Q2. What does the poet mean, by? “Ah! These dumb things that but cry
and pant, They, too, can love, for God made them so.”
Ans. These lines have been taken from the poem “Porus and His
Elephant” written by Marry Dobson. In these lines, the poet says that the
beasts like elephants in the poem, cannot talk or speak like human
beings but they can feel, breathe, cry and love like human beings
because God had made them capable to love and to be loved.
Q3. Write the story told in the poem in your own words.
Ans. The poem “Porus and His Elephant” is a lyrical ballad written by
Marry Dobson. This poem narrates the beast(elephant) for his master in
the battle between Porus and Alexander. The poem starts when the king
Porus goes to meet his enemy, Alexander the great, on river Jhelum to
defend his kingdom. But a bloody battle takes place between the armies
of Alexander and Porus in which Porus gets injured and falls down
unconscious. The unconscious Porus is defended by his faithful Elephant
and at last, lifts him up on the back and takes him to a safe place. Porus
is saved but his faithful beast dies(elephant) of the wounds he got while
defending his master. This sacrifice shows the love of a faithful beast to
his master. Although they cannot talk or speak they can cry, feel pain and
love because God has made them capable of love and to be loved.
Q4. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?
Ans. As the poem is a lyrical ballad so the rhyme scheme of the poem is
in the form of “abab”., that means the sound of the last word of the first
line of the four lines stanza rhymes with the last word of third stanza and
that of the second line with the fourth line of the stanza and vice versa.
Q5. The poem reflects the faithfulness of an elephant towards his
master. Explain
Ans. “Marry Dobson” has written this poem to show the faithfulness of a
elephant. When the fight begins between the two kings, Porus gets
injured and falls down unconscious. In the battle field, the unconscious
Porus is defended by his faithful Elephant and at last, lifts him up on the
back and takes him to a safe place. In this way, he shows his faithfulness
towards his master by sacrificing his life for his sake.
LANGUAGE WORK
I. Use the following words, phrases, and expressions in your sentences:
Days gone by, fray, to hold at a bay, battle-pride, fought the more,
gallant part, mighty trunk
1.
2.
Days gone by: Days have gone by, since the battle between Porus and
Alexander.
Fray: Alexander came to India for fray.
3.
To hold at bay: Our soldiers hold at bay our enemies.
4.
Battle Pride: Participation in war in old times is considered as battlepride.
5.
Fought the more: Porus fought the more, against Alexander.
6.
Gallant Part:The elephant played the Gallant part in fight between
Porus and Alexander.
7.
Mighty trunk: The elephant lift the master with might trunk.