The Poetry of Earth, Textual Questions & Answers (D.A.Q) – (Marks

The Poetry of Earth

John Keats

Textual Questions & Answers (D.A.Q) – Marks – 05

Textual Questions & Answers (The poetry of Earth)

**👉 What does John Keats mean by the ‘Poetry of Earth’?**

Why does he say that this poetry never ceases?

Answer: The ‘Poetry of Earth’ implies the ‘music of Nature’.

John Keats identifies eternal beauty in the boring realities of life. The songs of the grasshopper and cricket become the voices of eternity and also represent the everlasting beauty of nature. The grasshopper and cricket take the charge by turns to ensure that the poetry is never dead. At the end both the songs March into one and become the immortal poetry of the earth.

True this sonnet, John Keats actually tries to establish the fact that it does not matter whether the season is pleasant or not, Nature continues to spread its poetry. Music of the earth never ceases. This never ending process keeps on inspiring the poets and the artists.

👉 “He takes the lead/ In summer luxury”

- he has never done/ With his delight” – who is ‘he’? When does he take the lead? Explain the phrase ‘he takes the lead’.

Answer: Here ‘he’ refers to the ‘grasshopper’.

He takes the lead in summer.

In summer the unbearable heat makes the birds, the musicians of nature so tired that they become silent and take rest in the cool shades of the trees. Just when the ‘poetry of earth’ seems to come to standstill the grasshopper takes the charge. He joyfully moves from one hedge to another taking the lead in ‘summer luxury’. He becomes the poet of summer who, when exhausted rest ‘beneath some pleasant weed’ for some moments and again starts singing happily with renewed energy and delight.

👉 Identify the voices of the ‘Poetry of Earth’.

- How does John Keats establish its continuity to these voices?

Answer: The voices of the grasshopper and the cricket are referred to as the ‘voices’ of the ‘Poetry of Earth’.

John Keats establishes continuity through the above mentioned voices. When the scorching heat of the sun makes the song-birds tired the grasshopper takes the responsibility and fills the emptiness. When winter frost covers the earth completely the cricket’s shrill voice from the stove breaks the stillness of the gloomy atmosphere.

In this way, continuity is established by connecting the chirping of the grasshopper in the meadows with a similar kind of chipping of the cricket beside the stove in a winter evening.

👉 Pictures of the ‘two seasons’ in ‘The poetry of Earth’

- What pictures of the two seasons does John Keats draw in ‘The poetry of Earth’? How are the two pictures related?

Answer: John Keats, the passionate Nature lover presents two different seasonal pictures.

In summer, the scorching heat of the sun lowers the energy level of all the birds. They feel exhausted and stop singing their delightful songs and seek refuge in the cool shade under the leafy boughs of the trees. At this hour a little grasshopper takes the lead. The luxurious summer heat does not interrupt his merriment. His voice is heard from hedge to hedge and sometimes when he feels a little breathless he rests beneath some pleasant weed and resumes singing with renewed spirit.

Then winter comes with an icy cold touch creating a stony silence on the surrounding environment. All creatures seek the shelter of their own homes. Even then breaking the painful silence comes in the cricket’s shrill song from the stove. His joyous song becomes louder every moment. To someone who is half-asleep, the sound reminds of the song of the grasshopper. In this way the songs of the two insect combine into one which establishes continuity in the cycle of seasons.

These two pictures of two different seasons are closely related. The poet expresses his belief in the continuity of the cycle of seasons – what the grasshopper starts in the summer is carried on by the cricket throughout the winter till the grasshopper takes over again.

👉 “And seems to one in drowsiness half lost..."

/ The Grasshopper’s among some grassy hills.” – Who is ‘one’? What vision is referred to here? Why does ‘one’ have such a vision?

Answer: Here the word ‘one’ refers to the ‘poet’ or ‘whoever is reading the poem’.

The cricket’s chirp breaks the icy silence of an isolated winter evening and to the person who is half-asleep, the cricket’s song seems to be the continuation of the grasshopper song. Such a vision of a wintry evening has been referred to here.

One has such a vision because he is half-asleep. The shrill cry of the cricket brings warmth and joy into the cold environment of winter. The person who is half-asleep also fails to differentiate between the song of the grasshopper who moves from one hedge to another singing merrily and the cricket’s shrill cry coming from the stove. The comfort which is generated through the cricket’s song gradually changes the dull environment and makes the concerned person think of such a vision.

👉 “On a lone winter evening”

- How does the poet described the loneliness and silence of winter? How is the music continued in the depths of winter?

Answer: In ‘The Poetry of Earth’ John Keats sketches a clear picture of winter. During the cold season the weather becomes harsh and the entire land gets covered with frost and everything comes to a standstill.

On a lonely winter evening when the frost has put everyone and everything to silent mode one can still hear the song of the cricket coming from the stove. In this way the ‘poetry of earth’ continues even in winter.

John Keats’ poems are always influenced by rural motives. The song of nature never stops. The cricket’s sound fills the environment with warmth. The poet successfully establishes the fact that it does not matter whether the season is pleasant or not Nature continues its poetry. Thus, Nature provides us comfort with its pleasant music even in winter. John Keats is a Nature lover and his poems always reflect his interest. In ‘The Poetry of Earth’, the poet conveys that the music of earth remains uninterrupted in all seasons.

👉 “He has never done with his delight”

– who is ‘he’ referred to? How does he delight? What does he finally do?

Answer: Here ‘he’ refers to the grasshopper.

In the absence of the songbirds, the grasshopper becomes a poet of summer. He chirps merrily from hedge to hedge delighting us with his natural tune. Thus, he makes a constant effort to continue the music of earth.

The grasshopper song can be heard from one hedge to another. Nothing can reduce his spirit and he goes on hailing Nature while the air is filled with the smell of lately trimmed grasses in the meadows. When he becomes tired he takes rest under some pleasant weed only to restart his songs with more energy.

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