Textbook: The Height of the Ridiculous | English Kumarbharati Class 10 (Maharashtra SSC Board) PDF Download

 Page 1


The Height of the Ridiculous
l Ridiculous : Too
funny to believe
l wondrous : delightful
l Ableit : though
l sober : clear headed,
serious
l trifling jest : a small
simple joke, of no
importance
ö? ? In what frame of 
mind did the poet 
write some lines?
ö? ? What was the 
contrast in the 
narrator and his 
servant?
ö? ? When did the servant 
grin?
ö? ? When was the 
chuckling noise 
heard?
ö? ? Which line suggests 
that servant was 
totally out of control?
I wrote some lines once on a time
In wondrous merry mood, 
And thought, as usual, men would say
They were exceeding good. 
They were so queer, so very queer, 
I laughed as I would die;
Albeit, in the general way, 
A sober man am I. 
I called my servant, and he came; 
How kind it was of him
To mind a slender man like me, 
He of the mighty limb. 
“These to the printer,” I exclaimed, 
And, in my humorous way, 
I added (as a trifling jest,)
“There’ll be the devil to pay.”
He took the paper, and I watched, 
And saw him peep within
At the first line he read, his face 
Was all upon the grin 
He read the next; the grin grew broad
And shot from ear to ear;
He read the third; a chuckling noise
I now began to hear. 
The fourth; he broke into a roar;
The fifth; his waistband split;
The sixth; he burst five buttons off, 
And tumbled in a fit. 
171
Page 2


The Height of the Ridiculous
l Ridiculous : Too
funny to believe
l wondrous : delightful
l Ableit : though
l sober : clear headed,
serious
l trifling jest : a small
simple joke, of no
importance
ö? ? In what frame of 
mind did the poet 
write some lines?
ö? ? What was the 
contrast in the 
narrator and his 
servant?
ö? ? When did the servant 
grin?
ö? ? When was the 
chuckling noise 
heard?
ö? ? Which line suggests 
that servant was 
totally out of control?
I wrote some lines once on a time
In wondrous merry mood, 
And thought, as usual, men would say
They were exceeding good. 
They were so queer, so very queer, 
I laughed as I would die;
Albeit, in the general way, 
A sober man am I. 
I called my servant, and he came; 
How kind it was of him
To mind a slender man like me, 
He of the mighty limb. 
“These to the printer,” I exclaimed, 
And, in my humorous way, 
I added (as a trifling jest,)
“There’ll be the devil to pay.”
He took the paper, and I watched, 
And saw him peep within
At the first line he read, his face 
Was all upon the grin 
He read the next; the grin grew broad
And shot from ear to ear;
He read the third; a chuckling noise
I now began to hear. 
The fourth; he broke into a roar;
The fifth; his waistband split;
The sixth; he burst five buttons off, 
And tumbled in a fit. 
171
1. Find out expressions from the poem that indicate funny moments.
For example, I laughed as I would die.
2. Order of sequence : Arrange the following reactions in their proper order, as
per the poem.
(a) His waistband split
(b) The grin grew broad.
(c) Sleepless eye.
(d) Was all upon the grin.
(e) He broke into a roar.
(f) He burst five buttons off.
3. Form pairs and find out the various rhyming words in the poem and two of
your own. Complete the following table.
Words Rhyming words
From the poem More of your own 
1. ear
2. within
3. man
4. split
5. way
6. him
7. die
8. mood
Ten days and nights, with sleepless eye,
I watched that wretched man, 
and since, I never dare to write 
As funny as I can. 
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
(1809-1894)
ENGLISH WORKSHOP 
l wretched : (here) in
a helpless condition
ö? ? What was the impact 
of this experience, on 
the poet?
172
Page 3


