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Paraphrase. Early in the morning, a man walked along the stony roads of the city offering himself for a hire. Going in his Chariot, a king saw him. He offered, to buy him offering his power in return. His power did not seem of much worth to the man. He refused and the king moved on., , Multiple Choice Questions, 1. The poet wanted, (a) money, (b) food, (c) work and freedom, (d) work and money., , 2. The king in the poem was, (a) rich, (b) powerful, (c) kind, (d) just., , 3. The king wanted to give the poet, (a) his power
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(b) his sword, (c) his money, (d) his kingdom., , 4. The poet did not accept the king’s offer because he wanted, (a) more money, (b) more power, (c) work, (d) freedom., , Answers 1., 1. (c) work and freedom, 2. (b) powerful, 3. (a) his power, 4. (d) freedom, , II. In the heat of the mid-day the houses stood with, shut doors.
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I wandered along the crooked lane., An old man came out with his bag of gold., He pondered and said, “I will hire you with my money.”, He weighed his coins one by one, but I turned away., , Paraphrase. The man walked on in the heat of noon. He roamed about in crooked lanes. All the doors were shut. An old man came out with his bag of gold., He thought and then offered to hire the man with gold. This offer could also not attract the man and he went the other way., , Questions, 1. Why were the houses shut ?, 2. What did the poet want ?, 3. Why did he turn down the offer of money ?, 4. Which word in the poem means ‘thought deeply’., , Answers, 1. The houses were shut as it was very hot outside., 2. The poet wanted to be hired., 3. The poet was not interested in money, so he turned down the offer.
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4. pondered’., , III. It was evening. The garden hedge was all aflower., The fair maid came out and said, “I will hire you with, a smile.”, Her smile paled and melted into tears, and she went, back alone into the dark. (Page 75), , Paraphrase. Now it was evening. The garden hedge was filled with flowers. A beautiful girl came to the man. She offered the man her smile in return for his, work. Soon, however, her smile weakened and changed into tears. So she had to return alone into the darkness., , Multiple Choice Questions, 1. The evening scene was, (a) unattractive, (b) hot, (c) cold, (d) beautiful.
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2. The fair maid wanted the poet, (a) to go away, (b) to stay with her, (c) to hire her, (d) to praise her smiles., , 3. The fair maid had come, (a) from the garden, (b) from the hedge, (c) out of the darkness, (d) from the road., , 4. The word ‘aflower’ means, (a) covered with flowers, (b) without flowers, (c) with withered flowers, (d) with falling flowers.
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Answers, 1. (d) beautiful, 2. (d) to praise her smiles, 3. (c) out of the darkness, 4. (a) covered with flowers., , IV. The sun glistened on the sand, and the sea waves broke, waywardly., A child sat playing with shells., He raised his head and seemed to know me and said,, “I hire you with nothing.”, From henceforward that bargain struck in child’s play, made me a free man. (Page 75), , Paraphrase. The evening sun shone lustrously on the sand. The sea waves were breaking on the shore wilfully. There was a child playing with his shells. He, lifted his head and looked at the man. He seemed to understand him. He offered to hire the man without payment. The man accepted the offer and from, then onwards he played with the child. In doing so, he remained a free man.
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Questions, 1. Where was the child playing ?, 2. Describe the scene., 3. Why did the poet let himself be hired for nothing ?, 4. Find a word in the passage which means ‘deal’., , Answers, 1. The child was playing on the sea-shore., 2. It was a beautiful scene. The sun glistened on the sand and the waves played on the beach., 3. When one is hired for nothing, one remains free. The poet loved his freedom and so he let himself be hired for nothing., 4. bargain., , TEXTUAL QUESTIONS, , WORKING WITH THE POEM (Page 75), Question. 1., Who is the speaker in the poem ?
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Answer:, A man in search of a job is the speaker in the poem., , Question. 2., ‘The king, sword in hand’ suggests, (i) wealth, (ii) power, (iii) more power than wealth., Mark the appropriate item in the context of stanza 1., , Answer:, (iii) more power than wealth., , Question. 3., The old man offered the speaker a lot of money. Why did he turn down the offer ?
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Answer:, The man didn’t need money. So it was of no consequence to him. Therefore, he turned down the old man’s offer., , Question. 4., Find in the poem, lines that match the following. Read both one after another., (i) I have nothing to give you except goodwill and cheer., (ii) Her happiness was no more than sorrow in disguise., (iii) The king’s might was not worth much., , Answer:, (i) “I hire you with nothing.” (Stanza 4), (ii) “Her smile paled and melted into tears.” (Stanza 3), (iii) “But his power counted for naught.” (Stanza 1), , Question. 5., How did the speaker feel after talking to the child on the beach ?
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Answer:, The speaker felt that he would get the fair return for his labour. For here, he expected to get goodwill and cheer and also retain his freedom., , We hope the NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Honeydew Poem Chapter 4 The Last Bargain help you. If you have any query regarding NCERT Solutions for, Class 8 English Honeydew Poem Chapter 4 The Last Bargain, drop a comment below and we will get back to you at the earliest.
