2.4 The Pulley — | Glossary Word = Meaning adore (v) | love very much bestow on (v) give asa gift to : contract (¥) | collect together dispersed (v) scattered jewel (1) | precious valuable thing; here contentment (rest) perceiving (v) "| noticing; becoming conscious of Tepining restlessness | continuous anxiety due to di riches (n) | wealth; bounties SS span (n) _[ small space toss (¥) here, bring; throw close i weary (adj) very tired “About the Poet — George Herbert (1593 - 1633) was a Welsh poet. He was a priest. by profession. He was a part of the group of 17 century poets, who wrote on themes of existence and religion. The relationship between man and God was 4 recurring theme in his poems. His poems were figuratively and visually coloured with conceits (fancy metaphors) and imageries. Scanned with CamSeannerThe poem, ‘The Pulley’ is based on the idea that God pulls humans towards himself with the pulley of restlessness. The poem exhibits a strange but two way relationship between God and his worshippers. Though he showers his worshippers with all his blessings, somewhere he also expects something in return. The soul of the poem is the uniqueness with which a religious notion is explored through a secular scientific image of a pulley. The poem begins with the process of creation, where God instructs his advisors to grant man different blessings and boons. God wished that all the wealth of the world and all the good qualities be present in human beings. So the blessings of strength, beauty, wisdom, honour, pleasure and many more were showered upon man. However, when the jar was almost empty, God suddenly stopped. He realised that, out of his treasure of all the boons and blessings, only ‘rest’ (contentment) was left at the bottom of the jar. God thought that if he granted human beings with the blessing of ‘rest’ (contentment), they would love the gifts that he has given them more than they would love him, God feared that giving humans the quality of being content and happy with their achievements and wealth would make them forget about him. Man would be comfortable in his life and would forget his Creator. This way, man would lose his connection with God and God would lose his power over man. At the end, God decided that he would let man have everything else except ‘rest’ (contentment). He decided to deprive man of satisfaction and peace of mind, Though man had all the materialistic treasures, he was also burdened with feelings of discontentment and fatigue. Discontentment that came from what he didn’t possess, and fatigue from handling his materialistic Possessions. Thus, not because of his goodness, but for seeking satisfaction and solace, man would always retum to God and pray to him for comfort. Std. X: English Kumarbharati Scannod with CamSeannor“1. Go through the following images and try to link them with our lives. For example, Storm — Hardships that we face in our life. Sorrowful moments Determination Strength Life Honour Hope Scannod with CamSeanner| | Wisdom | | | | | | Beauty Ans: Owl Wisdom Rose Beauty Tree Determination Clouds Sorrowful moments. Bouquet Honour Stream Life Mountain Strength Sunrise Hope “2. You may have often indulged in talking to yourself audibly. For example, i. “Oh, dear! Why didn’t I get up sooner?” ii. “Let me finish this quickly and then I'll be free.” iii. “How silly of me! Why didn’t I think of it before?” Such expressions are called Dramatic Monologues. Imagine and write Monologues suitable in the following situations. a, It’s your birthday next week, b. You have been waiting long at the city bus-stop. c. Your final exam results are to be declared tomorrow. d. Your mother has been chatting for very long on the telephone. Ans: “Wow! It’s my birthday next week!” “Whew! It’s been a while since the last bus came.” “Oh God! I hope I pass with flying colours.” “Oh Lord! How can she chat for so long?” eese Std. X: English Kumarbha Scanned with CamSeannerz Pulley ii ‘The Pulley’ is a mechanical device. Try and write down places where it can be used, and for what purpose, Ans: Ona well ‘aw water Tn an clevator To pull weight iii, | Ina crane To lift heavy load iv. | Inagym To lift weights * ‘Seannod with CamSeannorChapter 2.4: The Pulley ( Extract | Read the extract from line { to 20 on page 71 of your textbook and do the | | following activities: [*When God at... 1. Complete the following sentences. i, First, God decided to pour on man, God’s ‘glass of blessings’ contained Man, is thus, led to God because of being i. all the blessings of the world strength, beauty, wisdom, honour, pleasure restless and tired 2. Match Column A with Column B Column A Column B i. God’s creation a._| rest itt A glass of b._| restless The last thing left in God's treasure_| c._| man “| God made man rich, yet d._| blessings L e._| pulley Ans: (i- ©), (iid), (iii —a), (iv-b) A2. Complex cual i 1, State whether the following statements are True or False. Lf False, correct the statements, #i. If God gifted human