
s presented in the poem “Day Break”. / What does the wind play at dawn or
day break? / What role does the wind play in the poem “Day Break”? / The
central idea of the poem “Day Break”.
Ans. In the poem “Day Break” the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow describes what the
wind does at day break or at dawn. The wind in the poem rises from the sea. It wants to
spread the message of day break to the world. So, it asks the mists to make room for it. It
asks the sailors to awake and then moves towards the land. It tells the trees in the forest to
unfold their waves. It wakes the birds and asks them to sing so that the world can know
that it is morning. It asks the chanticleer crow to herald the coming of a new day. It tells the
corns in the fields to bow down and to welcome the morning sun. Then the wind blows
through the church tower and tells the bell to ring. So that the people can know what time
of day it is. Finally, the wind arrives the graveyard of a church. It sighs softly and tells the
dead to lie quietly because their time to wake up has not yet arrived.

2. Justify the title of the poem “Day Break”.

Ans. The title of the poem “Day Break” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is about the
breaking of a new day and the activities of elemental aspects of nature at the beginning of
the day. The wind takes the responsibility to convey the message of a new beginning and at
the same time awakens the natural agents to perform the tasks in the morning. As the night
ends, a mellowing dawn inspires the entire world to join the procession of light. The new
dawn enriches the world with a touch of celestial glory and ecstasy. Thus, the title “Day
Break” relates itself directly to the theme and message of the poem. So, the title is
appropriate and justified.

3. How does Longfellow present the advent of a new day in a spirit of

celebration in the poem “Day Break”? / Whom did the wind meet in the
course of his journey before reaching in churchyard? Whom did he meet in the
churchyard? What message did he give them? / “It crossed the churchyard
with a sigh” – Who crossed the churchyard with a sigh? What did he say in this
place? Why did it sigh and behave differently in the churchyard?
Ans. The wind which rose out of the sea and rushed towards the land sighed at the time of
crossing the churchyard.
 Here the wind addressed the dead souls lying in grave and advised them to lie in
peace as their time for regeneration had not yet come.
 Coming up to the churchyard the wind realized that the inmates were not living
beings but dead souls waiting for the judgement day to come. For those deceased
there, it was not a moment of celebration and so the wind behaved differently in the
churchyard.