The Brook

Exercise Solution

• (a) Annual
• (b)Biennial
• (c) Perennial

4. After reading the poem answer the following questions.
The poet has used a number of words which indicate ‘movement’ and ‘sound’. Working with your partner make a list of these words from the poem and complete the web chart.
(a) Moment Words ⇒ Sally, Sparkle, Hurry, Slip, Flow, Draw, Slide, Dance
(b)Sound Words ⇒ Bicker, Chatter, Trebles, Babble, Murmur
5. The following is a flow chart showing the course of the brook. Can you fill in the blank spaces with help from the phrases given below?

1. comes from the place where coots and herons live
2. Pass through valleys and towns
3. passes under fifty bridges
4. crosses both fertile and fallow land
5. passes lawns filled with flowers
6. goes through wilderness full of thorny bushes
7. Joins the river

6.On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions by ticking the correct choice

• (a) The message of the poem is that the life of a brook is eternal.
• (b) The poet draws a parallelism between the journey of the brook with the life of a man.
• (c) The poem is narrated in the first person by the brook. This figure of speech is Personification.
• (d) In the poem, below mentioned lines :
  “And here and there a lusty trout ,
  And here and there a grayling” –  the brook witnesses all kinds of scenes.

7. Answer the following questions.
(a) How does the brook ‘sparkle’ ?

• The brook sparkles because of the sun’s rays shining on its water.
• The sudden emergence or rush of the brook is shown to be in a sparkling motion.

(b)’Bicker’ means ‘to quarrel’. Why does the poet use this word here?

• ‘Bicker’ means a noisy discussion or an argument.
• The poet uses the word ‘bicker’ to describe the noisy flow of the brook as it flows through the valley.
• Here, this word is used to mention about the flow of the course of the brook with a gentle repetitive noise.

(c) How many hills and bridges does the brook pass during its journey?

• The brook passes 30 hills and 50 bridges during its journey.

(d) Where does it finally meet the river?

• The brook, after crossing ridges, villages, towns and bridges, finally flows by Philip’s farm to join the brimming river.

(e) Why has the word ‘chatter’ been repeated in the poem?

• The word ‘chatter’ has been repeated in the poem because it represents the frequent sound made by the flowing brook.
• It seems that the brook talks about its journey that it has travelled throughout in a lively mood.

(f) ‘With many a curve my banks I fret’. What does the poet mean by this statement?

• The poet refers to the erosion of the bank caused by the constant movement of brook.

(g) I wind about, and in and out’. What kind of a picture does this line create in your mind?

• ‘I wind about, and in and out’ creates a picture of a labyrinth in the mind of the readers.
• The flow of the brook has been mentioned to resemble that of a maze.

(h) Name the different things that can be found floating in the brook

• Pumice, flowers, wood chips, foamy flakes, bark of trees, twigs and leaves are the different things that can be found floating in the brook

(i) What does the poet want to convey by using the words ‘steal’ and ‘slide’?

• By using the words ‘steal’ and ‘slide’, the poet wants to express the silent and almost undetectable movement of the brook.

(j) The poem has many examples of alliteration. List any five examples.

• Willow-weed
• Sudden sally
• Field and fallow
• Golden gravel
• Slip, slide

(k) ‘I make the netted sunbeam dance’. What does ‘the netted sunbeam’ mean? How does it dance?

• Netted sunbeams is the pattern of the sunlight that falls on the brook after coming across through the branches on the riverbank.
• Since the water is flowing it gets shaken and hence appears as if it is dancing.

(l) What is the ‘refrain’ in the poem? What effect does it create?

For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever

• It stresses on the theme that the brook is eternal unlike man and flows forever.
• It adds lyrical quality and beauty to the poem.

8. Read the given lines and answer the questions

I chatter, chatter, as I flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever

• (a) Who does ‘I’ refer to in the given lines? – The Brook

9. Identify the rhyme scheme of the poem
The rhyme scheme of this poem is a-b-a-b, or known as alternate rhyme scheme.

I come from haunts of coot and hern;	a
I make a sudden sally	b
And sparkle out among the fern	a
To bicker down a valley.	b

11. The brook appears to be a symbol for life. Pick out examples of parallelism between life and the brook

•  Alfred Lord Tennyson in his poem “The brook” draws a parallelism between the Brook and the life of a man.
• In the early stages of life, a child is very agile, energetic and lively like the brook in its beginning stage of his journey, which is very active and flows with great enthusiasm.
• By the usage of words like Chatter, Babble, Sharps and trebles, the poet describes the energetic movement of the brook in the initial stages.
• Gradually the brook slows down in the later stages, the usage of words like steal, slip, gloom, glance, murmur, linger and loiter suggest the slower movement of the brook.
• When the brook reaches the plains it reduces its pace, here again, the comparison is made that  the brook is like a man towards the end of his life.
• When he looses his vigour and health, due to old age, the brook too becomes slow in its movement when it ultimately reaches its final destination.
• The final destination of a man, referred here is Death, whereas the brook is eternal and continues its journey forever.