English Notes Latest Questions

  1. Enjambment: This device is used in each stanza to make one read the consecutive lines to get the overall idea. For example, in the first stanza, the first two lines are connected by using this device. The first line creates suspense while the second line completes the sense. Alliteration: The repetiRead more

    • Enjambment: This device is used in each stanza to make one read the consecutive lines to get the overall idea. For example, in the first stanza, the first two lines are connected by using this device. The first line creates suspense while the second line completes the sense.
    • Alliteration: The repetition of similar sounds (vowel or consonant) in successive words is called alliteration. It occurs in the following examples from the text. “dreams really do” “stardust sky”  “man in the moon”  “learn to love”  “pick up/ the pieces” “time to”
    • Repetition: The order of words in the first line “To believe to know” is repeated at the beginning of the third, fifth, and sixth stanzas. Alongside that, each section begins with the same phrase “To believe”. It is meant for the sake of emphasis as well as creating a resonance of the main idea.
    • Metaphor: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not applicable. Morbitzer uses several metaphors in the poem. For example: “the beauty of an aging hand” is an implicit reference to the experience and wisdom of an old man. In the lines “When it is time to pick up/ the pieces and begin again”, the “pieces” is a metaphorical reference to failure. There is another metaphor in the line “That life is a gift”. Here, life is compared to a gift of God.
    • Synecdoche: A synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something refers to the whole of something or vice versa. This figure of speech can be found in the first three lines of the third stanza. “a nurturing heart” — It is a reference to a kind and caring person. “innocence in a child’s eyes” — Here, the poet refers to the purity of a child that can be reflected in its eyes. “beauty of an aging hand” — It is a reference to the intellectual beauty of an aged person.
    • Epigram: A brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The overall poem is written in the form of an epigram. Each stanza contains brief, interesting, and memorable statements concerning life lessons. For example, in the first stanza, the poet says “to believe” is all about trusting that miracles happen and our dreams do come true.

    A Time to Believe Summary

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  1. The poem ‘A Time to Believe’ is a poem on positivity and hope that shows the readers what it means to have faith in oneself. The author, B J Morbitzer, uses standard images to express a message of positivity in the interest of those who want to attain their dreams. The poet describes “belief” in a wRead more

    The poem ‘A Time to Believe’ is a poem on positivity and hope that shows the readers what it means to have faith in oneself. The author, B J Morbitzer, uses standard images to express a message of positivity in the interest of those who want to attain their dreams. The poet describes “belief” in a way that every day is a fresh day, full of hope that miracles will happen and that dreams would come true. He begins by saying that believing requires understanding that unlikely tasks would ultimately become accomplished if one trusts in god’s plan. To believe, he says that he understands the importance of a loving spirit, the purity of a child’s eyes, the wonder of experience; as it is through these that one learns to love one another.

    A Time to Believe Summary

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  1. Alliteration: The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. For example, “Which pillage they with merry march bring home” Onomatopoeia: The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named, for example “hum” The Bees summary

    1. Alliteration: The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. For example, “Which pillage they with merry march bring home”
    2. Onomatopoeia: The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named, for example “hum

    The Bees summary

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  1. ‘The Bees,’ is a marvellous creation of the greatest English poet named William Shakespeare. Here the poet gives a vivid description of the bees’ kingdom in a lyrical form through which we came to know that the life of an insect is not that simple the way we think. If we notice their living standardRead more

    ‘The Bees,’ is a marvellous creation of the greatest English poet named William Shakespeare. Here the poet gives a vivid description of the bees’ kingdom in a lyrical form through which we came to know that the life of an insect is not that simple the way we think. If we notice their living standard, we can see that they have an organized life. They also have some rules and laws. They also have to maintain discipline in order to run their life. In this poem, the poet observed that in the beehives, there are different classes of bees engaged in diverse works such as magistrates’ bees who do the corrective work, merchant bees collect honey, soldier bees protect their hives, and the king who observes the work of every day including masons’ bees who build the hives. There are other working groups who do their job within due diligence. The lives of bees are organized in an ordered way. They naturally learned the art of order. Though they are insects, they have the capability to teach humans the art of order.

    The Bees Summary

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    Simile: the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid. “The coat of the horse is not shining like silk”. The figure of speech used here is a simile, “like silk”. Comparing the coat of the horse with silk doesn’t literally mean tRead more

