Chapter 2.4 – The Pulley

1. Go through the following images and try to link them with our lives. For example — Storm: Hardships that we face in our life.

Ans:

2. You may have often indulged in talking to yourself audibly. For example — “Oh, dear! Why didn’t I get up sooner?” Such expressions are called Dramatic Monologues. Imagine and write Monologues suitable in the following situations.

It’s your birthday next week.

Ans: “Good Heavens! How time flies! It is my birthday next week and I haven’t planned anything yet.”

You have been waiting long at the city bus stop.

Ans: “Not a single bus in sight. It’s half an hour since I’ve been waiting here. Where the hell have the buses disappeared? The government has to do something about the irregularity.”

Your final exam results are to be declared tomorrow.

Ans: “Please God! God please, let me get good marks in my results tomorrow. I promise you I’ll be regular in my studies.”

Your mother has been chatting for very long on the telephone.

Ans: “Oh! Come on mother, I’m hungry. You have been on the phone for so long and you shout at me when I’m on the phone.”

3. ‘The Pulley’ is a mechanical device. Try and write down places where it can be used, and for what purpose.

Ans:

1. In a cargo lift system that allows items to be hoisted to higher floors.
2. Wells use the pulley to hoist the bucket out of the well.
3. Many types of exercise equipment use pulleys in order to function at the gym.
4. At construction sites, pulleys are used to lift and place heavy material.
5. Modern elevators use pulleys to pull the weight of people against gravity.
6. Flagpoles on a sailboat or a ship use a pulley system to hoist a flag or bring it down.

Q1. What did God’s glass of blessings contain?

Ans: God’s glass of blessings contained all the world’s riches man could crave for.

Q2. What would the human being do if God gifted him with ‘Rest’?

Ans: If God gifted man ‘Rest’, the human being would become conceited and rebellious and would forget ‘God’.

1. With the help of the clues, pick out words containing the letter ‘a’ from the poem and build a word-pyramid.

Ans:

2. Choose the correct alternative from the following.

(a) Herbert’s poem ‘The Pulley’ displays ______ as the two main themes.

(i) Origin of Morality/Spirituality   (ii) Origin of species   (iii) Origin of the universe/galaxy   (iv) Origin of the earth/space

Ans: (i) Origin of Morality/Spirituality

(b) The theme of the poem ‘The Pulley’ is ______ (Find two correct statements.)

(i) to focus on the mechanical operation of a pulley   (ii) to teach a lesson to a creation (man) by the Creator (God)   (iii) to know the different gifts bestowed on man by God   (iv) to remind man about his creator in his exhaustion   (v) God pulled man towards Him by making him restless and weary

Ans: (ii) to teach a lesson to a creation (man) by the Creator (God); (iv) to remind man about his creator in his exhaustion.

(c) In the poem, ‘The Pulley’ is considered ______

(i) a mechanical device   (ii) a gift to mankind   (iii) an image to lift objects   (iv) an image by which God compels people to become devout

Ans: (iv) an image by which God compels people to become devout.

(d) ______ is an example of Pun from the poem.

(i) Rest in the bottom lay   (ii) So strength first made a way   (iii) Having a glass of blessings   (iv) So both should losers be

Ans: (i) Rest in the bottom lay.

(e) ______ is an example of Paradox from the poem.

(i) And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature   (ii) He would adore my gifts instead of me   (iii) Let him be rich and weary   (iv) When God at first made man

Ans: (iii) Let him be rich and weary.

(f) ______ is an example of Synecdoche from the poem.

(i) So both should losers be   (ii) Then beauty flowed   (iii) “Let us” said he “pour on him”   (iv) May toss him to my breast

Ans: (iv) May toss him to my breast.

(g) ______ is an example of Alliteration from the poem.

(i) Made a way   (ii) Bottom lay   (iii) Repining restlessness   (iv) Keep the rest

Ans: (iii) Repining restlessness.

(h) ______ is an example of Inversion from the poem.

(i) Contract into a span   (ii) So both should losers be   (iii) Bestow this jewel   (iv) And rest in nature

Ans: (ii) So both should losers be.

(i) The rhyme scheme of the poem is ______

(i) aabbc   (ii) abcbc   (iii) abccb   (iv) ababa

Ans: (iv) ababa.

3. Discuss and answer in your own words, and write in your notebook.

(a) The poet has used the word REST thrice in the poem. Write what the word implies in each of the three lines it occurs.

Ans:

1. Rest in the bottom lay: Here ‘rest’ is referred to as a treasure (which means peace and contentment).
2. And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature: Here ‘rest’ means appreciate and worship the things available around him in nature.
3. Yet let him keep the ‘rest’: Here ‘rest’ means the remaining qualities and blessings bestowed upon man.

