INDIAN SCHOOL AL MAABELA

(ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED INSTITUTION)

MIDDLE SECTION 2022-2023
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
NOTES

ISAM/FR/MDL/NS/04

Class:VIII Notes of Topic/Lesson: For You O’ Democracy Year:2022-2023

I. Reference to Context:
A. Come, I will make the continent indissoluble;

Q1. To whom does the poet-speaker say this?

Ans: The poet-speaker addresses this poem to the people of America.

Q2. What does the speaker promise?

Ans: The poet-speaker promises to make the continent of America a land which will be without any boundary
or end.

Q3. Does the poet-speaker want something in return from those he calls out to?

Ans: The poet-speaker specifies that in order to achieve what he wants to, all that he needs is the love of his
comrades, the people of America.

B. I will plant companionship thick as trees along all the rivers of America, and along the shores of the
great lakes, and all over the prairies;
I will make inseparable cities, with their arms about each other’s necks;

Q1. What does he compare companionship to in the first line? Why does he make this comparison?

Ans: The poet-speaker compares companionship to the brotherhood of the trees that grow along the rivers of
America, the shores of lakes and also all over the prairies. He makes this comparison because he wants to
emphasize upon something which is inevitable. Like the everlasting trees that stand together, strong and
resolute against all hardships, the people of America too will stand together to overcome all obstacles in their
path to greatness.

Q2. What is the meaning of the word prairies?

Ans: The North American grasslands are referred to as the prairies.
Q3. What does he compare cities to?
Ans: The poet-speaker says that he will make the cities of America inseparable almost as if they had their
arms around one another’s necks.
Q 4. How is this comparison achieved?
The poet speaker says that they will be as inseparable as comrades – as men who are ready to put their lives
on the line for each other and for the cause they believe in.

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II. Answer the following:
1. Describe the poet-speaker’s dream in your own words.
Ans: The poet-speaker dreams of making America a land without boundaries, the Americans the most
splendid of all races and his motherland a place of beauty and magnetism. He dreams of achieving these goals
with the love of his comrades, his countrymen, since in the end he hopes to establish democracy which can
only be achieved if all his countrymen love one another. He dreams of universal democracy one that will be
based on strong bonds of brotherhood and companionship. Like tall and strong trees, companionship too will
take deep roots among all comrades who must stand together to create a great democratic nation.

2. Why does the poet-speaker refer to democracy as ‘ma femme’?

Ans: ‘Ma femme’ is a French phrase which means one’s ‘better half’. The poet terms democracy as his better
half as democracy has been his lifelong dream and muse. All his actions and passions are directed towards it
and it is for this reason that he refers to it as ‘ma femme’.

3. Justify the title of the poem with a brief analysis of the rest of the poem.

Ans: The title of the poem is ‘For You O’ Democracy’, which evidently suggests that the poet dreams of a
great and glorious democracy where freedom, responsibility and equal rights will be guaranteed to all.
Democracy guarantees equally for all and this can be achieved only by fostering feelings of love and
brotherhood among his countrymen and this is why he keeps emphasizing the words, ‘By the love of
comrades’, he talks about planting companionship like trees that grow on the prairies, by the great lakes and
the rivers of America. In the last stanza, he says that he is doing all this only for Democracy. He personifies
Democracy as his better half. Thus the title of the poem is justified.
Extended Writing
1.Discuss the poetic devices used in the poem “For You O’ Democracy? Give examples from the poem.
2. “Democracy is not just a political system but a way of life. “Do you think so? Give reasons to support your
answer

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