Porous and His Elephant | Poem 2 | English 8th | Tulip Series | (Mary Dobson)

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Porous and His Elephant | Poem 2 | English 8th | Tulip Series |
(Mary Dobson)

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THINKING ABOUT THE POEM

Q1. How did the elephant save the life of Porus?

Ans. While fighting with Alexander’s troops, Porus on his elephant fell down unconscious. On seeing his master unconscious, he came forward defending him against the sharp swords and spears of enemies. At last, he lifted him with his mighty trunk and took him to a safe place away from enemies thereby saving his life.

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 for his master in the battle between Porus and Alexander.

The poem starts when the king Porous 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 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 ALLAH 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 the third line of the 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 beast who cannot talk like a human being but still he saves his master from the sharp swords of enemies. This faithful beast is the elephant. When the fight begins between the two kings, Porus is wounded and falls down from his elephant but the elephant comes to his rescue. He defends him from the sharp swords and arrows of enemies. Although he is wounded, he lifts his master on his back and takes him to a safe place to save him. In this way, he shows his faithfulness towards his master by sacrificing his life for his sake.

Q6. Tick the right answer:

a. Porus met his enemy on the bank of:

a. The Nile   b. The Jhelum    c. The Ganges     d. The Satluj

Ans. b. The Jhelum

b. Alexander in the poem is referred to as:

a. Friend      b. Foe      c. Brother       d. Statesman

Ans. b. Foe

c. Who was wounded?

a. Alexander     b. Porus       c. Both       d. None

Ans. b. Porus

d. The wounded Porus is lifted by:    a. His own soldiers     b. Soldiers of Alexander     c. The Elephant    d. None

Ans. c. The elephant

e. Who saves Porus?

a. His Elephant     b. His soldiers’      c. Both       d. Villagers

Ans. a. His Elephant

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

Ans. Days gone by: Days have gone by, since the battle between Porus and Alexander.

Fray: Alexander came to India for fray.

To hold at bay: Our soldiers hold at bay our enemies.

Battle-pride: Participation in the war in olden times was considered as battle-pride.

Fought the more: Porus fought the more, against Alexander.

Gallant part: The elephant played a gallant part in the fight between Porus and Alexander.

Mighty trunk: The lifted his master on his back with his mighty trunk to save him.

II. Use the following words as nouns and verbs in your sentences:

Record, Present, Object, Contest, Produce

Ans. Record:

(Noun) I keep the record of my all expenditures.

(Verb) In Kashmir, the maximum temperature was recorded as 35ºC.

Present:

(Noun) He gave me a present on my birthday.

(Verb) The student presented himself before the headmaster.

Object:

(Noun) Do not touch an unclaimed object on the road.

(Verb) He was objected by people in his rude language.

Contest:

(Noun) A music contest was conducted at Radio Kashmir Srinagar on Saturday.

(Verb) He contested for writing an essay in English.

Produce:

(Noun) Plants produce oxygen for animals.

(Verb) A large quantity of paddy is produced in Kashmir.