A day class 12 exercise solutions || Class 12 || English

                                          

A Day 

I’ll tell you how the sun rose, ___

A ribbon at a time.

The steeples swam in amethyst,

The news like squirrels ran.

The hills untied their bonnets,

The bobolinks begun.

Then I said softly to myself,

“That must have been the sun!”

But how he set, I know not.

There seemed a purple stile

Which little yellow boys and girls

Were climbing all the while

Till when they reached the other side,

A dominie in gray

Put gently up the evening bars,

And led the flock away

Glossary

steeples : tall towers with a spire on top, rising above the roof of a church

amethyst : purple precious stone used in making jewellery

bonnets : hats tied with strings under the chin, worn by babies and women

bobolinks : songbirds with large, somewhat flat heads, short necks and short tails

dominie : a school master (Scottish); a pastor or clergyman (US)

stile : a set of steps that help people to climb over a fence or wall, especially in the

village

Understanding the text 

Answer the following questions.

a. How does the poet describe the morning sun in the first stanza?

= The first stanza begins with the speaker telling us students how the sun rises. The persona refers to the sun's rays as "ribbons". The spreading of these “ribbons” is a gradual process. But the significance of the sunrise is not lost on the earth. The "news…" of this situation is moving fast. The child’s curiosity about talking about the sunrise reflects his innocent view of the world. Like the rising of the sun, in a figurative sense, this phase also reflects the joy that comes from the beginning of life (childbirth).

b. What does the line ‘The news like squirrels ran’ mean?

= The line ‘News like squirrels ran’ is an analogy where the news of the sunrise is compared to the squirrel race which shows that the importance of sunrise is finally lost in the world. The "news…" of this situation is moving fast. It means it is enjoyed by all. In other words, the charm of the morning sun illuminated the whole world in an instant.

c. What do you understand by the line ‘The hills untied their bonnets’?

= The line ‘Hills unveiling their bonnets’ is a metaphor in which the hills are compared to women who remove their bonnets (clothes) in a fashionable way. Here, ‘bonnets’ symbolize the darkness where nature should exist for some time other than when the morning sun appears. Therefore, here the mountains are also made human as human beings, in particular, women seem to take off their clothes.

d. Is the speaker watching the morning sun? Why? Why not?

= Yes, the speaker is looking at the morning sun as clearly indicated on the line, ‘That must have been the day’. It shows the joy of the speaker in watching the morning sun. The speaker witnessed the morning sun, the rays of the sun, the songs of birds singing, the hills removing their bonnets etc.

e. How does the sun set?

= The gray dominie sets the evening bars and helps with sunset in the evening. The word “domini,” meaning “teachers,” is derived from the word “dominus,” meaning “lord” in Latin. The darkness of the night means the end of the day and the end of life in a figurative sense.

Reference to the context

a. What, according to the speaker, is a day?

= Dickinson discusses a beautiful day that brings children from innocence to experience in his poem "A Day" through vivid images and metaphors. Emily Dickinson '' Day 'is a well-known nineteenth-century metaphysical poem, famous for its dual meanings and (intellectual) brain references. According to the speaker, 'Day' literally means the rising and setting of the sun. In addition, the poem has a child's narrator whose pure and sure voice evokes the splendor of the dawn. It also explains, in a figurative sense, the road from life to death.

b. What purpose does the hyphen in the first line serve in the poem?

= The link in the first line the poet deliberately uses to allow the reader to pause or pause to reflect on the context. This strategy has made the poem very interesting to readers to explore its theme content.

c. What makes this poem lyrical and sonorous? Discuss.

= A poetic poem is a short thought-provoking piece that expresses or expresses strong emotions in a positive way and reflects the thoughts of the speaker alone — who may or may not be a poet. The pronoun “I”, as used in the poems of songs, reflects the personality of the poet. In that note, ‘Day’ — like many Dickinson poems — is a song; expresses a powerful thought from the perspective of one person. As a result, a beautiful voice (deep sound filled) is heard in the poem.

d. Who are the target audience of the speaker? Why?

= The intended audience of the speaker is those who are ignorant and irrational in achieving the ultimate goal of human life and the existence of ‘death’. In other words, those who are blind to the fact that life brings death also. One could therefore say that the most important theme of the poem is the journey of life from birth to death. Death and immortality are the major themes covered in this poem.

e. The poem seems to describe a day for children. How would the adult people respond to this poem? Discuss this poem with your parents/guardians and write the answer based on their responses

= The poem "A Day" literally means sunrise, events after sunrise and sunset. But in a philosophical sense, poetry speaks from life to death. The poem tells us about excitement from the beginning of life once, the squirrel running like life and the mysterious end of life.

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