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ICSE Notes 2017 : psalm of life

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Kabir Nasir
Hiranandani Foundation School (HFS), Thane

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A Psalm of Life I. Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream! For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem. (i) What are mournful numbers? Ans. Mournful numbers mean sorrowful verses. The narrator tells the psalmist not to tell him in sad, woeful, depressing verses that life is a meaningless dream. (ii) What is meant by: Life is but an empty dream ? How can life be an empty dream? Ans. Life is but an empty dream means life is a meaningless dream. It is worthless and purposeless. Life is an empty dream for one who is inactive and dull. The poet however rejects the notion that human life is an empty dream. He dismisses the psalmist s sad poetry and he does not want to hear grumblings that life is devoid of all meaning. Life is serious. It has to be taken earnestly. (iii) What does the poet intend to convey to his readers by saying: the soul is dead that slumbers ? What does he say, later in the poem about acting at the present moment? Ans. The soul is dead that slumbers means that he who spends his life aimlessly is already dead. If a man passes an idle, inactive and dull life, without doing anything for the welfare of human beings and society, he is no different from a dead person. A man who is passive is like a dead person. Later in the poem the poet exhorts us to act in the present. He tells the readers not to rely on the future, however bright it may seem, and the past events must be put away and forgotten. The aim in life should be to act in the present as the future is uncertain and unpredictable. Similarly we must not brood in the past. We must act in the present and make it strong and bright by working day and night, without wasting time, having faith and courage and trust in God. (iv) Under what circumstances, are things not what they seem? Ans. Life is a mystery. Things may not always be what they apparently seems to us. Things are often different from what they seem to be. They may turn out to be good if we have the mind to seize the opportunity to achieve something in life. We must be positive in our outlook towards life. Bad circumstances may not always be bad. Life is full of work, struggle and opportunities. Man must lead a heroic life. (v) Explain what type of attitude in human beings is condemned in the extract? Ans. In the above extract the poet condemns an aimless, passive and inactive attitude in human beings. He rejects the thought of people being irresponsible and negative in their outlook towards life. II. Life is real, life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust that returnest, Was not spoken of the soul (i) Life is real! What was said earlier in the poem to indicate that there are appearances rather than reality in life? Ans. The poet emphatically says that life is not a dream. It is real and has noble aims so it should not be treated lightly. Earlier the poet says, And things are what they seem . This indicates that there are appearances rather than realities in life. Things are often different from what they seem to be. They may turn out to be good if we seize the opportunity and if we have the mind to achieve something in life. Bad circumstances may not always be so bad. It basically depends on our outlook towards life. (ii) What is meant by And the grave is not its goal ? What conviction does the poet have about life after death? 1 Ans. The poet implies that there is a lot in life to be hopeful and optimistic for. Death is not its ultimate goal. Man should not take life casually. He should consider it precious. Man is not born in the world only for passing his time in merry-making, eating and whiling away his time and later awaiting death. Man is born to fulfil many purposes. Man should not remain under the illusion that there is no life after death and everything comes to an end with the death of a human being. It is wrong to think that death is the end of life because only the human body is mortal, but the soul is immortal. After death when the body decays, the soul enters another body. Therefore the poet believes that it is the duty of every individual to play his part well in life so that he may find himself higher than the present, as his actions will make his tomorrow far better than today. (iii) Mention in your words what is meant by Dust thou art, to dust returnest. Which allusion is referred to in this statement? Ans. Dust thou art, to dust returnest refers to the human body. The body perishes after death. It is the body that is dust and must return to the dust. Death is not the end of life. Life continues beyond the grave because it is only the body that perishes. It is said that God created Adam out of clay and breathed life into him. When Adam and Eve disobeyed Him God punished him by saying, Dust thou art, to dust thou returnest. This is the Biblical (Genesis) allusion referred to in the above statement. (iv) Explain clearly what returns to the dust and what doesn t return to the dust. Ans. The philosophy that man is made of dust and he will return to dust in the end, is applicable to the body only. The soul which is the noblest part of the human body is deathless. It is immortal. Thus only the human body returns to the dust but not the soul. (v) State with two examples, the lyrical quality of the poem. Ans. The poem comprises of nine stanzas having a regular rhyming pattern. Each stanza follows the rhyme scheme abab. A Psalm of Life is a musical lyric. In the original meaning of the term, lyrical poems are those poems, composed to be sung with the accompaniment of a stringed instrument, like a lyre or a harp. Such poetry has a wide range as it touches upon all aspects of experience including broad interests of our common humanity, the lyric of patriotism, the lyric of religious emotion etc. A Psalm of Life touches the interest of common humanity. The poet is only a messenger of the whole humanity, voicing the general principles of morality. III. In the world s broad field of battle, In the bivouac of life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife! Trust no future, howe er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act,- act in the living Present! Heart within and God o erhead! (i) What is referred to as the world s broad field of battle? Why is it referred to as the battlefield? Ans. The whole world is metaphorically referred to as a big battlefield. It s like a military camp for troops. Every one of us is like a soldier. As a soldier has to fight and struggle facing dangers with courage so also each one of us has to fight the battle of life with courage. (ii) Give the meaning of bivouac of life . How should one act in the bivouac? Ans. Here the poet has used a metaphor comparing life to a bivouac , a temporary camp during a battle where the soldiers who take part in the battle, come and go. The world too is like a camp where people stay for some time and take part in life s struggle. 