NCERT Textbook - The Brook | English Class 9 PDF Download

 Page 1


63
1. Since centuries, human beings have always been drawn to rivers, streams and
other natural sources of water. Can you think of some characteristics of a river
that make it fascinating to mankind?
Calming effect
Characteristics
of a river that
draw mankind
2. Here is a list of a few things. Can you tell how long each of them can live /exist?
(a) a dog (b) an elephant (c) a tree
(d) a human being (e) a star
(f) a mountain (g) a river
P .1   The Brook
                        by  Lord Alfred Tennyson
POETRY
Unit
Page 2


63
1. Since centuries, human beings have always been drawn to rivers, streams and
other natural sources of water. Can you think of some characteristics of a river
that make it fascinating to mankind?
Calming effect
Characteristics
of a river that
draw mankind
2. Here is a list of a few things. Can you tell how long each of them can live /exist?
(a) a dog (b) an elephant (c) a tree
(d) a human being (e) a star
(f) a mountain (g) a river
P .1   The Brook
                        by  Lord Alfred Tennyson
POETRY
Unit
64
3. The poem is about a brook. A dictionary would define a brook, as a stream or a
small river. Read the poem silently first. After the first  reading, the teacher will
make you listen  to a recording of the poem. What do you think  the poem is all
about?
I come from haunts of coot and hern;
I make a sudden sally
And sparkle out among the fern,
To bicker down a valley.
5 By thirty hills I hurry down,
Or slip between the ridges,
By twenty thorpes, a little town,
And half a hundred bridges.
Till last by Philip’s farm I flow
10 To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
I chatter over stony ways,
In little sharps and trebles,
15 I bubble into eddying bays,
I babble on the pebbles.
With many a curve my banks I fret
By many a field and fallow,
And many a fairy foreland set
20 With willow-weed and mallow.
I chatter, chatter, as I flow
To join the brimming river,
haunts:  places frequently visited by
coot: a type of water bird with a white spot on the forehead
hern: heron, (another kind of water bird)
sally: emerge suddenly
bicker:  (here) flow down with a lot of noise
thorpes: a village
trebles:  high pitched tune
eddying: spiral movement of water
babble: sound made when one talks gaily
fallow: land left uncultivated to regain fertility
foreland: piece of land that extends into a river etc.
mallow:  plant with hairy stems and leaves and pink, white or purple flowers
Poetry
Page 3


63
1. Since centuries, human beings have always been drawn to rivers, streams and
other natural sources of water. Can you think of some characteristics of a river
that make it fascinating to mankind?
Calming effect
Characteristics
of a river that
draw mankind
2. Here is a list of a few things. Can you tell how long each of them can live /exist?
(a) a dog (b) an elephant (c) a tree
(d) a human being (e) a star
(f) a mountain (g) a river
P .1   The Brook
                        by  Lord Alfred Tennyson
POETRY
Unit
64
3. The poem is about a brook. A dictionary would define a brook, as a stream or a
small river. Read the poem silently first. After the first  reading, the teacher will
make you listen  to a recording of the poem. What do you think  the poem is all
about?
I come from haunts of coot and hern;
I make a sudden sally
And sparkle out among the fern,
To bicker down a valley.
5 By thirty hills I hurry down,
Or slip between the ridges,
By twenty thorpes, a little town,
And half a hundred bridges.
Till last by Philip’s farm I flow
10 To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
I chatter over stony ways,
In little sharps and trebles,
15 I bubble into eddying bays,
I babble on the pebbles.
With many a curve my banks I fret
By many a field and fallow,
And many a fairy foreland set
20 With willow-weed and mallow.
I chatter, chatter, as I flow
To join the brimming river,
haunts:  places frequently visited by
coot: a type of water bird with a white spot on the forehead
hern: heron, (another kind of water bird)
sally: emerge suddenly
bicker:  (here) flow down with a lot of noise
thorpes: a village
trebles:  high pitched tune
eddying: spiral movement of water
babble: sound made when one talks gaily
fallow: land left uncultivated to regain fertility
foreland: piece of land that extends into a river etc.
mallow:  plant with hairy stems and leaves and pink, white or purple flowers
Poetry
65
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
25 I wind about, and in and out,
With here a blossom sailing,
And here and there a lusty trout,
And here and there a grayling,
And here and there a foamy flake
30 Upon me, as I travel
With many a silvery waterbreak
Above the golden gravel,
And draw them all along, and flow
To join the brimming river
35 For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
I steal by lawns and grassy plots,
I slide by hazel covers
I move the sweet forget-me-nots
40 That grow for happy lovers.
I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,
Among my skimming swallows;
I make the netted sunbeam dance
Against my sandy shallows.
45 I murmur under moon and stars
In brambly wildernesses;
I linger by my shingly bars;
I loiter round my cresses;
And out again I curve and flow
50 To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
lusty trout:  a big freshwater fish
grayling: another type of fresh water fish
hazel: a small tree or bush with edible nuts
forget-me-nots : a type of flowers
shingly: covered with small rounded pebbles
cresses:  a pungent leaved plant like a cabbage
Poetry
Page 4


