English : Term 2 Unit 2 : Poem : From A Railway Carriage
GLOSSARY
Charge- To make a rush at or sudden attack upon a person or thing
Clamber -Climb or move in an awkward and laborious way using both hands and feet
Brambles-A prickly scrambling shrub of the rose family especially a blackberry
Tramp- A person who travels from place to place on foot in search of work or as a beggar
Stringing –Hang so that it stretches in a long line
Lumping- Carry with difficulty
Glimpse – See or perceive briefly or partially
READ AND UNDERSTAND
A. Read the lines and answer the questions given below.
1. Faster than fairies, faster than witches,
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;
a. What is faster than fairies and witches?
The train is faster than fairies and witches.
b. Why does the poet mention ‘bridges and houses, hedges and ditches’? Where are they?
The train crosses ‘bridges and houses, hedges and ditches’. So the poet mentions them. They are along the railway track.
2. Here is a child who clambers and scrambles, All by himself and gathering brambles;
a. Where do you think the child is?
The child is on a blackberry bush.
b. What does ‘gathering brambles’ mean?
It means that the child is collecting blackberry fruit.
3. And ever again, in the wink of an eye, Painted stations whistle by.
a. ‘In the wink of an eye’ means very quickly. Explain ‘painted stations whistle by’.
The train does not stop at small railway stations. It gives out a whistling sound as it crosses these painted railway stations.
4. Each a glimpse and gone forever;
a. What is ‘each’ over here? Why is it gone forever?
Each refers to every thing like a mill or a river. As the train rushes past the scene goes out of sight immediately. So the poet says that it is gone for ever.
B. Answer the following questions.
1. What does ‘charges along like troops in a battle’ mean?
It means that bridges, houses, hedges and ditches move back quickly as the train races along. The speed of the train is as fast as the soldiers fighting in the battlefield.
2. What word could best replace ‘charges’ in the poem – marches, rushes or pushes?
The word ‘rushes’ could best replace ’charges’ in the poem.
3. Why does the child clamber and scramble?
The child wants to collect blackberries. The wild bush is prickly. So he clambers and scrambles.
C. Think and Write.
1. Write a paragraph about 50 words describing the scenes that the poet passed by.
The train ran fast. The poet saw bridges, houses, hedges and ditches as the train raced along. He saw meadows, horses, cattle, hill and plain. The painted stations whistled by. The poet also saw a child gathering brambles and a tramp gazing at the train. He noticed the daisies, a loaded cart, a mill and a river.
2. There is a connection between the rhyming words and rhythms of the train. Present your views about it.
Witches and ditches, battle and cattle reflect the fast movement of the train. Plain and rain, eye and by, scrambles and brambles, gazes and daisies, road and load, river and ever, add to the tempo of the poem. These words make us feel the rushing of the train. Words like faster, charging, fly, whistle by, run away, glimpse and gone forever rhyme with the rhythm of the train.
D. Fill in the blanks to complete the summary.
Ever since their introduction, trains, and their unique rhythms have fascinatedpoets. In this poem the poet shares his experienceof his railway journey with us. He presents natural scenes seen from inside a railway carriage. The movementis regular and steady butthe scenefrom the window of the train is constantly changing. The poem’s rhythm and phrases bring memories of a railway journey. The poet looks out of the window at the vanishing images outside. Every line we see here is a quick account of something seen for a short time. The line that best sums up is the final one: “Each a glimpse and gone forever!”
VOCABULARY
E. Find me in the poem.
1. I can help you to cross the river – Bridge
2. I can border your garden – Hedge
3. I can alert you – Whistle
4. I can carry you – Cart
5. You can ride on me – Horse
6. You can climb on men – Hill
7. You can lay down on me – Meadows
8. You can play with me – Rain
APPRECIATING THE POEM
F. Work in pairs.
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two things. Similes explicitly use connecting words such as ‘like’ and ‘as’.
eg. ‘as cool as’; ‘like a child’.
1. Discuss with your partner and pick out the similes used in the poem. Which one do you like the most? Why?
Similes in the poem : like troops in a battle, as thick as driving rain, I like the simile ‘like troops in a battle’ because it shows the fast movement of the soldiers. It is comparable to the racing of the train.
2. Discuss with your partner and pick out the rhyming words from the poem.
Witches – ditches,
battle – cattle,
plain – rain,
road – load,
river – forever
CREATIVE WRITING
Cinquain Poem
* Brainstorm some interesting nouns, verbs and adjectives connected to travel.
* Pick out the most descriptive words from your brainstorming and put your cinquain together.
* Your cinquain should have five lines and the finished poem should have only eleven words.
A cinquain poem has eleven words arranged like this :
Line 1: A single word title -a noun.
Line 2: Two words that describe the title- adjectives.
Line 3: Three words that describe the action of the title.
Line 4: Four words that describe a feeling in a phrase.
Line 5: One word that repeats the title.
e.g.:
Train
long snaking
hooting, chugging, steaming
along the winding tracks
Procession
G. Pick out the nouns from the poem. Write as many Cinquain poems as you can.
Travel
faster charging
bridges, houses, hedges
rush past and gone
forever