beings with the gift of ‘rest’, they would love God’s gifis more than God himself. ii. Pleasure was the first blessing to be bestowed upon man. Ans: True False. Strength was the first blessing to be bestowed upon man. Std. X: English Kumarbharati ‘Scanned with CamSeannerChapter 2.4: The Pulley Naled a2 ate what God wants from man in exchange for all the gifts he has bestowed on him, Ans: In exchange for all the gifts God has bestowed on man, he only wants i. Ans: sii. man to remember and to love him. Give reasons for the following from the extract: God wanted to bless man with many gifts because — he wanted all the good things of the world to come together in one of his creations, God did not offer man with the gift of ‘rest’ because — [Note: Refer 42 Q.1 (i) from the Extract for this answer. 4. Ans: *5. g to the poem, God ensured that man remembered and loved him. Justify. God ensured that man remembered and loved him by keeping the gift of ‘rest’ away from him. This way man had all the riches of the world, yet, he was unsatisfied and distressed by the materialistic nature of things. Thus, in order to seek satisfaction and peace of mind, man would have to turn to God. Pick out three lines that contain Monologues of God. Ans: The three lines containing the monologue of God are ~ i. ii. AS. viii. Std. X: English Kamara ithe : _ Vocabulary / Poetic De’ “Pour on him all we can” For if I Should (said He) “Bestow this jewel also on my creature, He would adore my gifts instead of me” “If goodness lead him not, yet weariness May toss him to my breast” vices Pick out the rhyming words from the poem, man ~ can ~ span by -lie way ~ stay — lay iv. pleasure ~ treasure he ~me—be vi, creature — nature rest — breast restlessness ~ Penryn AEA EAU STEEL PIE Scanned with CamSeanneri. is an example of Pun from the poem, A. Rest in the bottom lay B, So strength first made C. Having a glass of bles away ings D. So both should losers be ii, is an example of Paradox from the poem. A. and rest in Nature, not the God of Nature B. He would adore my gifis instead of me C. _Lethim be rich and weary D. When God at first made man iii, is an example of Synecdoche from the poem. So both should losers be The beauty flowed “Let us” (said He) “Pour on him all we can” May toss him to my breast 9OBp iv. is an example of Alliteration from the poem. A. made away B. bottom lay C. — repining restlessness D. _ keep the rest vy. ____is an example of Inversion from the poem. A. — Contract into a span B. So both should losers be C. Bestow this jewel D. And rest in nature vi. The rhyme scheme of the poem is x A, aabbe B, abcbe C. abceb D, ababa Ans: (i ~ A), (ii - C), (iii — D), (iv - C), (v- B), (vi- D) Std. X: English Kumarbharati Na 221 Scannod with CamScannerhapter 2.4: The Pulley i T Identify and explain the Figures of Speech in the following lines from the extract: i, “When God at first made man” Ans: a. Alliteration — The sound of the letter ‘m’ is repeated for poetic effect. ii, “Having a glass of blessings standing by” Ans: a Alliteration — The sound of the letter *b’ is repeated for poetic effect. b. — Consonance ~ The sound of the syllable ‘ng’ has been repeated in the line for a poetic effect. ¢. Metaphor ~ The blessings are indirectly compared to the liquid kept in a glass that can be poured out. iii. “Let us (said He) “pour on him all we can:” Ans: a. _ Inversion — The words are rearranged for poetic effect (maintaining a Biblical tone). The correct order of words should be, “Let us (He said) “pour on him all we can:” iv. “Let the worlds riches, which dispersed lie, Contract into a span.” a. _Alliteration — The sound of the letters ‘I’ and ‘w’ have been repeated for poetic effect, b. — Antithesis - Two opposite words ‘dispersed’ and ‘span’ are placed in the same line. ¢. Inversion — The words are rearranged for poetic effect (maintaining the thyme scheme). The correct order of words should be, “Let all the worlds riches, which lie dispersed,” y. “So strength first made a way; Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honour and pleasure” a, Alliteration - The sound of the letter ‘s’ is repeated for poetic effect. b. Climax ~ The ideas beauty, wisdom, honour and pleasure are arranged in an increasing order of importance, ¢. Personification ~ The qualities of strength, beauty, wisdom, honour and pleasure have been given the animate quality of movement to give a vivid image of the process of creation. Scannod with CamSeanner“Rest in the bottom lay.” ley Personification ~ The inanimate attribute of ‘rest’ is given the human quality of ‘laying’ in order to create a vivid image of the process of creation, b. — Pun — The word ‘rest’ has two meanings. It means ‘remaining’ and it also means the gift of ‘rest’. ¢. Tautology — The words ‘rest’ and ‘lay’ mean the same thing. vii. “For if I should (said He)” Ans: a. Inversion — The words are rearranged for poetic effect (maintaining a Biblical tone). The correct order of words should be “For if [ should (He said)” *viii. “Bestow this jewel also on my creature” Ans: a. Metaphor—The gift of ‘rest’ is indirectly compared to something precious suchasa ‘jewel’. ix. “He would adore my gifts instead of me,” Ans: a. Alliteration — The sound of the letter ‘m’ is repeated for poetic effect. *x. “And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature” Ans: a. Alliteration— The sound of the letter ‘n’ is repeated for poetic effect. b. Repetition - The word ‘nature’ has been repeated to emphasise on the idea of man worshipping nature instead of God. xi. “So both should losers be” Ans: a. Alliteration - The sound of the letter ‘b’ is repeated for poetic effect. b. Inversion — The words have been arranged in an inverse manner to add a dramatic effect to the poem. The correct order should be, “So both should be losers.” xii. “But keep them with repining restlessness” Ans: a. Alliteration — The sound of the letter ‘r’ is repeated for poetic effect. Std. X: English Kumarbharati 223 Scannod with CamSeannerChapter 2.4: The Pulley vial = xiii, “Let him be rich and weary” 7 Ans: a. Antithesis - Two opposite ideas ‘rich’ meaning comfort and ‘weariness’ meaning tiredness are placed in the same line to indicate the irony of the situation. b. Paradox — The opposite ideas of man being ‘rich’ and ‘weary’ at the same time are used together in the line. Together they give us an understanding of the extreme disadvantage of being rich, which is being weary. “If goodness lead him not, yet weariness” Antithesis — Here, the two contrasting ideas ‘goodness’ meaning the good nature of man, and ‘weariness’ which denotes tiredness, are placed in the same line to indicate the irony of the situation. b. Inversion — The words in the line are rearranged to add to the poetic effect, The correct order of words should be, “If goodness does not lead him.” Personification — An inanimate object, ‘goodness’ has been given the human quality of leading. xy. “May toss him to my breast.” Ans: Hyperbole — The use of the word ‘toss’ is to exaggerate the idea of bringing man close to God. Synecdoche (Part for the whole) - The term “my breast’ symbolises God himself, “4. Pick out two lines that contain the following Figures of speech. i, Antithesis INote: Refer A3 0.3 (iv, xiv and xv) from the Extract for this answer.] ii, Alliteration INote: Refer A3 Q.3 (xi and xiii) from the Extract for this answer] iii, Inversion INote: Refer A3 Q.3 (xii and xv) from the Extract for this answer.] Scanned with CamSeannerMy ords from the poem. valuables ii scattered lessen iv. tired riches ii, dispersed contract iv. wearyChapter 2.4: The Pulley _ Appreciation of the Poem ———_— Ans: Write a Critical Appreciation of the poem in a paragraph format with the help of the given points: Title, Poet, Rhyme Scheme, Figures of Speech and the Theme/Central idea. ppreciation of the poem ‘The Pulley* y George Herbert is a secular poem with hints of religious elements woven into it. The title of the poem is quite justified because just as a pulley lifts up objects to a greater height, God, the Creator, too lifts man towards him, through the pulley of “restlessness”. The rhyme scheme used in the first three stanzas of the poem is ‘ababa’ while that of the fourth stanza is ‘abeba’. The poem is beautified using a lot of figures of speech such as Alliteration, Antithesis, Climax, Consonance, Hyperbole, Inversion, Metaphor, Paradox, Personification, Pun, Repetition, Synecdoche, and Tautology. An example of Metaphor from the poem is “Bestow this jewel also on my creature” - The gift of ‘rest” is indirectly compared to something precious such as a ‘jewel’. The theme of the poem centres on the fact that human beings are bestowed with many gifts by God, yet we tend to be materialistic and forget God. However, the poet expresses that despite having everything, man is a restless being and this is because God did not bless him with the gift of ‘rest’, thus making him tum toward Him to seek rest and peace. (Mnemonic: MR. P3 IS A CATCH] Scannod with CamSeannerChapter 2.4: The Pulley Integrated Questions (based on the entire text) * Ans: “2. Ans: Choose the correct alternative from the following. Herbert’s poem, ‘The Pulley’ displays themes. A. _ Origins and Mortality / Spirituality B. Origins of species C. — Origin of the Universe / galaxy D. — Origin of the earth / space as the two main The summary of the poem, ‘The Pulley’ is : (Find two correct statements from the given alternatives) to focus on the mechanical operation of a pulley to teach a lesson to a creation (man) by the Creator (God), to know the different gifts bestowed on man by God. to remind man about his Creator in his exhaustion God pulled man towards himself by making him restless and weary mone > In the poem, ‘The Pulley’ is considered as 4 A. amechanical device B. agift to mankind C. an image to lift objects D. an image by which God compels people to become devout (i- A), (ii-C, E), (iii - D) ‘The poet has used the word REST thrice in the poem. Write