63
1. Since centuries, human beings have always been drawn to rivers, streams and
other natural sources of water. Can you think of some characteristics of a river
that make it fascinating to mankind?
Calming effect
Characteristics
of a river that
draw mankind
2. Here is a list of a few things. Can you tell how long each of them can live /exist?
(a) a dog (b) an elephant (c) a tree
(d) a human being (e) a star
(f) a mountain (g) a river
P .1   The Brook
                        by  Lord Alfred Tennyson
POETRY
Unit
64
3. The poem is about a brook. A dictionary would define a brook, as a stream or a
small river. Read the poem silently first. After the first  reading, the teacher will
make you listen  to a recording of the poem. What do you think  the poem is all
about?
I come from haunts of coot and hern;
I make a sudden sally
And sparkle out among the fern,
To bicker down a valley.
5 By thirty hills I hurry down,
Or slip between the ridges,
By twenty thorpes, a little town,
And half a hundred bridges.
Till last by Philip’s farm I flow
10 To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
I chatter over stony ways,
In little sharps and trebles,
15 I bubble into eddying bays,
I babble on the pebbles.
With many a curve my banks I fret
By many a field and fallow,
And many a fairy foreland set
20 With willow-weed and mallow.
I chatter, chatter, as I flow
To join the brimming river,
haunts:  places frequently visited by
coot: a type of water bird with a white spot on the forehead
hern: heron, (another kind of water bird)
sally: emerge suddenly
bicker:  (here) flow down with a lot of noise
thorpes: a village
trebles:  high pitched tune
eddying: spiral movement of water
babble: sound made when one talks gaily
fallow: land left uncultivated to regain fertility
foreland: piece of land that extends into a river etc.
mallow:  plant with hairy stems and leaves and pink, white or purple flowers
Poetry
65
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
25 I wind about, and in and out,
With here a blossom sailing,
And here and there a lusty trout,
And here and there a grayling,
And here and there a foamy flake
30 Upon me, as I travel
With many a silvery waterbreak
Above the golden gravel,
And draw them all along, and flow
To join the brimming river
35 For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
I steal by lawns and grassy plots,
I slide by hazel covers
I move the sweet forget-me-nots
40 That grow for happy lovers.
I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,
Among my skimming swallows;
I make the netted sunbeam dance
Against my sandy shallows.
45 I murmur under moon and stars
In brambly wildernesses;
I linger by my shingly bars;
I loiter round my cresses;
And out again I curve and flow
50 To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
lusty trout:  a big freshwater fish
grayling: another type of fresh water fish
hazel: a small tree or bush with edible nuts
forget-me-nots : a type of flowers
shingly: covered with small rounded pebbles
cresses:  a pungent leaved plant like a cabbage
Poetry
66
About the Poet
Lord Tennyson (1809-92) was born in Lincolnshire. Poet Laureate for over 40 years,
Tennyson is representative of the Victorian age. His skilled craftsmanship and noble
ideals retained a large audience for poetry in an age when the novel was engrossing
more and more readers. Tennyson’s real contribution lies in his shorter poems like
The Lady of Shallot, The Princess, Ulysses, The Palace of Art etc. His fame
rests on his perfect control of sound, the synthesis of sound and meaning, and the
union of visual and musical.
4. After reading the poem, answer the following questions.
The poet has used a number of words which indicate ‘movement’ and ‘sound’. Working
with your partner make a list of these words from the poem and complete the web
chart.
a.
sally
sparkle
Movement words
b. 1. bicker
Sound words 5.
4.
3.
2.
c. A word or a combination of words, whose sound seems to resemble the sound it
denotes (for example: “hiss”, “buzz”, “etc.) is called onomatopoeia. From the words
that you have filled in the blurbs above point out these words.
Poetry
Page 5


