Class 11 English NCERT Book Woven words Poetry Lesson 11 Ode to a Nightingale Tree Questions and Answers.
Understanding the Poem
1. How does the nightingale’s song plunge the poet into a state of ecstasy?
2. What are the unpleasant aspects of the human condition that the poet wants to escape from?
3. What quality of ‘beauty’ and ‘love’ does the poem highlight?
4. How does the poet bring out the immortality of the bird?
5. How is the poet tossed from ecstasy into despair?
6. How does the poem bring out the elusive nature of happiness in human existence?
Answer:
1. How does the nightingale’s song plunge the poet into a state of ecstasy?
The nightingale’s song serves as an escape for the poet, transporting him into a state of ecstasy. The bird’s carefree and melodious singing represents a world free from the struggles of life. The poet, longing to escape the weariness and sorrows of human existence, is enraptured by the nightingale’s voice. The song symbolizes joy and beauty, offering the poet a temporary refuge from his inner turmoil and the harsh realities of the world.
2. What are the unpleasant aspects of the human condition that the poet wants to escape from?
The poet wants to escape the pain and suffering inherent in human existence. He mentions “the weariness, the fever, and the fret,” which refer to the struggles, illnesses, and anxieties that plague humanity. He also highlights the inevitable decay that comes with aging—where “youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies”—and the sorrow of knowing that beauty and love are fleeting. These aspects of life are contrasted with the nightingale’s eternal and carefree existence.
3. What quality of ‘beauty’ and ‘love’ does the poem highlight?
The poem emphasizes the transient and fleeting nature of beauty and love. Although these aspects are cherished in human life, they are short-lived and often tinged with sorrow. Keats reflects on how beauty cannot “keep her lustrous eyes” and how love, too, fades with time. The poem highlights the bittersweet reality that beauty and love, while powerful and inspiring, are subject to decay and eventual loss, making them both precious and tragic.
5. How does the poet bring out the immortality of the bird?
The poet portrays the nightingale as an immortal being through its song, which transcends time. He suggests that the bird’s voice has been heard by generations before him, from emperors to common people, and even by Ruth, a biblical figure. This continuity makes the bird seem timeless, unaffected by the passage of time and the weariness of human life. The nightingale’s song represents something eternal, unchanging, and immune to the suffering that humans face.
How is the poet tossed from ecstasy into despair?
The poet is drawn into a state of ecstatic wonder by the nightingale’s song, imagining himself fading away into the peaceful world of the bird. However, he is suddenly jolted back to reality by the word “forlorn,” which reminds him of his human limitations. This word serves as a “bell” that brings him out of his imaginative escape and back into his own troubled existence. The return to reality brings a sense of despair, as the poet realizes the temporary nature of his dream and the inescapable nature of human suffering.
6. How does the poem bring out the elusive nature of happiness in human existence?
The poem illustrates that happiness is fleeting and difficult to grasp in human life. While the nightingale’s song offers the poet a momentary sense of joy and escape, this happiness is temporary and illusory. The poet longs to leave behind the sorrow and struggles of life, but the joy he finds in the nightingale’s world is not permanent. Ultimately, the poet is reminded that true, lasting happiness remains out of reach in the human condition, and he is left questioning whether his experience with the nightingale was real or merely a dream. The elusive nature of happiness is a central theme in the poem, reflecting the transient and uncertain nature of joy in human existence.
Try this out
1. The poet has juxtaposed sets of opposites like numbness pains, waking dream. How does this contribute to the poetic effect? What is this figure of speech called? List other such pairs from poems that you have read.
2. The poet has evoked the image of wine-why has this image been chosen?
3. The sense of sound, sight and taste are evoked in the poem. Locate instances of these.
4. The poet addresses the nightingale and talks to the bird throughout the poem. What is tis kind of poem called?
5. Make a list of all the adjectives in the poem along with the nouns they describe. List the phrases that impressed you most in the poem.
6. Find out the other odes written by keats and read them.
7. Find out the odes written by Shelley and read them.
Answer:
Juxtaposition of Opposites: The poet juxtaposes contrasting ideas like “numbness pains” and “waking dream,” which highlights the emotional tension and complexity of human experience. This figure of speech is called oxymoron, where two seemingly contradictory terms appear together. The poet uses these opposites to enhance the tension between the desire for escape and the harshness of reality. Other examples of oxymorons from poems include:
- “Parting is such sweet sorrow” from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
- “Deafening silence.”
- “Bittersweet.”
- The Image of Wine: The poet uses the image of wine to symbolize a means of escape from the weariness of life. Wine, in this case, represents not only the pleasure of intoxication but also the transport to an idealized state of bliss. The reference to “a draught of vintage” suggests the desire for a drink that could take him away from the sorrows of the real world into a happier, dream-like realm. Wine is also connected with Bacchus, the god of wine, symbolizing freedom and inspiration.
- Sense of Sound, Sight, and Taste:
- Sound: The “full-throated ease” of the nightingale’s song. Also, the description of the song “fading past the meadows.”
- Sight: “Beechen green, and shadows numberless,” evokes a rich, verdant forest filled with light and shadow.
- Taste: “O for a draught of vintage,” and “With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,” evoke the sensory experience of drinking wine.
- Type of Poem: The poem addresses the nightingale directly and speaks to it throughout, making it a dramatic monologue. Additionally, since the poem is a tribute to an object of admiration (the nightingale), it can also be classified as an ode—specifically, a personal, reflective form of an ode.
- Adjectives and Nouns:
- “drowsy numbness” (numbness)
- “light-winged Dryad” (Dryad)
- “melodious plot” (plot)
- “full-throated ease” (ease)
- “cool’d a long age” (age)
- “deep-delved earth” (earth)
- “purple-stained mouth” (mouth)
- “Full-throated ease.”
- “With beaded bubbles winking at the brim.”
- “The weariness, the fever, and the fret.”
- “Charm’d magic casements, opening on the foam.”
- “Was it a vision, or a waking dream?”
- Other Odes by Keats: Some of the most famous odes written by John Keats include:
- Ode on a Grecian Urn
- Ode to Autumn
- Ode on Melancholy
- Ode on Indolence
- Odes by Shelley: Percy Bysshe Shelley has written several odes, including:
- Ode to the West Wind
- Ode to a Skylark
- Ode to Liberty