Q1: What does the poet mean by ‘spirit’ and in what state was it?
Ans: In the poem, the word ‘spirit’ refers to the mind of the poet. He was in a slumber. That is, a deep sleep or a state of unawareness as if unconscious to the realities of life. It is as if he was drugged or under some spell.
Q2: What caused the slumber of the poet?
Ans: The poet was passionately in love with the girl. Her death shocked and saddened him. He felt bitter grief. His deep emotion overwhelmed his mind. Such was the intensity of his sorrow that it overpowered his consciousness.
Q3: What changes did the slumber bring in the poet’s feelings?
Ans: The poet was shocked and saddened by his beloved’s death. But the slumber brought peace to his mind. He realized that his beloved had become part of Nature and would always remain around him.
Q4: Who does not feel any human fears? Why?
Ans: The poet does not feel any fears and his soul feels at peace, as though asleep and existing in a deep calm where he has nothing to fear. His love for Lucy was so strong that he did not want her to grow old and suffer the problems of old age as human beings do. She would not now be marked by the passing of time or the ravages of nature as other mortals are. For him, she has attained the status of a supernatural being.
Poet William WordsworthQ5: Explain the line: “The touch of earthly years”. Who would not feel the touch of earthly years?
Ans: The expression “The touch of earthly years” refers to the ravages of old age faced by human beings – the depletion of energy, diseases, senility, and death which a person has to suffer as one grows old during life on this earth. The poet’s beloved Lucy will not face the problems of old age as she is no longer alive.
Q6: How does the poet come out of his ‘slumber’?
Ans: The poet comes out of ‘slumber’ as the realization dawns on him that with her death Lucy is no longer a human being and is as vulnerable to death as others. She has become an immortal being, and he sees her as a supernatural goddess. This brings him out of his unconsciousness or ‘slumber’.
Q7: How does the poet react to his loved one’s death?
Ans: At first, the poet is shocked by the death of his beloved, and he feels bitter grief. But after some realization, he feels great peace. He is content that the passing of time will no longer affect her. She has become part of Nature and is free from human travails.
Q8: The poet does not refer to the death of Lucy. How does he reveal that she is no more?
Ans: The poet does not refer to Lucy as being dead directly. However, he makes it obvious that she is no longer alive by stating that she has become completely still, motionless, inactive, and inert. Moreover, she has lost her senses of hearing and seeing.
Q9: How does the poet imagine “her” to be after death?
Ans: The poet imagines her to be at peace after death. She is in deep sleep, no longer affected by worldly affairs or by the passage of time. She is now part of nature. ‘No motion has she now, no force She neither hears nor sees.’
Q10: What does the poet mean by “earth’s diurnal course”? How has “she” become a part of earth’s diurnal course?
Ans: The phrase “earth’s diurnal course” refers to the daily rotation of the earth on its axis that causes day and night. According to the poet, Lucy has become an inseparable part of the earth after her death. As she has mingled with the earth, she naturally participates in its daily course just like the stones, rocks, and trees.
Q11: What is the relation of Lucy with rocks, stones, and trees?
Ans: Lucy, after her death, has become part of Nature as she has mingled with the soil. As such, she is a part of the other things on the earth like rocks, stones, or trees. She has now become a part of Nature.
Q12: What is the central theme of the poem?
Ans: The poem deals with the loss of a loved one through death and the sorrow that follows. The death of Lucy left the poet in great pain. However, Wordsworth conveys the idea that death may separate our loved ones from us, but they always remain around us in the form of nature. Wordsworth immortalizes Lucy by stating that she lives on in Nature after her physical death. Therefore, the death of a loved one should not leave us grief-stricken.
Q13: Give a brief summary of the poem ‘A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal’ in your own words.
Ans: In the poem "A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal," the poet expresses how the death of his beloved has left him emotionally numb. He had been deeply in love with her, to the point of being oblivious to the realities of life. This love had made him feel immune to human fears and worries. However, as time passes, he awakens to the truth that his beloved is no longer alive. Despite this realization, he finds solace in the idea that she has become an eternal part of nature. She now rests in the earth, sharing in its daily cycle, free from the pains of mortal existence.
Q14: How did Lucy’s death affect the poet? What does it reveal about his attitude towards her?
Ans: Lucy's death profoundly impacted the poet. He initially experienced a state of emotional detachment or slumber, as if under a spell of love. This reflects his deep attachment to Lucy, wherein he was blinded to the inevitability of death. His attitude toward her is one of almost divine reverence, seeing her as exempt from the ordinary human experience of aging and suffering. He views her as a supernatural being, immune to time's effects, elevating her to a goddess-like status.
Q15: How does the poet reveal that Lucy is dead without using the words ‘death’ or ‘dead’? What according to him, has happened to Lucy after her death?
Ans: The poet subtly conveys Lucy's death without explicitly using the words 'death' or 'dead.' He portrays her as devoid of any life force or motion, lying still and inactive. Her senses of sight and hearing have also departed. He describes her as being merged with the earth, suggesting her physical integration with nature. Lucy has become an inseparable part of the earth's diurnal course, symbolizing her eternal connection with the natural world, much like rocks, stones, and trees. This transformation after her passing brings the poet a sense of tranquility, emphasizing his belief in her everlasting presence within the cycle of nature.
Poet William WordsworthQ5: Explain the line: “The touch of earthly years”. Who would not feel the touch of earthly years?