(b) What does God want in return from man, for the gifts He has bestowed upon him?

Ans: God wants man to be grateful and worship Him, for all that has been bestowed upon him.

(c) Why did God withhold the gift of ‘Rest’ from man?

Ans: God withheld the gift of ‘Rest’ from man because He knew that if all the gifts were bestowed on man, he would become greedy and conceited and forget his maker.

(d) Besides those given in the poem, what other gifts has God blessed mankind with above his other creations? Enlist them.

Ans: Besides those given in the extract, God has bestowed on mankind the ability to use language as well as other cognitive abilities like reasoning, abstract thinking, etc. Above all, He has given human beings a marvellous brain, with which man has invented millions of things, right from the wheel to the computer.

(e) When does man generally turn to God? Give one example to support your response.

Ans: Man generally turns to God in times of difficulties, trials and tribulations. Whenever we are in difficulty, it is God of whom we think first. This is not so when there is a reason for joy or entertainment.

4. (A) Discuss with your group and justify the title of the poem ‘The Pulley’ in your own words.

Ans: The Pulley is a scientific representation of man’s helplessness and reliance on God for salvation. The poem invokes a visual imagery of a heavy object being lifted up by a pulley to the desired place. The Pulley in the poem is man’s restlessness and weariness, which acts as a pulley to reach God.

(B) Pick out 3 lines that contain Monologues of God.

Ans:

1. Let us “pour on him all we can”.
2. Let the world’s riches, which dispersed lie.
3. For if I should bestow.
4. Let him be rich and weary.

5. (A) Pick out two lines that contain the following figures of speech.

(a) Antithesis

Ans:

1. Let the world’s riches, which dispersed lie, contract into a span.
2. Yet let him keep the rest, but keep them with repining restlessness.

(b) Alliteration

Ans:

1. When God at first made man.
2. But keep them with repining restlessness.

(c) Inversion

Ans:

1. Rest in the bottom lay.
2. So both should losers be.

(B) Explain the Figures of Speech in the following lines.

(a) Rest in the bottom lay — PUN because

Ans: ‘Rest’ means ‘the remaining’; it also means ‘to relax, sleep or have peace of mind’.

(b) Bestow this jewel also on my creature — METAPHOR because

Ans: ‘Rest’ is indirectly compared to ‘a jewel’.

(c) And rest in nature, not the God of Nature — REPETITION because

Ans: The word ‘nature’ has been repeated for better poetic effect.

6. Write Critical Appreciation of the poem in a paragraph format.

The title of the poem is ‘The Pulley’. The poet is George Herbert. The central idea of the poem is the reason for man’s continual restlessness throughout his life. According to the poet, this is because God withheld the quality of rest from man so that man’s thoughts would ultimately turn towards God, his Creator. Each verse of the poem has five lines. The rhyme scheme of each verse is ababa. The main figure of speech used in the poem is a metaphor. The ‘glass of blessings’ signifies the sum of all human qualities bestowed on man. The quality of ‘rest’ or ‘contentment’ is implicitly compared to a ‘jewel’. This is a poem with a message. The message states that however rich we may be, or whatever the abundance of qualities we may have, we must always turn our thoughts to God and thank Him for the many blessings He has bestowed on us. My favourite line in this poem is ‘Let him be rich and weary’. This brings out the paradox of man’s nature very well. Even the richest man in the world finally gets tired and experiences discontentment. This is what God intended for man. I like this poem because it teaches me not to be self-satisfied and content, but to always remember and thank God for all the blessings He has bestowed on me.

7. ‘Pun’ can be defined as play on words based on their different meanings. Example: ‘Writing with a broken pencil is pointless.’ Find an example of Pun in this poem and make a sentence of your own.

Ans: ‘Writing with a broken pencil is pointless.’

8. Write a paragraph on the points in each block given below to get a summary on each of the four stanzas of the poem.

Stanza I

Ans: God the creator, created man, the most prized possession. He, therefore, decided to bestow all the best qualities and blessings on man.

Stanza II

Ans: God gifted man blessings such as strength, wisdom, beauty, honour and pleasure. When only ‘rest’ remained at the bottom, God decided to withhold it from man.

Stanza III

Ans: God believes that if man would get contentment and peace along with all the other blessings, man would appreciate and worship the materialistic gifts abundantly available to him and not the creator and giver, i.e. God.

Stanza IV

Ans: Man, therefore, needs to be weary, restless and discontented so that he is constantly reminded of his creator, God, who has given him all the other gifts. Eventually, it is this weariness and discontentment which will act as a pulley and lift man towards God.