Maharashtra Board Class 11 English Solution Chapter 2.2 – The Sower
Balbharati Maharashtra Board Class 11 English Solution Chapter 2.2: The Sower. Marathi or English Medium Students of Class 11 get here The Sower full Exercise Solution.
Std |
Maharashtra Class 11 |
Subject |
English Solution |
Chapter |
The Sower |
ICE BREAKERS
Q.) Make a list of words related to agriculture.
Ans. Cultivation, culture, horticulture, husbandry, agronomy, tillage etc.
Q.) Discuss the activities carried out by a farmer.
Ans.Ploughing- sowing of seeds- mulching- sheafing.
Q.) ‘Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy’. Fill in the boxes supporting this statement. Complete the following web diagram.
Ans.
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
Q.) ‘Twilight hastens on to rule.’ Explain in your own words.
Ans. Twilight is the time just before the evening, when it starts turning dark all around, but still there is some light, the time of dusk, so the line of the poem refers to that time. And hasten means to be quick, to fasten. The poet says that when twilight or dusk hastens or is coming quickly to bring the dark night around, it seems like as if the twilight is coming uickly to rule over the world.
Q.) The word ‘Marches’ suggests…
Ans. The word ‘marches’ means walk in a military manner with a regular measured tread, here in the poem the farmer marches along his farm religiously doing the job of spreading the seeds in his farm.
BRAINSTORMING
A1.) There are a number of challenges a farmer in India faces. Discuss with your friend, how it is possible to improve the condition of farmers.
Ans.
Sr.No. | Challenges | Solutions |
1. | Water Scarcity | Rain Water Harvesting. |
2. | Credit and Indebtedness | Providing a sum of money granted by the state or a public body to help the farmers keep the price of a commodity or service low. |
3. | Land Issues | Preventing soil erosion, watershed management, crop diversification, etc. |
4. | Climatic changes | Farmers should be well informed about the climatic changes like heavy rain beforehand so that they can indemnify in case of damage of crops. |
5. | Social Groups | This is a new thing which is very prevalent these days, these social groups influence the farmers regarding the new crops, fertilizers etc. for their own personal benefits. Farmers need to stop getting influenced by these groups. |
6. | Lack of advanced technology | As the world is progressing, everything is advancing and progressing people are using new technologies. The farmers also need to use modern technologies in farming to meet up the modern needs and solve the newest problems. |
7. | Diversification | Diversification in the use of crops need to be put forth, if not the whole year but at least at dome particular time of the year. |
8. | Market Risks | Government should try to regularize the market prices to minimize the risks involved for the farmers. |
A2.) The poet has observed the sower closely. Express in your own words the reverence the poet has for the sower.
Ans.The poet sees the sower for the first time during the dusk. The poet observes the sower as it was almost evening, all the farmers went back home, but the sower was still working hard in the field. As the poet was still observing the sower, he realizes that how hard working and devoted the sower is. The sower’s shadow was looking quite dominant in the evening sky. The poet’s veneration grows more for the farmer when he sees him walking along and scattering seeds in his field despite the night falling. The poet had a great sense of respect for the sower because he is not only sowing the seeds for himself, but for everyone, those who will get food because of these farmers. He was committed to his work so that others could enjoy the taste of good and healthy food.
A3.) The poet is prompted to call the sower an ‘august personality’, which means one who has reached the highest position in his workplace. Explain this using the following points.
- Hard work • Perseverance • Dedication
Ans. Hard work– The poet calls the sower as an ‘august personality’ for his dedication and commitment towards his work, and it seemed that the sower worships his work. The sower’s diligence was observed by the poet when he was seen working even at the twilight when all other farmers went back home.
Perseverance– The sower’s perseverance can be seen when he strides along his farm with a determined and hopeful heart to sow all the seeds so that he can have a good harvest. In some lines of the poem we read that the sower is old and surely have seen many bad harvests in his lifetime. Still he is persistent and continues with his wok.
Dedication– We observed the dedication of the sower when he was marching through his field to see whether the seeds are scattered properly or not, so that the harvest can be good and also he was still on the field when rest of the farmers went back home.
A4.) (i) Pick out the examples of alliteration from the poem and write them down.
Ans. Examples of alliteration from the poem-
(a) “Sunlight, I see, dying fast.”
(b) “Darkness deepens.”
(c) “Seems to touch the starry skies”
(d) “Dominates the furrows deep”
(ii) ‘Seems to touch the starry skies’. The poet has used word imagery. Describe the idea and pick out other similar examples from the poem.
