Read and Understand

READ AND UNDERSTAND

A. Read the lines and answer the questions given below.

1. Faster than fairies, faster than witches,

Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;

a. What is faster than fairies and witches?

The train is faster than fairies and witches.

b. Why does the poet mention ‘bridges and houses, hedges and ditches’? Where are they?

The train crosses 'bridges and houses, hedges and ditches'. So the poet mentions them. They are along the railway track.

2. Here is a child who clambers and scrambles, All by himself and gathering brambles;

a. Where do you think the child is?

The child is on a blackberry bush.

b. What does ‘gathering brambles’ mean?

It means that the child is collecting blackberry fruit.

3. And ever again, in the wink of an eye, Painted stations whistle by.

a. ‘In the wink of an eye’ means very quickly. Explain ‘painted stations whistle by’.

The train does not stop at small railway stations. It gives out a whistling sound as it crosses these painted railway stations.

4. Each a glimpse and gone forever;

a. What is ‘each’ over here? Why is it gone forever?

Each refers to every thing like a mill or a river. As the train rushes past the scene goes out of sight immediately. So the poet says that it is gone for ever.

B. Answer the following questions.

1. What does ‘charges along like troops in a battle’ mean?

It means that bridges, houses, hedges and ditches move back quickly as the train races along. The speed of the train is as fast as the soldiers fighting in the battlefield.

2. What word could best replace ‘charges’ in the poem - marches, rushes or pushes?

The word 'rushes’ could best replace ’charges’ in the poem.

3. Why does the child clamber and scramble?

The child wants to collect blackberries. The wild bush is prickly. So he clambers and scrambles.

C. Think and Write.

1. Write a paragraph about 50 words describing the scenes that the poet passed by.

The train ran fast. The poet saw bridges, houses, hedges and ditches as the train raced along. He saw meadows, horses, cattle, hill and plain. The painted stations whistled by. The poet also saw a child gathering brambles and a tramp gazing at the train. He noticed the daisies, a loaded cart, a mill and a river.

2. There is a connection between the rhyming words and rhythms of the train. Present your views about it.

Witches and ditches, battle and cattle reflect the fast movement of the train. Plain and rain, eye and by, scrambles and brambles, gazes and daisies, road and load, river and ever, add to the tempo of the poem. These words make us feel the rushing of the train. Words like faster, charging, fly, whistle by, run away, glimpse and gone forever rhyme with the rhythm of the train.

D. Fill in the blanks to complete the summary.

Ever since their introduction, trains, and their unique rhythms have fascinated poets. In this poem the poet shares his experience of his railway journey with us. He presents natural scenes seen from inside a railway carriage. The movement is regular and steady but the scene from the window of the train is constantly changing. The poem’s rhythm and phrases bring memories of a railway journey. The poet looks out of the window at the vanishing images outside. Every line we see here is a quick account of something seen for a short time. The line that best sums up is the final one: "Each a glimpse and gone forever!"