CHINMAYA VIDYALAYA, E.M.

, CHHEND
Std. 7 ENGLISH II
The Tables Turned
Pg-40 Questions & Answers

A. Identify the lines from the poem which mean the following.
1. He asks his friend not to indulge in a tedious and dull life.

Ans.- Up! Up! my Friend, and quit your books;

Or surely you’ll grow double.

2. One can learn more from nature than from books.

Ans.- Books! ‘Tis a dull and endless strife:

Come, hear the woodland linnet.

3. Wisdom comes from being healthy and happy.

Ans.- Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,

Truth breathed by cheerfulness.

4. Resort to Nature to gain knowledge.

Ans.- Come forth into the light of things,

Let Nature be your teacher.

5. Our intellect only serves to dissect beauty.

Ans.- Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;

Our meddling intellect

Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:-

We murder to dissect.

B. Answer the questions.

1. Who does the person address as my friend? What does the persona want him/her to do?

Ans.- William Wordsworth dictated (told) this poem to his dear friend. He asks him to leave all his
books on the table and come out with him to observe and enjoy the nature.

2. What are the persona’s feelings about books?

Ans.- According to the persona, the books that human reads are of no use while nature provides them
with the knowledge and wisdom that books are lacking.

3. Why does the persona thinks nature is a better teacher? What lessons can it give us?

Ans.- The persona believes that in order to acquire real knowledge and wisdom, we should listen to the
nature, explore and observe it. He also believes that books are written by preachers. Every preacher
 preaches his own point of view, not the universal point. According to him, nature is the best teacher
and let you see the world with a different prespective.

4. Explain the meaning of these lines in your own words.

Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.

Ans.- The poet says that the nature surrounding us is filled with wisdom and instructions. Nature has a
lot of wealth of wisdom to bless our mind and hearts. By observing nature, we are spontaneously
breathing wisdom and health. The nature fills us with joy and cheerfulness.

5. What can a vernal wood teach us better than the wisest men?

Ans.- According to the poet, the nature will not provide us only with mental peace and health. It also
teaches us about humanity, goodness and evil as well.

On the other hand books are supposed to be written by wise men. However, these books can
not teach us what nature can.

6. Why is it important to have a heart that watches and receives?

Ans.- It is important to have a heart that watches and receives because the heart receives the message
from nature. Mind dissects it but heart understands.

7. What is the central idea and the theme of the poem?

Ans. The poem is mainly about the importance of nature. It says that the books are just barren leaves
that provide empty knowledge. Nature is the best teacher which can teach more about human, evil and
good.

C. Read the lines and answer the questions.

1. Books! ‘Tis a dull and endless strife;
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music! On my life,
There’s more of wisdom in it.
a. Why does the persona think that books are an endless strife?

Ans.- In this stanza, the poet claims that we get limited source of knowledge through book reading.
The poet claims that books are useless.

b. Why do you think the persona says there is more wisdom in the linnet’s music than in books?

Ans.- The poet believes that the peace and happiness that nature provides is not found inside the
books. The linnet's song is sweet. The music has effect on the poet’s life as there is more wisdom in
it.

c. Do you agree with the above statement? Give reasons for your answer.

Ans.- Yes, I agree because books can provide us theoretical knowledge but nature can provide us
the practical knowledge.

2. Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;

Our meddling intellect
 Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:---
We murder to dissect.
a. What is the sweet lore that nature gives us?

Ans.- The poet says that every knowledge that nature brings is full of sweet feelings and
expressions that gives us peace.

b. What does our intellect do to the gifts of nature?

Ans.- Humans intellect and knowledge mis-shapes the things that are attractive. Humans tend to
search objective or purpose of each and everything around him. This takes the beauty of things
away.

c. Explain the meaning of the expressions, meddling intellect and murder to dissect.

Ans.- Meddling intellect means that intellect misshapes the nature.

Murder to dissect means human beings are murderers of nature.

d. What point is the speaker trying to make in these lines?

Ans.- The poet says that the nature has given everything to us but in return we have given nothing
to the nature. Instead of protecting the nature we are destroying it for our own comfort.

3. Enough of Science and of Art:

Close up these barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.
a. What is the speaker suggesting in the first line of this stanza?

Ans.- The poet is suggesting the reader to stop pursuing science and arts, fruitless books.

b. What are the barren leaves? Comment on the significance of this expression.

Ans.- Barren leaves are the pages of the book that are empty, according to the poet. It is lacking
the richness of the natural world.

Wordsworth implies that human’s source of knowledge which is a book, is limited compared
to direct knowledge from nature.

c. What is the heart going to watch and receive?

Ans.- According to the poet, the heart of the reader should be open. It should be ready to watch
the nature, listen and learn from nature.

d. Do you think the speaker is justified in his suggestions? Give reasons for your answer.

Ans.- Yes, I think the speaker is justified in his suggestion because nature can prove to be better
teacher than books. Human beings themselves should be willing to learn from it.

Homework:

D. Think and answer.

1. How has the poet showcased nature in this poem?
2. What are the poet’s views about science?