🍂 Autumn
Standard 9 • English • Chapter 2.5 • Poet: Kalidas (translated by A. W. Ryder)
Meanings
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| slender | slim |
| diadem | crown |
| bars (here) | patches |
| ruffles | disturbs a smooth surface |
Appreciation of the Poetry
The poem ‘Autumn’, written by the Sanskrit poet Kalidas and translated into English by A. W. Ryder, welcomes the autumn season by personifying it as a graceful young maiden. The poet shows her arriving in slenderness and grace, with nodding rice stems in her hair, a dress of grass flowers, and birds greeting her with cooing that sounds like the tinkling of her bracelets. At night she wears a diadem of countless stars and a silken robe of white moonlight, while the radiant moon lights up her face with a bewitching smile. The poem has the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef ghgh, and devices such as personification, simile, metaphor and alliteration, like the repeated ‘s’ sound in ‘She seems a slender maid, who soon’, add music to it. The special feature of the poem is the poet’s rich imagination and vivid imagery. My favourite lines are ‘She seems a slender maid, who soon / Will be a woman grown’, because they show autumn as a girl who will soon become a bountiful woman. I like the poem because it makes nature come alive through beautiful images.
Warming Up!
1. What changes do you see in nature in each of the following seasons?
Ans:
(i) Summer
- The sun shines brighter than before.
- Birds nest and raise their young ones.
- It is the fruiting season for many trees.
- Insects are very active.
(ii) Winter
- Migratory birds return.
- We see mist and fog in the morning.
- The temperature drops and the weather turns cold.
- Some animals go into hibernation.
(iii) Monsoon
- There are sudden showers and sometimes hailstorms.
- New grass sprouts.
- Tender leaves shoot out on plants and trees.
- The land turns green everywhere.
(a) Name the six seasons according to the Indian calendar. Which of the seasons is equivalent to Autumn?
Ans: The six seasons according to the Indian calendar are Vasant, Grishma, Varsha, Sharad, Hemant and Shishir. The season equivalent to Autumn is Sharad.
(b) What changes do we see in the life of human beings when the season changes? Write with reference to their (a) clothes (b) diet (c) celebrations.
Ans:
(a) Clothes: In summer we wear light cotton garments as they soak up sweat and make the heat bearable. In the monsoon we wear synthetic clothes as they do not soak water and dry quickly. In winter we wear woollen sweaters and overcoats to keep warm.
(b) Diet: In summer we should eat cooling food and drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated and keep our energy stable. In winter and the monsoon we should eat healthy food and avoid overeating, relying on fruits, oats and soups.
(c) Celebrations: Indian festivals are celebrated in different seasons.
- Summer: Buddha Purnima, Baisakhi, Ram Navami
- Monsoon: Ganesh Utsav, Janmashtami, Raksha Bandhan, Onam
- Autumn: Navratri, Dussehra, Diwali
- Winter: Christmas, Lohri, Pongal
2. Guess what is personified and fill in the gaps.
| Sentence | Ans: |
|---|---|
| (a) The weary ____ was also petrol-hungry. | car |
| (b) The playful ____ whistled among the trees. | wind |
| (c) The annoying ____ screamed at 5 am. | alarm |
| (d) The naughty ____ winked at me from above. | stars |
| (e) The rising ____ stretched its arms. | sun |
| (f) The cheerful ____ sang as it perched on a tree. | bird |
| (g) The tireless ____ hummed as it worked hard. | machine |
In Between the Poetry
Q1. Why is Autumn called a ‘maiden fair’?
Ans: Autumn is personified as a beautiful young girl. It arrives in slenderness and grace, and everything in nature looks lovely, like a young girl who has adorned herself with attractive ornaments. That is why it is called a ‘maiden fair’.
Q2. What is the cooing of birds compared to?
Ans: The cooing of birds is compared to the tinkling of the bracelets on a maiden’s wrist.
Q3. How does Autumn dress up at night?
Ans: At night, Autumn wears a diadem (crown) of countless stars that beautifies the clear, cloud-free sky. Her silken robe is white moonlight, and her face is lit by the radiant moon, which gives her a bewitching smile.
English Workshop
1. Find three lines each that contain images of nature in the autumn season.
Ans:
During daytime
- With nodding rice-stems in her hair
- In flowers of grasses she is clad
- Birds greet her with their cooing glad
At night
- A diadem adorns the night
- Her silken robe is white moonlight
- Of multitudinous stars
2. Pick out words from the poem that describe the following. List them in Column ‘A’. Substitute each of those describing words with another word/phrase of the same meaning.
Ans:
| A (Poetic words) | B (Your own words) | |
|---|---|---|
| the ‘Autumn’ | a maiden fair | a young girl |
| stars | diadem | crown |
| moonlight | silken robe | silk garment |
| cooing of birds | tinkling of bracelet | sound of ornaments |
3. Find one example of each of the following from the poem.
Ans:
- Simile: Birds greet her with their cooing glad, like bracelets’ tinkling song. (The cooing of birds is compared to the tinkling of bracelets using the word ‘like’.)
- Metaphor: Her silken robe is white moonlight. (Moonlight is directly called a silken robe.)
4. Write the rhyme scheme of the poem.
Ans: The rhyme scheme of the poem is abab cdcd efef ghgh.
5. Think and write in your own words.
(a) Why is the maiden Autumn said to wear rice stems in her hair?
Ans: With the onset of autumn, the rice fields are full of fresh, swaying stems that are lovely to look at. So the poet imagines the maiden Autumn wearing rice stems in her hair as an ornament.
(b) How can the tender maiden Autumn become a full-grown woman? What change in nature does this imply?
Ans: At the beginning of autumn, plants shed their leaves and nature seems young and tender. Towards the end of the season, plants bear fruit, the bright moon and clear sky help farmers harvest their crops, and birds nest and raise their young. Nature thus becomes bountiful and mature, like a full-grown woman.
(c) Why do you think birds greet the autumn season gladly?
Ans: Autumn is the favourable season for birds to build their nests and raise their young ones, so they greet it gladly with their cooing.
6. Compare the Indian Monsoon season to a powerful king of a prosperous kingdom. Write down a few similarities. Use them to compose a poem of your own.
Ans: Students should do this on their own.
7. Which is your favourite ‘Nature’ poem from your mother tongue? Write the poem and try to translate it into English. Your translation can be in the form of a poem or a paraphrase.
Ans: Students should do this on their own.
8. Read the ode ‘To Autumn’ by the famous poet John Keats. ‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness…’
Ans: Students should do this on their own.