NCERT Solutions Class 10, English, First Flight, Poetry, Chapter- 8, For Anne Gregory.
Thinking About the Poem
1. What does the young man mean by “great honey-coloured /Ramparts at your ear?” Why does he say that young men are “thrown into despair” by them?
Solution:
The young man in the poem praises the great honey-colored hair of Anne. Anne’s hair have been called rampart, meaning a wall. It is called so because they act as a wall, as they prevent young men from looking beyond those yellow hair and into her soul. Her hair are so attractive that young men cannot look at anything else. Anne’s yellow hair are so pretty that young men hopelessly fall in love with her. She is so pretty that everyone wants her, which cannot happen; hence, they are thrown into despair.
2. What colour is the young woman’s hair? What does she say she can change it to? Why would she want to do so?
Solution:
The young woman’s hair is of yellow colour. She says that she could get her hair dyed to brown, black or carrot colour. She would change the colour of her hair so that the young men in despair would love her only and not her yellow hair. She wanted them to love her for what she was and not for her appearance such as her hair colour.
3. Objects have qualities which make them desirable to others. Can you think of some objects (a car, a phone, a dress…) and say what qualities make one object more desirable than another? Imagine you were trying to sell an object: what qualities would you emphasise?
Solution:
People desire objects because of their qualities that suit their need. The things we consume, goods we use such as a car, a phone, a dress etc. physical qualities matter the most. Before buying anything, it is always considered that the object is durable and looks pretty. If I were to sell a dress, I would select the one that is very appealing to the eye and comfortable for the body. Then I would emphasise on the durability of the dress so that the customer feels that he/she is spending his/her money at the right place and in the right thing.
4. What about people? Do we love others because we like their qualities, whether physical or mental? Or is it possible to love someone “for themselves alone”? Are some people ‘more lovable’ than others? Discuss this question in pairs or in groups, considering points like the following.
(i) a parent or caregiver’s love for a newborn baby, for a mentally or physically challenged child, for a clever child or a prodigy
(ii) the public’s love for a film star, a sportsperson, a politician, or a social worker
(iii) your love for a friend, or brother or sister
(iv) your love for a pet, and the pet’s love for you.
Solution:
We certainly love others because we like their qualities, whether these qualities are physical or mental. It is rarely possible to love someone for themselves alone. In this category, we can place a newborn baby, a brother, or a sister or a mentally and physically challenged child. But generally, we love people for the qualities they possess. But there is no doubt that physical appearance also counts, for example, in the case of film stars.
5. You have perhaps concluded that people are not objects to be valued for their qualities or riches rather than for themselves. But elsewhere Yeats asks the question: How can we separate the dancer from the dance? Is it possible to separate ‘the person himself or herself’ from how the person looks, sounds, walks, and so on? Think of how you or a friend or member of your family has changed over the years. Has your relationship also changed? In what way?
Solution:
W.B. Yeats has asked the question in the concluding part of his poem “Among School Children”. ‘How can we know a dancer, from the dance?’ That is to say, a dancer, while he is dancing, can not be separated from his dance. Similarly, we cannot separate a person himself or herself from how the person looks, sounds, walks, and so on. We look at the personality of a person as a whole. It cannot be compartmentalised. Our relationship with a friend or member of our family will naturally change if the person has changed.
