Class 9 English Question Answers - The Brook

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

Q1. “Tennyson’s poem offers a visual treat of sight and sound.” Discuss by giving examples from the poem ‘The Brook’.

Ans. Lord Tennyson provides us a visual treat of sight and sound using words like—bicker, murmur, chatter, babble, and trebles for sound. A murmur means making soft sounds, bicker means to flow with a loud noise, treble is a high pitched sound in music. Chatter means making meaningless sound, so the brook chatters in little sharps and trebles, it babbles on the pebbles thus giving us a treat of sound. The visual treats are conveyed by — I make a sudden sally and sparkle among the fern, I steal by lawns. I slide by hazel covers. I move the sweet forget-me-nots. I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance — sometimes it moves gently, sometimes forcefully. 'It moves in and out' mean it makes a zigzag movement like a snake.

Q2. The journey of the brook is narrated by the brook itself. Discuss the effectiveness of the first-person narration, used by Lord Tennyson.

Ans. The brook is an inanimate object but the poet by introducing the device of personification makes it tell its experiences as it flows downhills, valleys, villages, and fields and finally joins a river. The brook relates the tale of its journey in detail and with accuracy. Its movements and the sounds it makes as it moves over pebbles, stony paths, as it cuts its own banks and lets the beams of the sundance on its waters, how it carries flowers and fish along with it to the big river. There is vividness, liveliness and an effectively painted picture of a brook taking its natural course which comes alive before our eyes.

Q3. What is the moral message in the poem ‘The Brook’?
 OR
 How is the brook a symbol of human life?

Ans. The poem ‘The Brook’ not only describes the journey of the brook but it also parallels the journey of human life. The poet wishes to highlight one important difference, that human life is transitory and comes to an end with death but the brook is immortal, its journey continues non-stop.

The brook passes through many ups and downs like the highs and lows of human life. The brook passes through various places, which affects its smooth flow. Similarly, human beings also encounter different problems, which affect their personality in turn. Just as the brook meets many kinds of life, like trout and grayling, similarly human beings interact with different people in the journey of life. They help and support them, just like the brook sustains many flowers, plants, and sea-life. The brook imparts its zest and verve like human beings. Somewhere it is noisy, somewhere it is calm, like the peace and aggression depicted by human beings.

So the brook is a symbol of the struggle of life, of meeting different odds, to remain undeterred in facing challenges, without any fear and still continues in one's pursuit. The brook provides a valuable lesson to remain unshaken in one’s goal to accept the joys and sorrows in one’s stride and still remain steadfast. So the brook and life symbolize constant movement, change, dynamism, and renewal.

Q4. Describe the journey of the Brook, originating from the ‘haunts of coot and heron’, joining the river, as its final destination.

Ans. The brook travels through various places. It starts its journey somewhere in the mountains, which are home to birds like coot and heron. It emerges suddenly from a plateau and falls down into a valley. On its way, it passes through various hills, ridges, villages, and lawns. It makes various kinds of movements like swirl, spiral, sally, bicker, etc. Sometimes it makes curved whistling movements, moving over pebbles, flowers, fish. It attains progress over the plain area. Hordes of birds skim over the surface of the water to catch fish. The brook looks beautiful as the starlight seems to be trapped on its surface, producing a net-like effect. Before reaching its final destination, the brook takes on a slow and lingering movement. In the end, it makes a final dash to meet the brimming river.