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ST. MARY’S HSS BHARANANGANAM, A PRAYER IN SPRING By Robert Frost, Let's revisit and enjoy the poem, 1. Who does the poet address in the first line?, Ans: The supreme power., 2. Who are referred to as „us‟ here?, Ans: The human race/ Fellow farmers., 3. Why does the poet use 'to-day' instead of 'today?', Ans: To give emphasis to the present moment., 4. Where is the poet and what is happening around him?, Ans: The poet is in a field and his fellow farmers are around him., 5. What is the first pleasurable sight?, Ans: The first pleasurable sight is that of flowers., 6. Which habit of human beings stands as an obstacle in enjoying the pleasures in, nature? Pick out the lines that indicate this habit, Ans: Man is always anxious about future. “And give us not to think so far away”, 7. Identify the enjoyable sight mentioned in the second stanza. What is it compared to?, , Ans: The white orchard is the enjoyable sight. It is compared to ghosts by night., 8. The poet says that bees are happy. How does the poet justify his claim?, Ans: The swarm of bees dilate because of the nectar available and they in turn make the, trees perfect and fruitful., 9. Explain the idea in the line 'And off a blossom in mid air stands still‟., Ans: The darting bird thrusts its needle bill (slender beak) in the flower standing in mid air, to drink nectar., 10. The poet mentions love in the fourth stanza. Is it human love or divine love? Give, reasons., Ans: It is divine love. Man seeks the help of the supreme power for his unanswered, queries., 1

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11. According to Robert Frost, what is man‟s duty while living in this world?, Ans: Man should live in the present and enjoy the present., Activity 1, Spring Season,  Harvesting,  White orchards,  Happy bees,  Darting birds, The poet, Robert Frost, has treated nature in an exquisite way in his fine, poem “A Prayer in Spring”. It is springtime. There are flowers everywhere. There is, the beautiful white orchard. There are many fine-looking trees in it. The bees are, swarming about them as if they are singing and dancing in joy. A bird is flying about, chirping melodiously as if she is singing a lullaby. There are blossoms all around., God in his divine love has made Nature so beautiful that we can enjoy its beauty to, our hearts‟ content., Activity 2, a) In the first stanza, the poet says that we should enjoy the pleasures of today, without worrying about what will happen in the future. It is the beginning of the, Spring. It is the time to plant and tend the seedlings. We should be happy at what we, are doing now and not worry about the harvest that will come months later., b) The bees do play an inevitable role in nature. It is they who help in the pollination, process. They drink the honey and eat the pollen from the flowers and in the process,, they help in the pollination without which there will be no fruits of grains. The poet, says the happy bees hover, about the trees as if they are intoxicated by the drink they, had and are dancing in joy. This sight makes us also happy., Activity 3, In the first stanza, Robert Frost tells us that we should learn to get rid of our anxieties, about future and enjoy living in the moment gifted to us. The poet reinforces this, 2

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message in the last stanza by saying that what we see in nature is the reflection of, God‟s love. Only God can give love in such abundance. Our duty is to enjoy the feast, he has supplied and by doing that we will be fulfilling his desires. God gives us all, this beauty to make us happy and if we refuse to enjoy it, we are actually insulting, God. Not enjoying it would be like not tasting the delicious dishes our host has, lovingly prepared for us., Activity 4, 1. And off a blossom in mid air stands still, Poetic device – Alliteration, Explanation: stands, still, 2. Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night, Poetic device – Simile, Explanation: The white orchards are compared to ghosts by night., 3. The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill, Poetic device - Metaphor., Explanation: The darting bird is a metaphor, Activity 5, The poet‟s pleasure and its sources are quite different from those of modem, man. The poet finds pleasure in the flowers that bloom, in the beautiful white, orchard, in the fine-looking trees and the bees swarming about them as if they are, singing and dancing in joy. The poet finds joy in the bird flying about chirping, melodiously. God in his divine love has made Nature so beautiful that the poet enjoys, its beauty to his heart‟s content., Appreciation of “A Prayer in Spring, The poem „A Prayer in Spring‟ was written by Robert Frost. The theme of this, poem is that we should live in the present and enjoy the present without wasting life, in the anxieties about the uncertain future. The poet prays to God to give him and his, fellow beings the strength to find pleasures in flowers of today. The Spring season is, the blooming season of every plant and trees and which brings beauty and pleasure, 3

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everywhere. The poet exhorts his fellow beings to enjoy that beauty and have, pleasure. He says that the harvest season is far away and is uncertain of its yields., Waiting in anxiety for such an uncertain future is foolish and meaningless., The poet pleads to God to enable him to share the happiness of the bees. Again, the poet requests to God to make him happy in the sight of the humming birds. The, poet firmly proclaims that the God‟s creation and arrangement of nature with all its, beautiful sights, sounds and smells are truly the Divine Love towards the mankind., Man should accept and appreciate that Love today without anxiously waiting for an, uncertain tomorrow. Man should just leave all the complexities and uncertainties of, life to God and enjoy the pleasures of today‟s life. That is the fulfilment of life., , 4