2 Man has been sent on earth to live a useful life and fulfil the noble aims. Human life is a struggle. In this world man has to constantly fight against many heavy odds and circumstances with courage. All the people have to live and fight their battles in this world within the allotted time. Life is like a resting camp for the troops in the battlefield. It is only a brief pause and not the end of the battle. This brief spell of rest and relaxation is meant only to prepare us for a series of battles ahead in life. One can play his role here by remaining always in a state of readiness to fight and win. In other words we should not surrender in the battle field, rather we should fight like heroes. Here the poet reminds us again of transience of human existence. We come to the world, struggle for betterment and then leave the camp. (iii) What is indicated by the expression, dumb, driven cattle ? Ans. Cattle has no purpose. They don t think about life and death. They are driven from place to place. They can be driven in any direction because they lack direction and determination. Here the poet has used a simile. He compares cowards and submissive people to cattle. Human beings cannot afford to be submissive like cattle that are driven around by anyone who happens to have a stick in his hand. Man should not be like dumb driven cattle and led by others. He must exercise his independent judgement and use his discretion. In other words we should not surrender in the battle field rather we should fight like heroes. (iv) Why shouldn t one trust in the Future nor in the Past? Ans. The poet says that life is short and every moment of life is precious. One should live in and work in the present without thinking of the future or the past. He advises us to live, to think and act in the present without caring and worrying about the future or looking back in the past. It may be pleasant to contemplate on the promises of the future but it is advisable not to have too much hope and aspirations. A great concern for the future may distract us. Similarly we must not think too much of the past- its pleasant moments or failures. The future is uncertain and unpredictable, and the past is over and therefore of no consequence. The poet exhorts us to act in the present because the present is in our hands. Only the present is real and alive when we can achieve our goals. The present is the solution to the past and the future will be fine if we have done justice to the present. (v) Give the meaning of: a) Let the dead Past bury its dead! Ans. The past is dead and we should forget it. We should not waste our time thinking what we could have done. It is over and gone. b) Heart within, and God o erhead! Ans. We should do our duty with courage. We should do our best and leave the rest to God. We must work day and night without rest, having belief in the justice of God. (vi) State the moral principle underlying the extract. Ans. The moral principle underlying the extract is that life has a purpose and we must work hard to achieve that purpose without wasting a single moment of our lives. The poet asks us to work and remain in the present. He says that neither the future nor the past is suitable. He thinks that the future may seem pleasant but it is not dependable. Similarly, the past is dead and gone, hence there is no point weeping over the losses of the past. IV. Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sand of time (i) What do the lives of great men teach us? Ans. The lives of great men teach us that we can emulate their examples and make our lives sublime. It inspires us to make our lives purposeful. They teach us how to work and achieve 3 goals. Thus the lives of great men inspire us to live our lives fully so that we too will leave behind records of greatness, thereby motivating others to proceed on the way to success. (ii) State how we can make our life sublime in the following situation: a) In the life s battlefield. Ans. Life is like a battle and the world a battlefield. We should be active and mentally prepared to face the challenges of life boldly whatever the consequences may be. Only the courageous can win. So we should face struggles with courage. In the battlefield we have to act like a hero by fighting to the finish with a mind that is fearless and courageous. b) In the present moment of life. Ans. To make our lives sublime another consideration of great importance is to live in the present moment of life. We must not waste our time in brooding over the dead past or dreaming about the future. It is only the present moment when we can do anything, so we must not waste it. The best course is to act in the living present, because it is this alone which provides the opportunity to act and perform. (iii) What is meant by: Footprints on the sand of time? How can we benefit from the footprints on the sand? Ans. It is a very striking metaphor. Footprints are the records of the lives of great men. In the immediate context of the poem, a ship-wrecked sailor is washed ashore. He finds himself on an unfamiliar land. He is sad and demoralised. He feels insecure till he notices footprints on the sands of the sea shore. He takes heart to think that there are other human beings on the island and he won t be alone over there. We can follow the footprints to guide the direction and purpose of our lives. We can reach glorious heights by emulating them. By emulating great men we too can be counted as heroes if we make our lives sublime through our actions. (iv) Describe briefly the gloomy picture of life shown by the speaker in the poem. Ans. The psalmist in the poem is a pessimist. He has a stereotyped, negative attitude towards life. The young man requests the psalmist not to compose pessimistic verses telling him that life is an empty dream and it has no purpose. He portrays a positive and optimistic approach in life and says that one should despise pessimism and not consider life as a hollow fantasy. V. Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o er life s solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again. Let us then be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labour and to wait. (i) Whose footprints are referred to in the extract? Ans. It is our footprints that we leave behind when we depart from this world that is being referred to in the extract. (ii) Give the meaning of: a) Sailing o er life s solemn main Ans. The poet compares life to a voyage on the sea on which each one of us is sailing. The journey is solemn and serious. b) A forlorn and shipwrecked brother Ans. A forlorn ship-wrecked brother refers to a sailor whose ship has wrecked and is left forlorn, or in other words any man who is discouraged by failure in life. Someone who is disheartened in life s struggle is being compared to a shipwrecked brother. 4 (iii) Why are the footprints referred to in the extract? Ans. The poet refers to the footprints we like sailors leave behind on the shore. A person who is disheartened like a shipwrecked sailor, looks at the footprints. He takes heart that there have been people before him who have been successful. So he takes heart again and follows the footprints and hopes to reach his destination. Symbolically the footprints are a record of our deeds. We can make our brothers take heart again by becoming role models for them. (iv) State what the poet wants to convey in these lines: Let us then be up and doing, With a heart for any fate: Ans. The poet advises us to be ready to act bravely and face any eventuality in life. We must aim to achieve our objectives by pursuing our goals. We must utilise every minute of our lives and always remain active. We should struggle for the best but be prepared for the worst. 5

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