The Height of the Ridiculous
l Ridiculous : Too
funny to believe
l wondrous : delightful
l Ableit : though
l sober : clear headed,
serious
l trifling jest : a small
simple joke, of no
importance
ö? ? In what frame of 
mind did the poet 
write some lines?
ö? ? What was the 
contrast in the 
narrator and his 
servant?
ö? ? When did the servant 
grin?
ö? ? When was the 
chuckling noise 
heard?
ö? ? Which line suggests 
that servant was 
totally out of control?
I wrote some lines once on a time
In wondrous merry mood, 
And thought, as usual, men would say
They were exceeding good. 
They were so queer, so very queer, 
I laughed as I would die;
Albeit, in the general way, 
A sober man am I. 
I called my servant, and he came; 
How kind it was of him
To mind a slender man like me, 
He of the mighty limb. 
“These to the printer,” I exclaimed, 
And, in my humorous way, 
I added (as a trifling jest,)
“There’ll be the devil to pay.”
He took the paper, and I watched, 
And saw him peep within
At the first line he read, his face 
Was all upon the grin 
He read the next; the grin grew broad
And shot from ear to ear;
He read the third; a chuckling noise
I now began to hear. 
The fourth; he broke into a roar;
The fifth; his waistband split;
The sixth; he burst five buttons off, 
And tumbled in a fit. 
171
1. Find out expressions from the poem that indicate funny moments.
For example, I laughed as I would die.
2. Order of sequence : Arrange the following reactions in their proper order, as
per the poem.
(a) His waistband split
(b) The grin grew broad.
(c) Sleepless eye.
(d) Was all upon the grin.
(e) He broke into a roar.
(f) He burst five buttons off.
3. Form pairs and find out the various rhyming words in the poem and two of
your own. Complete the following table.
Words Rhyming words
From the poem More of your own 
1. ear
2. within
3. man
4. split
5. way
6. him
7. die
8. mood
Ten days and nights, with sleepless eye,
I watched that wretched man, 
and since, I never dare to write 
As funny as I can. 
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
(1809-1894)
ENGLISH WORKSHOP 
l wretched : (here) in
a helpless condition
ö? ? What was the impact 
of this experience, on 
the poet?
172
4. Match the lines with the Figures of Speech.
Lines Figures of Speech
1. In wondrous merry mood
2. They were so queer, so very queer.
3. And saw him peep within
4. The grin grew broad.
5. And shot from ear to ear.
6. He broke into a roar.
7. Ten days and nights with sleepless eye
Tautology
Alliteration
Onomatopoeia
Repetition
Hyperbole
Repetition
Transferred Epithet
5. Copy any two stanzas of the poem in the lines below. Using a coloured pen
underline the stressed syllables in each line and put a stress-mark (  ) over each.
6. Complete the lines of the poem by choosing proper pairs of rhyming words and
make it meaningful.
- We returned home late, one ,
In the window, there glowed a .
Burglars !! was our very first   ;
For defence, sticks 'n stones we   .
''Let's grab the loot and   ," 
 was uttered soft, by .
The door we softly , 
And then we were truly . 
Oops! Before, outside, we'd , 
The television had been left . 
(run, shocked, gone, night, sought, on, someone, thought, light, unlocked)
7. Form goups in your class and together compose a short humorous poem. Use
jokes, experiences, etc. and convert it to a poetic form. Write and decorate it
on chart-paper and put it up in your class, in turns.
8. Go through the poem and write an appreciation of the poem in a paragraph
format. (Refer to page no. 5)
9. Project :
Reading a poem.
Arrange the poetry reading competition. Select the poem of your choice.
²???²???²???²
l Read the poem silently.
l Repeat the reading of the poem.
l Focus on the pauses, stresses, intonation etc.
l Pay attention to the proper pronunciations.
173
Page 4