    1. Simile: the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid.

    The coat of the horse is not shining like silk”. The figure of speech used here is a simile, “like silk”. Comparing the coat of the horse with silk doesn’t literally mean the coat is silk. 2. Metaphor: a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. “If the cobra eats her sons”. The figure of speech used here is a metaphor. Cobra eating the bear’s sons literally doesn’t mean the cobra is actually looking for the bear’s sons but any animals which are small in size and not very intelligent to escape from their enemies. “If the panther has a wife who chews his ears”. The figure of speech used here is a metaphor. ‘Chews his ears’ doesn’t literally mean the panther is chewing the ears of another panther but it means that the panther is a troublesome panther or a panther who seems sick in some way. “If the crocodile turns cannibal”. The figure of the speech used here is a metaphor. The crocodile literally doesn’t turn into a cannibal but it acquires the nature of a cannibal i.e., eating humans. “The omniscient, the vet”. The figure of speech used here is a metaphor. Omniscient means, someone who is supposed to know everything. The vet might not know everything but is decided by the world as an omniscient who knows everything about every animal. “Don’t attempt to attend the zoological crowd”. The figure of speech used here is a metaphor. ‘Zoological crowd’ doesn’t literally mean anything that’s in the zoo but anything that is not human, but any animal living outside and inside the zoo. “The omniscient, the vet.” The figure of speech used here is a metaphor. Omniscient means, someone who is supposed to know everything. The vet might not know everything but is decided by the world as an omniscient who knows everything about every animal. “Don’t attempt to attend the zoological crowd.” The figure of speech used here is a metaphor. ‘Zoological crowd’ doesn’t literally mean anything that’s in the zoo but anything that is not human, but any animal living outside and inside the zoo.     3. Hyperbole: exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. “If the bear’s too full of buns”. The figure of speech used here is hyperbole. ‘Full of buns’ doesn’t literally mean the bear has buns all over its body. It means the bear is attacked by some disease that produces lumps in its body.   4. Personification: the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form. “If hyenas will not laugh at keeper’s jokes”. The figure of speech used here is personification. The hyenas literally don’t laugh. They seem to like having a smiling face. ‘Smiling’ is a human trait. Here it means that there is some problem with the hyena’s health.   Vet Poem Summary

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  1. The vet must know why the cat is not drinking milk, why the dog is not eating the bone, why the horse’s coat is not shining like silk, why the parrot only cries, why the ducks and chickens are not laying eggs, why are the canary birds faintly crying. If the vet is ever called to a zoo to examine theRead more

    The vet must know why the cat is not drinking milk, why the dog is not eating the bone, why the horse’s coat is not shining like silk, why the parrot only cries, why the ducks and chickens are not laying eggs, why are the canary birds faintly crying.

    If the vet is ever called to a zoo to examine the animals, he must say many things. He must say that the lions have caught a cold, the zebras are getting old, the centipede is having trouble in his feet, the hippopotamuses are getting ill, the bison are getting chill, the Arctic fox is suffering from the heat, the chimpanzees are suffering from some unknown disease, the tortoises have not moved in years. It is the job of the vet to make everything right.

     

    Vet poem Summary

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  1. Irony: The expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite. For example, “What is this life, if full of care,” Couplet: A pair of successive lines of verse, typically rhyming and of the same length. Rhetorical Question: Asked in order to produce an effect or to makRead more

    1. Irony: The expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite. For example, “What is this life, if full of care,”
    2. Couplet: A pair of successive lines of verse, typically rhyming and of the same length.
    3. Rhetorical Question: Asked in order to produce an effect or to make a statement rather than to elicit information. For example, “We have no time to stand and stare?”
    4. Alliteration: the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. For Example, “stand and stare”, “beneath the boughs”
    5. Repetition: The action of repeating something that has already been said or written. After the first couplet, each couplet begins with the phrase “No time”
    6. Simile: A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid “And stare as long as sheep or cows”
    7. Metaphor: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. For Example, “Streams full of stars” compared with the “skies at night”
    8. Synecdoche: A figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa. “Beauty’s glance.”
    9. Personification: The description of an object or an idea as if it had human characteristics.
    10. Epigram: A brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement.

    Leisure summary

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  1. ‘Leisure’ by William Henry Davies highlights the importance of leisure in one’s life and how the hectic modern life has alienated one from nature. In this poem, Davies talks about the significance of being close to nature. The poem begins with some examples of what one can do to exhale the stress ouRead more

    ‘Leisure’ by William Henry Davies highlights the importance of leisure in one’s life and how the hectic modern life has alienated one from nature. In this poem, Davies talks about the significance of being close to nature. The poem begins with some examples of what one can do to exhale the stress out of one’s body. If one only cares about the body forgetting about how beautiful and soothing nature is, it will lead that person to spiritual poverty. Moreover, the poet makes use of imagery to portray the beauty of nature. All one has to do is to “stand and stare” at the natural movements of different creatures living close to nature.

     

    Leisure summary

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  1. Following poetic devices have been used in the poem The Pilgrim: Inversion: A literary technique in which the normal order of word is reversed. For example, “Came at evening, cold and gray”. Tautology: A literary device used by writers to say something more than once, using the same words or synonymRead more

    Following poetic devices have been used in the poem The Pilgrim:

    • Inversion: A literary technique in which the normal order of word is reversed. For example, “Came at evening, cold and gray”.
    • Tautology: A literary device used by writers to say something more than once, using the same words or synonymous words. For example, “To a chasm, deep and vast and wide”.
    • Personification: A poetic device where animals, plants or even inanimate objects, are given human qualities. For Example, “The chasm which held no fears for me”.
    • Interrogation: A literary device in which a statement is used in form of a question in order to understand the idea or meaning. For Example, “Why build ye here at even tide?”

    The Pilgrim Poem Summary

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