Chapter 2.1 – From a Railway Carriage
The poet describes many scenes from the window of a railway carriage. He says that the train runs faster than magical creatures such as fairies or witches. He sees bridges and houses, hedges and ditches. The horses and cattle in the meadows seem to rush away as if they were soldiers on a battlefield.
The train passes through hills and plains. The sights there fly away as thickly as heavy rain. Now and again, painted stations pass by even before one can wink. As the train passes these stations, the engine’s whistle is heard.
Suddenly one sees a child, all by himself, climbing with difficulty and gathering bushes with blackberries. Then one might see a jobless person standing and gazing. This will be followed by green grass, which children use to string daisies.
Now one sees a cart running away in the road, moving in jerks as it carries man and load. Then one spots a mill, followed by a river. Each sight is seen for a very short time, and then it is gone forever.
ENGLISH WORKSHOP
1. Read the poem aloud with proper rhythm. What does the rhythm remind you of?
Ans: Students must do this on their own.
2. Find pairs of rhyming words from the poem.
Ans:
witches – ditches
battle – cattle
plain – rain – again
eye – by
scrambles – brambles
gazes – daisies
road – load
river – ever
3. Write the following :
(1) The sights seen through a railway carriage mentioned in the first stanza.
Ans: The sights mentioned in the first stanza are bridges, houses, hedges, ditches, meadows, horses and cattle.
(2) The sights mentioned in the second stanza.
Ans: The sights mentioned in the second stanza are hills and plains and painted stations.
(3) The sights mentioned in the third stanza.
Ans: The sights mentioned in the third stanza are a child gathering brambles, a tramp and green grass.
4. Think and answer:
(1) Why are the sights said to ‘fly’?
Ans: The sights are said to fly to give us an idea of the great speed of the train.
(2) Does the last line make you happy or sad? Why?
Ans: The last line makes me sad, because I would like to see the sights again and again.
5. List the lines that begin with ‘Here’ or ‘And here’.
Also list the sentences or phrases that begin with ‘And there’.
These phrases and sentences tell us about things that appear one after the other as the carriage moves. Can we tell which ones are closer to the train and which ones are at a distance? How?
Ans:
Lines/sentences/phrases beginning with ‘Here’ or ‘And here’:
(1) Here is a child….
(2) Here is a tramp…
(3) Here is a cart…
(4) And here is a mill …
The items listed in the above lines are closer to the train, as they are indicated with the word ‘here.
Lines/sentences/phrases beginning with ‘And there’:
(1) And there is the green…
(2) And there is a river…
The items listed in the above lines are at a distance, as they are indicated with the word “there”.
6. Read the following :
Charging along like troops in a battle.
Fly as thick as driving rain.
Using your imagination, write one or two comparisons each with –
• like ………….
Ans: The evening twilight is like a burning flame.
• as …………. as
Ans: The roses in my garden are as red as blood.
7. Write about the sights you may see from a bus or an aeroplane. You may write it in the form of a short poem.
Ans:
Faster and faster
Goes the plane
Over the cities
Over the plains.
Higher and higher
Goes the plane
Over the hills
Over the dales.
Is it a river?
Is it a stream?
Am I flying
Or is it a dream?
8. Find and read other poems of R. L. Stevenson using the internet. Find other rhythmic poems about trains, in English or other languages.
Ans: Students must do this on their own.