Comprehension

I. Answer these questions in one or two words.

Q1. In which stage of life is the poet at present?
Answer: Old age.

Q2. To what does the poet compare his friends?
Answer: “Leaves in wintry weather”.

Q3. Pick out one ‘fond’ memory of the poet.
Answer: “Boyhood’s years” or “The words of love then spoken”.

Q4. Pick out one ‘sad’ memory of the poet.
Answer: “The cheerful hearts now broken” or “The eyes that shone, Now dimm’d and gone”.

Q5. What does the word ‘slumber’ mean in the poem?
Answer: Sleep.

II. Answer these questions in a few words.

Q1. What does the poet remember before falling asleep?
Answer: The “light of other days,” including memories of his boyhood, friends, and loved ones.

Q2. Why does the poet feel like ‘one who treads alone’?
Answer: He feels this way because all his friends have “fallen” or “departed,” leaving him alone.

Q3. Why is the poet sad?
Answer: He is sad because he remembers his friends who have died or left him, and the joyful memories of the past make his present loneliness even more poignant.

Q4. What is meant by the expression ‘ere slumber’s chain has bound me’ in the poem?
Answer: It means “before sleep has tied me down”; the time just before he falls asleep.

Q5. Why are ‘the cheerful hearts’ now broken?
Answer: They are broken because the people they belonged to have “departed” and are no longer living or present with the poet.

III. Answer these questions briefly.

Q1. What does the poet mourn over in the second stanza of the poem?
Answer: The poet mourns the loss of his friends, whom he has “seen around me fall / Like leaves in wintry weather,” feeling alone in a “banquet-hall deserted”.

Q2. Explain ‘I have seen around me fall like leaves in wintry weather’.
Answer: This simile compares the death and departure of friends to leaves falling from a tree in winter, suggesting their loss is natural yet cold and sad, leaving him alone.

Q3. Describe the banquet hall.
Answer: The banquet hall was once filled with “mirth and merry making,” light, and garlands. Now it is “deserted,” with lights “fled” and garlands “dead,” a “colourless space” symbolizing the poet’s solitude.

IV. Answer these questions in detail.

Q1. How has the poet portrayed the theme of friendship in the poem?
Answer: Friendship is shown as a source of joy and connection in the past, but also of deep sadness in the present. The poet recalls friends “link’d together,” yet their absence now emphasizes his solitude. The comparison to “leaves in wintry weather” poignantly conveys how friendships have ended, leaving him sorrowful and alone.

Q2. In your own words describe the emotions of the poet as reflected in the poem.
Answer: The poet experiences a mix of nostalgia, grief, and loneliness. Initially, he feels pleasant nostalgia as “Fond Memory brings the light / Of other days around me.” This joy is short-lived, turning to sorrow as he realizes his loved ones are “dimm’d and gone” with “cheerful hearts now broken.” He feels like a solitary figure in a deserted hall, symbolizing isolation. The repeated return of sad memories “in the stilly night” emphasizes his persistent melancholy.