Ans. ‘Seems to touch the starry skies’; this line makes an image in the reader’s mind of the sower as if he is going to touch the sky, as the night deepens and it becomes dark all around, the sower also seems to mix up with that darkness and seems to become invisible and mingle with the sky.
Other examples of imagery from the poem:
(a) “Twilight hastens on the rule”
(b) “His Silhouette dominates the furrows deep”.
(c) “Ruddy sunlight fast.”
(d) “Marches he along the plain”
A5) Write an appreciation of the poem considering the following points:
- About the poem/poet/title • Theme
- Poetic devices, language, style • Special features/novelties/focusing elements
- Values, message • Your opinion about the poem
Ans.About the poem/poet/title–
‘The Sower’ is a poem about the hard work and persistence of a sower, who works tirelessly and relentlessly in his field. He has seen many bad harvests in his life. However he is so optimistic of having a good harvest every time he tosses grain.
Originally written by Victor Hugo in French, this poem was translated into English by Bengali poet, TorulataDutt, who was the first Indian poetess to write verses in English and French.
As the title of the poem is ‘The Sower’, the entire poem revolves round the sower and how diligently he works in his field, as observed by the poet.
Poetic devices, language, style–
The poetic devices used in the poem are Alliteration, Antithesis, Consonance, Hyperbole, Inversion, Personification and Repetition. Some of the examples from the poem are- e.g. of personification, ‘Twilight hastens on to rule’, here ‘Twilight’ is personified and shown as hastening, means fastening or rushing. E.g. of hyperbole- “his height seems to touch the starry skies”, the line shows exaggeration to an extent. The language used by the poet is slightly complex and it has rhyme scheme of ‘abab’.
The poem contains much imagery, as each line describes the scene or the action of the sower. The image of the silhouette or the shadow shows the majestic shadow of the sower growing bigger and bigger as the night deepens, as if his shadow will touch the sky and the poet beautifully puts forth his imagination of the sower soring high, touching the sky with the grain seeds representing the twinkling, shining stars.
Special features/novelties/focusing elements–
The poet has focused on the sower, but throughout the poem we see his admiration for the nature as well. The focusing element of the poem is the sower, but nature has been given its due importance and has been shown beautifully since the beginning to the end as the hidden gem of the poem.
Values, message–
The poem beautifully portrays the values of determination, perseverance, and selflessness. The message that we got from the poem is that one should keep working hard with a positive attitude in life, the efforts will surely bear the fruits of success, but one has to be patient. The poem also conveys the message of selflessness of the old sower who is busy scattering the seeds in his field diligently, despite of the late hours and without even thinking of what result it will yield finally.
Your opinion about the poem–
A beautiful poem showing the hard-work, diligence and selfless dedication of the sower and how he inspire us to work in the same way if we expect such positive results in our lives. The poet has also bought in the light the lives and hard work of these farmers, in our day to day lives we often forget to be thankful to these people who work hard in the fields, so that we get healthy, good quality food.
Q.) Write a summary of the poem using the following points:
- Title
- Introductory paragraph (about the poem, type, nature, tone)
- Main body (the central idea, gist of the poem)
- Conclusion (opinion, views, appeal)
Ans. ‘The Sower’ is a poem that revolves round the sower who works immensely hard when everyone else went off to take rest and sleep. It is a translation of Victor Hugo’s poem, Saison des Semailles: Le Soir. It is translated by Toru Dutt from French to English. ‘The Sower’ is a poem about a farmer who is sowing seeds. He has seen many bad harvests in his life. However he is so optimistic of having a good harvest every time he tosses grain.
The poem shows the beautiful and striking observation of the poet and how he observes the sower doing his work diligently. The poem has a very optimistic tone and it shows the worthy results of dedication and hard- work. As we reach towards the end of the poem, we see high acclamation towards the sower. The sower is old and is poor, but he is calm and patient, he knows that even if he hardly benefits anything from his harvest, others will certainly benefit from his grown crops. For the selflessness of his actions, the sower is shown as a colossal figure in the poem whose noble act elevates his position in the poet’s eyes.
The poem is very motivating, with a positive tone. We have a lot to learn from this poem, such as selflessness, dedication, hard work etc. and how it will surely yield positive results in our lives.
Q.) Compose a poem on a farmer in 4 to 6 lines in continuation of the following.
Ans. He sweats, working hard on his field;
He does not fret, for he knows he will wield.
He sows, he ploughs, he reaps,
To the soil he bows, he made promises and he keeps,
All and sundry will get what he yield,
For he sweats, working hard on his field.
Very baaaaaaaaaad