Pakistan International School, Jubail

Academic Session 2023-2024

THE MAN OF LIFE UPRIGHT
Paraphrasing
Stanza 1:
In the first stanza, the poet talks about the qualities of a man who is
upright. The mind of such a person is always cheerful. He is not guilty at all as
he does not think about cheating with others, and he is free from self-praising
and all types of immoral attitude.
Stanza 2:
In this stanza, the poet describes that an upright man spends his life
with mental peace. He does not get joy from the mishaps of others.
Materialistic pleasures sometime, give pain to a man but an upright man gets
pleasure from his spiritual satisfaction.
Stanza 3:
In this stanza, the poet explains that an upright man who is at peace
neither need towers nor armour to protect him. Towers provide protection to
those who have something to lose and armour provides protection against an
enemy. An upright man has no enemies, so he is free from such worries.
Stanza 4:
A person who is virtuous, honest, courageous can visualize the things
that a sinful person cannot notice or see. He can behold the horror of the deep
and the terror of the skies with unafraid eyes.
Stanza 5:
The poet describes that the fearlessness of a person helps him to
achieve a state of calm, peace and happiness. As a person who is not afraid of
anything, he does not get upset over the ruling of fate or fortune. He is so
satisfied with his life that he never seeks the care that fate brings.
Stanza 6:
In the last stanza, the poet says that an upright man has “surest
friends” in the form of his good thoughts. In their world, the friends come and
go but the good and positive thoughts of man are always with him. In the last
 Pakistan International School, Jubail
Academic Session 2023-2024
line, the poet compares the earth to his quiet pilgrimage. It describes man’s
honest life. For him, the life is a long pilgrimage. It demands ones whole
hearted devotion and selflessness. At the end of the journey, he receives the
wealth of knowledge and satisfaction.

Answer the following questions

Q1: Write the qualities of the man of life upright.
A1: The qualities of an upright man described in the poem are innocence,
unshaken faith, guiltless soul, peacefulness and peace of mind. He is not
haughty but very humble. He is a man of great self-esteem, honour and
dignity. He exhibits courageousness and boldness of character. He is sincere
and leads a life based on honesty and fairness. His mind is free from evil
thoughts and negativity. In short, he is a master of himself.
Q2: How can we spend a happy life?
A2: We can lead a happy life by making ourselves virtuous, righteous, fearless,
humble, honest and fair. One must not run behind the worldly pleasures like
wealth and friends rather one should find pleasure in spiritual satisfaction.
Q3: How should we behave at the time of sorrows?
A3: A person, who is a guiltless soul, does not get afraid of anything. He
spends the time of sorrow peacefully in the hope of good days.
Q4: What is the importance of hope in one’s life?
A4: Hope and positivity are very important in one’s life. They increase
happiness and bring improvement in the quality of work and reduce stress and
helplessness. A hopeful person is always optimistic. He never thinks to cheat
with others and waits patiently for the good days to come.
Q5: How can good and sound characters influence others?
A5: An upright man with good and sound character never thinks of dishonesty
for worldly gain. He finds satisfaction in spiritual pleasures. He never tries to
adopt unjust and unfair ways to get pleasures in worldly pursuits.
Q6: What is the theme of the poem?
 Pakistan International School, Jubail
Academic Session 2023-2024
A6: The poem describes the qualities of an upright man. He describes his
guiltless soul from different perspectives. Firstly, he is mentally free and
spiritually happy. On the other hand, he is not afraid of anything. He neither
seeks friends nor wealth as he has pure positive thoughts as his good
companion and his life is a source of an ultimate wealth.

THE RAINY DAY

Paraphrasing
Stanza 1: `
In the first stanza, the poet starts the poem on a negative note by
saying that there is no warmth, energy or light in the day as it is cold, dark and
dim. Later the poet uses positive words by saying that the wind is not dark and
dull. The vine leaves are still hanging but they can fall due to the strong wind.
The poet explains that even though there are hardships and difficulties in
man’s life still, he must move on with a strong spirit and determination to
overcome all problems.

Stanza 2:
In this stanza the poet describes his life as cold and dark weather.
The dark weather describes the sad, lonely and dark life that he is living. Most
of the time, when he talks about the weather he is actually telling his personal
experience and his past thoughts. This poem tells us that the poet is now old
and has forgotten most of the good memories he had.

Stanza 3:
In this stanza, the poet says that despite all of his problems and
mishaps there is still, a light of hope and strength inside of him. He convinces
himself to stop worrying by telling himself that there is always a ray of hope
beside the darkness. Everyone faces problems in their life but nothing is
 Pakistan International School, Jubail
Academic Session 2023-2024
permanent. A hopeful and courageous person can overcome all problems. The
poet tells us that despite hardships and struggles one must keep holding on
and have hope.

Answer the following questions

Q1: What kind of day is the poet talking about?

Answer: The poet is talking about the cold days of winter when the dead
leaves of the vine fall with the strong wind. There is darkness because of the
cold weather and no sunlight can be seen.

Q2: How does he describe his life?

Answer: The poet describes his life as problematic and miserable but, gives
himself hope by saying that these problems are temporary and there will
always be hope for an exciting sunny day after a cold and dark night.

Q3: Why is the poet discontented?

Answer: The poet is discontented at the loss of different things in life. But
there is still hope for his future as he thinks he will be able to overcome his
problems and there is still hope left for him.

Q4: How should we face the problems?

Answer: We should face problems with courage and bravery because nothing
is permanent. There is always hope present in every stage of life.

Q5: What is the role of optimism in one’s life?

Answer: Optimism or positive thoughts play a vital role in one’s life and helps
us become strong in every stage of life. It gives us the courage to try again and
again and keeps us motivated and helps us to work tirelessly towards our
goals.
Pakistan International School, Jubail
Academic Session 2023-2024