Practice Questions: Not Marbles Nor the Gilded Monuments | Practice Questions with Solutions for Class 10 PDF Download

Q1: In what ways are wars wasteful?
Ans: The wars are really wasteful in many ways. First, a war kills many innocents. Second, it destroys houses and other properties; Third, it never establishes peace. In the context, In the Second World War a bomb blast killed the boys’ father and destroyed their homes.

Q2: In what way is the poet stronger than powerful rulers?
Ans: The poet is stronger than the powerful rulers as his creations, i.e. his poetry can’t be destroyed by time, whereas the creations of powerful rulers, i.e. statues and monuments are destroyed by time. Poetry will outlive mankind and will not be ravaged by time unlike the statues and monuments.

Q3: How do wars affect the monuments erected by greatmen to be remembered after their death?
Ans: Wasteful and unnecessary wars destroy all monuments, memorials and statues erected by the powerful rulers with a hope to be remembered by posterity. The conflicts of the rulers and the turmoil ruin even the monuments built of stones. The fire of war leaves nothing except the written memory of a lover for his beloved.

Q4: Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

Not marble, Nor the gilded monuments
Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme;

• Why do Princes get monuments made?
• What do you mean by ‘gilded’?
• Why the Monuments won’t outlive this Rhyme?

Ans:

• Princes get monuments made so that they would be remembered.
• ‘Gilded’ means gold-plated.
• Rhymes are eternal. They are not affected by wars and time. On the other hand, monuments are destroyed with the passage of time. So they can’t outlive rhyme.

Q5: How will the poet’s friend dwell in lover’s eyes?
Ans: This poem will immortalize the poet’s friend. Poetry can’t be ravaged by time, so this poem will be a living record of his friend’s memory. Neither will time nor war be able to destroy it. He will stay in the eyes of lovers till doomsday.

Q6: What, according to Shakespeare, outlives the ravages of time?
Ans: According to Shakespeare, his poetry outlives the ravages of time. The poet asserts that his portrait of the youngman written in verse will outlive even marble, memorials of prince, which will inevitably become neglected. His poetry is eternal and will immortalise the subject of the poetry.

Q7: In the poem, “Not Marble, Nor the Gilded Monuments”, what is time portrayed as?
Ans: Time is portrayed predominantly as a negative force relating to death and decay. It has been compared unfavourably to a female subject who loses her glow and beauty. It condemns human attempts to achieve immorality by building stone-monuments.

Q8: The Kings and the Queens got statues and monuments erected in a desire to be remembered and immortalized. Recently you visited a few historical monuments in Delhi. Write a letter to a friend mentioning some historical buildings and how these monuments have changed in the course of time. (Nor Marble, nor the Gilded Monuments)
Ans:

27 Z, G.K. Extn.
New Delhi 1100XX

2 September 20XX Dear Ranjit

I have felt that it is a general tendency of mankind to be liked, loved and remembered by posterity. But the icy hands of time leave none. I am going to give a vivid description of the same.

A few days ago, I visited the Red Fort and the Qutub Minar. In my childhood, I had read about the glory of the rulers who got them built. I was of the view that time must not have been able to decay them. But I was amazed and horrified to see their dilapidated condition. Though the government tried to maintain them but they could not retrieve their glaze.

Now, I feel that all the signs of worldly power, grandeur and glory fade away with the passage of time. All the gold-plated memorials, monuments and statues of stone lose their glory and grandeur and fall to utter neglect, decay and deterioration. Only the poetry composed in applause of one’s beloved can be praised by the posterity. All the agents of destruction are outlived by such poems.
Shakespeare has made us know how to immortalize our friends and patrons.

With love.

Yours affectionately
Mahesh

Q9: Materialistic things don’t really last. What matters most are the people we care about and the values we live with. Explain this with reference to the poem Not Marble, Nor the Gilded Monuments.
Ans: The icy hands of time destroy everything in nature sooner or later. With the passage of time, all signs of glory, grandeur and worldly power fade away. Even the gold-plated monuments, memorials and statues of stone lose their grandeur and glory and fall to litter neglect, decay and deterioration. The powerful people who had got them built thought that such monuments and memorials would bring them immortality. But it was nothing but their delusion.

Only the love and affection that one has in his or her heart for their beloved or loved ones will remain permanent. Such things are remembered by posterity. Such things move from generation to generation. Even the powerful swords of Mars cannot destroy them. People must realise it and act accordingly.

Q10: In what context, does the poet mention “death” and “oblivious” enmity?
Ans: Man has a desire to be remembered and immortalized in order to overcome death. The poet suggests that the force that conspires to ensure that an individual is forgotten such as war’s quick fire and the all oblivious enmity of other people, is worse than death.