what the word implies in each of the three lines it occurs. The meaning of the word ‘Rest’ in the 10th line is twofold: it means ‘remaining’ and it also means the gift of ‘rest’. The line is an example of Pun in which the poet wishes to say that the remaining gifts lay at the bottom of the along with the gift of ‘rest’. In the 14th line, the word ‘rest’ means to ‘credit’. The line conveys the idea that if God were to bestow ‘rest’ on man, man would extend this credit to nature instead of giving it to God. . The word ‘rest’ in the 16th line of the poem means ‘the remaining’. Here, the poet, on behalf of God, asks man to keep all the remaining gifts except the gift of ‘rest’. ‘Std. X: English Kumarbharati 227 Scanned with CamSeannerChapter 2.4: The Pulle Ei aS 43. “4. Ans: Man generally tums to God only when he is in trouble beca Man generally turns to God only when he is in trouble. Explain. man by his nature, tries to take control of his life so as to get the outcome is as he desires. However, in the event of certain unforeseen circumstances such as an illnesses, accident, loss of loved ones, loss in business, etc., which are beyond his control, he knocks at the door of his Creator for the solution to his problems. Besides those given in the poem, what other gifts has God blessed mankind with, above his other creations? Enlist them. ‘Ans: Following are the gifts that God has blessed mankind with, above and i. ii. iii. iv. ve * apart from his other creations: Ability to Think Ability to Speak Ability to Dream Ability to Introspect Ability to Laugh Discuss with your group and justify the title of the poem, ‘The Pulley’ in your own words. 1s to a greater height. Similarly, the poem conveys Ans: A pulley lifis up object lifts man towards himself through the pulley of Std. X: English Kumarbharati that God, the Creator, ‘restlessness’, as man_ gets tired o from the presence of all the other riches, Thus, the title does complete justice to the poem. f dealing with problems that arise which have been gifted to him. 228 Scannod with CamScannorChapter 2.4: The Pulley “Language Study “1. With the help of the clues, pick out words containing the letter ‘a’ from the poem and build a word-pyramid. i. anarticle ii. a preposition iii. past tense of ‘lie’ iv. maximum of length of your open palm y. make much of i, loveliness in place of . acollection of priceless valuables ix. restlessness and discontent Ans: = a ji at lay span beauty instead weariness *2, ‘Pun’ can be defined as play on words based on their different meanings. Example: ‘writing with a broken pencil is pointless.’ In this poem there is an example of Pun. Find and make a sentence of your own. Share a joke with the class where the use of ‘Pun’ creates humour, Ans: An example of a humorous Pun is: The dictionary he gifted me with, was meaningless. [Note: The above answer is for reference. Students are expected to attempt the above activity on their own.] Std. X: English Kumarbharati ==; 229 Scannod with CamSeannerWrite a paragraph on the points in each block given below to get a summary on each of the four stanzas of the poem. ‘Created man. Best Creation | Offered Blessings / Gifts Ans: God created man as one of his best creations. While creating him, he kept the glass of blessings close to him, He desired to pour on him all the gifts that he possibly had. He contracted all the world’s wealth which lay dispersed on the face of the earth and blessed man with it. i. God gifted man Beauty, wisdom, honour, etc. Did not give ‘Rest’ Ans: God blessed his creation with all the gifts such as beauty, wisdom, honour, etc. He knew man would use them to be successful and prosperous. But he was also aware of the flaw in his creation: that of being conceited. Hence, although he gave man all the gifts and blessings, what God deliberately kept away from him was the gift of iii, If happy / contented Forgets God Instead worships Gifts Std. X: English Kumarbharati Scannod with CamSeannerChapter 2.4: The Pulley _ Ans: God has blessed man with ample gifts and blessings. Man too, made use of his blessings in his search for happiness and progress. But the weakness within man is that he tends to forget his Creator once he achieves success. He instead begins to value and worship the Gifts rather than his Creator. iv. Man needs to be reminded of the Giver God made his life eal So man is lifted with a pulley towards HIM | Ans: In his search for happiness and progress, man forgets the one who bestowed blessings on him. Thus, the conceited creature that he is, he must be reminded to thank his Creator. With this purpose, God deprives man of satisfaction and rest at the end of his succe: Weary from achieving all the success, man crave peace and as a result has to go back to his Creator for it, for satisfaction and [P.S. Click on the Q. R. Code to view a video that explains the Glossary, Paraphrase and Figures of Speech encountered in this poem] Std. X: English Kumarbharati 231 Scannod with CamSeanner