NCERT Solutions Class 9, English, Beehive, Poem, Chapter- 8, A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal.
Thinking about the Poem
1. “A slumber did my spirit seal,” says the poet. That is, a deep sleep ‘closed off’ his soul (or mind). How does the poet react to his loved one’s death? Does he feel bitter grief ? Or does he feel a great peace?
Solution:
The poet is shocked and surprised at the death of his loved one. It feels painful. Death does not make anyone feel good. It is always associated with misery.
2. The passing of time will no longer affect her, says the poet. Which lines of the poem say this?
Solution:
The lines of the poem that show that the passing of time will no longer affect her are as follows:
“She seemed a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthy years.”
3. How does the poet imagine her to be, after death? Does he think of her as a person living in a very happy state (a ‘heaven’)? Or does he see her now as a part of nature? In which lines of the poem do you find your answer?
Solution:
The poet imagines her to be an inseparable part of nature. No, he does not think so because ‘heaven’ is not a dead thing. It is shown in the line ‘Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course/With rocks and stones and trees’.
