Questions Answers

Poem

Wandering Singers

A. Read the poem aloud in groups.

B. Pick out the rhyming pairs from the poem and fill in the table.

1st stanza

feet / street

roam / home

2nd stanza

shed / dead

kings / things

3rd stanza

sow / go

wait / fate

C. Read these lines and answer the questions given below.

1. Where the voice of the wind calls our wandering feet

Whose ‘Wandering feet’ is referred to here?

The 'wandering feet' of wandering singers are referred to.

2. With lutes in our hands ever-singing we roam,

All men are our kindred, the world is our home.

Who does ‘we’ refer to? What do they have in their hands? What is its name?

'We' refers to the wandering singers. They have some musical instruments. Its name is 'lute'.

How are the men in the world related to the singers?

All men in the world are relations to the singers.

3. Our lays are of cities whose lustre is shed,

Here ‘Lays’ means __________________

a. lying down      b. stories             c. to keep

Answer : b. stories (songs with stories)

4. The laughter and beauty of women long dead; Explain the meaning of the above line.

Explain the meaning of the above line.

In the days long past there lived many beautiful women. They smiled and laughed gracefully. The singers used to sing about the beauty and laughter of those women.

Additional questions

1. Where the voice of the wind calls our wandering feet,

Through echoing forest and echoing street.

a) What kind of life do the singers lead?

The singers lead a wandering life.

b) Where do they sing?

They sing in forest and street.

2. With lutes in our hands ever-singing we roam,

All men are our kindred the world is our home.

a) What do the singers use when they sing?

When they sing the singers use lutes. 

b) What is the outlook of the singers?

The singer feel that the broad world is their home. All men are their kinsmen.

3. Our lays are of cities whose lustre is shed,

The laughter and beauty of women long dead.

a) What are ’lays’?

'Lays' are songs with stories.

b) Whose beauty do the singers sing about?

The singers sing about the beauty of women who lived in the past.

4. The sword of old battles, the crown of kings,

And happy and simple and sorrowful things

a) Why do the singers sing about battles and crowns?

The singers sing about the bravery displayed in battles. They also sing about the glory of great kings.

b) Do the singers sing about happy things only?

No, they sing about happy things and sorrowful things.

5. No love bids us tarry, no joy bids us wait:

The voice of the wind is the voice of our fate.

a) What are the things that cannot stop them?

Love and joy cannot stop them.

b) What is the voice of their fate?

The voice of the wind is the voice of their fate.