CBSE Class 9 English — Beehive Poetry Exercise Solutions
Key Poems Quick Recap
| Poem | Poet | Central Theme |
|---|
| The Road Not Taken | Robert Frost | Life choices; individuality; looking back |
| Wind | Subramania Bharati (tr.) | Challenges of life; be mentally and physically strong |
| Rain on the Roof | Coates Kinney | Nostalgia; mother's memories on a rainy night |
| The Lake Isle of Innisfree | W.B. Yeats | Longing for peace; nature vs city life |
| A Legend of the Northland | Phoebe Cary | Selfishness punished; a ballad |
| No Men Are Foreign | James Kirkup | Universal brotherhood; anti-war |
| On Killing a Tree | Gieve Patel | Nature's resilience; difficulty of destroying a tree |
I. Choose the Best Answer (MCQs)
1. In 'The Road Not Taken', why does the speaker choose one road over the other? (a) One was paved (b) One was shorter (c) He chose the one that seemed slightly less worn/less travelled (d) A signboard directed him
Answer(c) He chose the one that seemed slightly less worn/less travelled Robert Frost: both roads are described as nearly identical ("Though as for that the passing there / Had worn them really about the same"). The speaker takes one, telling himself he'll take the other "another day" — knowing that is unlikely. Theme: the anguish and permanence of choices.
2. In the poem 'Wind', the poet says the wind is our friend only when: (a) It is gentle (b) We are strong in body and heart (c) There are no storms (d) We build stronger houses
Answer(b) We are strong in body and heart 'Wind' (Subramania Bharati): wind = challenges and hardships of life. The poet says: build strong houses (= strong character), make strong fires (= strong spirit), be firm — then the wind is your friend. "If we are weak, it [wind] torments us; if we are strong, it befriends us."
3. 'Rain on the Roof' by Coates Kinney evokes: (a) Fear of thunderstorms (b) Nostalgia for childhood and memories of mother (c) Joy of playing in rain (d) Worry about flooding
Answer(b) Nostalgia for childhood and memories of mother (c) The speaker lying under a "cosy" roof during a rainy night drifts into reverie — recalling his mother's "darling dreamers" sleeping in their old home. The sound of rain on the roof triggers emotional memories. Mood: melancholic yet comforting.
4. W.B. Yeats in 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree' longs for: (a) Adventure and travel (b) A peaceful natural retreat away from city noise (c) Wealth and fame (d) A return to his birthplace
Answer(b) A peaceful natural retreat away from city noise Yeats imagines going to Innisfree (a real island in Lough Gill, Ireland) to build "a small cabin" and live alone in peace — "Nine bean rows," bees, and "midnight all a-glimmer." He hears "lake water lapping" even standing on grey pavements of cities. Theme: urban alienation; longing for nature.
5. The poem 'No Men Are Foreign' by James Kirkup argues that: (a) Men of different countries should not be trusted (b) Wars are sometimes necessary (c) All humans share the same earth, breath, and life — no one is truly foreign (d) Foreign cultures should be avoided
Answer(c) All humans share the same earth, breath, and life — no one is truly foreign 'No Men Are Foreign': anti-war poem. All humans breathe the same air, walk the same earth, are fed from the same fields, sleep in the same night. "Beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes." War = betraying our own humanity.
6. In 'A Legend of the Northland', the saint (Saint Peter) turned the woman into a woodpecker because: (a) She was not religious (b) She was too selfish to share even a tiny piece of cake with a hungry saint (c) She burned the cake (d) She refused to pray
Answer(b) She was too selfish to share even a tiny piece of cake with a hungry saint Phoebe Cary's ballad: Saint Peter, cold and hungry, asks a woman for a piece of cake. Every cake she bakes seems "too big" to give away. Finally she bakes the smallest piece — still keeps it. Saint Peter loses patience and curses her to bore into wood for food (= woodpecker). Moral: Selfishness and miserliness are punished.
7. 'On Killing a Tree' by Gieve Patel suggests that to destroy a tree, you must: (a) Chop it down at the trunk (b) Burn it (c) Uproot it completely — pull out the root from the earth (d) Pour chemicals on it
Answer(c) Uproot it completely — pull out the root from the earth 'On Killing a Tree': nature's resilience. Simply hacking a tree is not enough — it grows back. Only by uprooting the root (source of life), exposing it to sunlight and air, scorching and wilting it, can the tree be destroyed. Message: nature is enormously resilient; also a meditation on the violence of deforestation.
II. Short Answer Questions
Q1. What message does the poem 'Wind' by Subramania Bharati convey?
Answer
'Wind' (Subramania Bharati, translated from Tamil): the wind represents the trials and difficulties of life.
Key messages: 1. Build strength: "Build strong homes" (build strong character and willpower). Make "firm doors" (be resilient). 2. Don't be weak: Wind (challenges) destroys the weak — poor buildings, dying fires, weak-hearted people. The strong survive. 3. Befriend challenges: When you are strong, challenges become your friends — they make you stronger ("Let's make friends with the wind!"). 4. Physical and mental health: Keep your body and mind strong — then no difficulty can overwhelm you.
The poem's tone moves from an address to the wind to a motivational call to action.
Q2. Compare the themes of 'The Road Not Taken' and 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree.'
Answer
Both poems deal with choices and longings but in different ways:
'The Road Not Taken' (Frost):
- About the choice already made (a road taken in life).
- Retrospective — looking back with the feeling that the choice made a difference.
- Tone: reflective, slightly wistful, ambiguous.
'The Lake Isle of Innisfree' (Yeats):
- About a longing not yet fulfilled (escape to nature, peace).
- Prospective — imagining a future retreat.
- Tone: dreamlike, yearning, peaceful.
Common ground: both deal with roads not taken — Frost literally, Yeats metaphorically (the peaceful life not yet lived). Both are about human desire for meaning and contentment.
Exam Checklist
- The Road Not Taken: Robert Frost; two roads; choice; "that has made all the difference."
- Wind: Subramania Bharati; wind = challenges; be strong.
- Rain on the Roof: Coates Kinney; rain + nostalgia + mother's memory.
- The Lake Isle of Innisfree: W.B. Yeats; nature escape; "nine bean-rows."
- A Legend of the Northland: Phoebe Cary; ballad; selfish woman → woodpecker.
- No Men Are Foreign: James Kirkup; universal brotherhood; anti-war.
- On Killing a Tree: Gieve Patel; uproot the root to kill; nature's resilience.