The Height of the Ridiculous
l Ridiculous : Too
funny to believe
l wondrous : delightful
l Ableit : though
l sober : clear headed,
serious
l trifling jest : a small
simple joke, of no
importance
ö? ? In what frame of 
mind did the poet 
write some lines?
ö? ? What was the 
contrast in the 
narrator and his 
servant?
ö? ? When did the servant 
grin?
ö? ? When was the 
chuckling noise 
heard?
ö? ? Which line suggests 
that servant was 
totally out of control?
I wrote some lines once on a time
In wondrous merry mood, 
And thought, as usual, men would say
They were exceeding good. 
They were so queer, so very queer, 
I laughed as I would die;
Albeit, in the general way, 
A sober man am I. 
I called my servant, and he came; 
How kind it was of him
To mind a slender man like me, 
He of the mighty limb. 
“These to the printer,” I exclaimed, 
And, in my humorous way, 
I added (as a trifling jest,)
“There’ll be the devil to pay.”
He took the paper, and I watched, 
And saw him peep within
At the first line he read, his face 
Was all upon the grin 
He read the next; the grin grew broad
And shot from ear to ear;
He read the third; a chuckling noise
I now began to hear. 
The fourth; he broke into a roar;
The fifth; his waistband split;
The sixth; he burst five buttons off, 
And tumbled in a fit. 
171
1. Find out expressions from the poem that indicate funny moments.
For example, I laughed as I would die.
2. Order of sequence : Arrange the following reactions in their proper order, as
per the poem.
(a) His waistband split
(b) The grin grew broad.
(c) Sleepless eye.
(d) Was all upon the grin.
(e) He broke into a roar.
(f) He burst five buttons off.
3. Form pairs and find out the various rhyming words in the poem and two of
your own. Complete the following table.
Words Rhyming words
From the poem More of your own 
1. ear
2. within
3. man
4. split
5. way
6. him
7. die
8. mood
Ten days and nights, with sleepless eye,
I watched that wretched man, 
and since, I never dare to write 
As funny as I can. 
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
(1809-1894)
ENGLISH WORKSHOP 
l wretched : (here) in
a helpless condition
ö? ? What was the impact 
of this experience, on 
the poet?
172
4. Match the lines with the Figures of Speech.
Lines Figures of Speech
1. In wondrous merry mood
2. They were so queer, so very queer.
3. And saw him peep within
4. The grin grew broad.
5. And shot from ear to ear.
6. He broke into a roar.
7. Ten days and nights with sleepless eye
Tautology
Alliteration
Onomatopoeia
Repetition
Hyperbole
Repetition
Transferred Epithet
5. Copy any two stanzas of the poem in the lines below. Using a coloured pen
underline the stressed syllables in each line and put a stress-mark (  ) over each.
6. Complete the lines of the poem by choosing proper pairs of rhyming words and
make it meaningful.
- We returned home late, one ,
In the window, there glowed a .
Burglars !! was our very first   ;
For defence, sticks 'n stones we   .
''Let's grab the loot and   ," 
 was uttered soft, by .
The door we softly , 
And then we were truly . 
Oops! Before, outside, we'd , 
The television had been left . 
(run, shocked, gone, night, sought, on, someone, thought, light, unlocked)
7. Form goups in your class and together compose a short humorous poem. Use
jokes, experiences, etc. and convert it to a poetic form. Write and decorate it
on chart-paper and put it up in your class, in turns.
8. Go through the poem and write an appreciation of the poem in a paragraph
format. (Refer to page no. 5)
9. Project :
Reading a poem.
Arrange the poetry reading competition. Select the poem of your choice.
²???²???²???²
l Read the poem silently.
l Repeat the reading of the poem.
l Focus on the pauses, stresses, intonation etc.
l Pay attention to the proper pronunciations.
173
1. Pair up with your partner and answer the following questions :
(a) Which animal would you relate yourself to and why ?
(b) Do you have a hero or a role model to look up to ? Who is he/she ?
(c) Do you have a passion you would fight for? Why ?
(d) What is meant by a review ?
(e) Have you ever read any book review ? If yes, which one ? If no, make it a
point to read one.
2. Make a list of famous novels of Ernest Hemingway. Two are given to you.
(1) A Farewell to Arms
(2) For Whom the Bell Tolls.
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
3. Ernest Miller Hemingway was a famous American novelist, short story writer
and journalist. Make a list of other famous American novelists. Complete the
web filling the boxes with the names of famous American novelists.
4.5 The Old Man and The Sea : Book Review
Ernest Hemingway
Famous 
American 
novelists 
W arming Up ! 
174