63
1. Since centuries, human beings have always been drawn to rivers, streams and
other natural sources of water. Can you think of some characteristics of a river
that make it fascinating to mankind?
Calming effect
Characteristics
of a river that
draw mankind
2. Here is a list of a few things. Can you tell how long each of them can live /exist?
(a) a dog (b) an elephant (c) a tree
(d) a human being (e) a star
(f) a mountain (g) a river
P .1   The Brook
                        by  Lord Alfred Tennyson
POETRY
Unit
64
3. The poem is about a brook. A dictionary would define a brook, as a stream or a
small river. Read the poem silently first. After the first  reading, the teacher will
make you listen  to a recording of the poem. What do you think  the poem is all
about?
I come from haunts of coot and hern;
I make a sudden sally
And sparkle out among the fern,
To bicker down a valley.
5 By thirty hills I hurry down,
Or slip between the ridges,
By twenty thorpes, a little town,
And half a hundred bridges.
Till last by Philip’s farm I flow
10 To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
I chatter over stony ways,
In little sharps and trebles,
15 I bubble into eddying bays,
I babble on the pebbles.
With many a curve my banks I fret
By many a field and fallow,
And many a fairy foreland set
20 With willow-weed and mallow.
I chatter, chatter, as I flow
To join the brimming river,
haunts:  places frequently visited by
coot: a type of water bird with a white spot on the forehead
hern: heron, (another kind of water bird)
sally: emerge suddenly
bicker:  (here) flow down with a lot of noise
thorpes: a village
trebles:  high pitched tune
eddying: spiral movement of water
babble: sound made when one talks gaily
fallow: land left uncultivated to regain fertility
foreland: piece of land that extends into a river etc.
mallow:  plant with hairy stems and leaves and pink, white or purple flowers
Poetry
65
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
25 I wind about, and in and out,
With here a blossom sailing,
And here and there a lusty trout,
And here and there a grayling,
And here and there a foamy flake
30 Upon me, as I travel
With many a silvery waterbreak
Above the golden gravel,
And draw them all along, and flow
To join the brimming river
35 For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
I steal by lawns and grassy plots,
I slide by hazel covers
I move the sweet forget-me-nots
40 That grow for happy lovers.
I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,
Among my skimming swallows;
I make the netted sunbeam dance
Against my sandy shallows.
45 I murmur under moon and stars
In brambly wildernesses;
I linger by my shingly bars;
I loiter round my cresses;
And out again I curve and flow
50 To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
lusty trout:  a big freshwater fish
grayling: another type of fresh water fish
hazel: a small tree or bush with edible nuts
forget-me-nots : a type of flowers
shingly: covered with small rounded pebbles
cresses:  a pungent leaved plant like a cabbage
Poetry
66
About the Poet
Lord Tennyson (1809-92) was born in Lincolnshire. Poet Laureate for over 40 years,
Tennyson is representative of the Victorian age. His skilled craftsmanship and noble
ideals retained a large audience for poetry in an age when the novel was engrossing
more and more readers. Tennyson’s real contribution lies in his shorter poems like
The Lady of Shallot, The Princess, Ulysses, The Palace of Art etc. His fame
rests on his perfect control of sound, the synthesis of sound and meaning, and the
union of visual and musical.
4. After reading the poem, answer the following questions.
The poet has used a number of words which indicate ‘movement’ and ‘sound’. Working
with your partner make a list of these words from the poem and complete the web
chart.
a.
sally
sparkle
Movement words
b. 1. bicker
Sound words 5.
4.
3.
2.
c. A word or a combination of words, whose sound seems to resemble the sound it
denotes (for example: “hiss”, “buzz”, “etc.) is called onomatopoeia. From the words
that you have filled in the blurbs above point out these words.
Poetry
67
5. The following is a flow chart showing the course of the brook. Can you fill in
the blank spaces with help from the phrases given below?
1.
6. 5. 4.
3.
2. Pass through
valleys and
towns
7. Joins the river
a) passes under fifty bridges; b) comes from the place where coots and herons live;
c) passes lawns filled with flowers; d) crosses both fertile and fallow land; e) goes
through wilderness full of thorny bushes
6. On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions
by ticking the correct choice.
(a) The message of the poem is that the life of a brook is __________ .
(i) temporary
(ii) short-lived
(iii) eternal
(v) momentary
(b) The poet draws a parallelism between the journey of the brook with __________
(i) the life of a man
(ii) the death of man
(iii) the difficulties in a man’s life
(iv) the endless talking of human beings
(c) In the poem, the below mentioned lines suggest that  __________ .
“And here and there a lusty trout ,
And here and there a grayling”
(i) the brook is a source of life.
(ii) people enjoy the brook.
(iii) fishes survive because of water.
(iv) the brook witnesses all kinds of scenes.
Poetry