The Brook by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Important Solved Questions and Answers -

A. Answer the following questions in one or two words -

1. Where does the brook come from?
Ans: Dwelling places of water birds like coot and heron.

2. Whom does the brook want to join at the end of its journey?
Ans: The overflowing river.

3. What are the flowers that grow near the brook?
Ans: The forget-me-not flowers

4. Mention the name of the bird that flies above the brook?
Ans: The swallow

5. Where was the poet born?
Ans: Lincolnshire, England.

6. What does the brook represent?
Ans: Human journey

7. Who is 'I' in the poem?
Ans: The brook

8. What are the fishes that inhabit the brook?
Ans: Trot and Grayling.

B. Answer the following questions in a few words -

1. What does the brook do as it flows down?
Ans: The brook makes a sudden movement and flows sparkling out among the ferns. It bickers down a valley, slips between the ridges of hills, chatters aloud, bubbles, and babbles. Further, it steals quietly on grasslands, slides by the hazels moves aside the forget-me-nots, slips, glooms, glances, and murmurs under the night sky to finally join the brimming river.

2. Mention some of the words relating to sound scattered throughout the poem.
Ans: The words relating to sound scattered throughout the poem 'The Brook' are - bicker, chatter, sharps and trebles, bubbles, babble, and murmur.

3. Mention some words relating to movement in the poem.
Ans: Words relating to movement in the poem 'The Brook' are - sally, sparkle, slip, flow, eddying, wind, loiter, linger, dance, skimming, slide, gloom, glance, move, steal, draw, travel, sailing, come and go.

4. What do coot and hern mean?
Ans: 'Coot' means a small waterbird and 'hern' means freshwater and coastal birds with long legs.

5. What does the brook represent? Human life or nature.
Ans: In the poem, the brook represents nature. The brook, through its activities, shows that human life is temporary but nature is eternal. In human life, there is an end to every life but the brook having no end keeps on flowing ever and ever.

6. Explain the line " I murmur under moon and stars/In the brambly wilderness".
Ans: The lines refer to the movement of the brook. The brook flows through the thorny shrubs amidst the wilderness creating a soft and low sound in the silence of the night under the moonlight and stars.

7. What makes the brook sparkle?
Ans: The brook sparkles because the rays which come from the sun fall on its watery surface. The surface reflects the sunlight and creates a sparkling effect.

C. Answer the following question briefly in your own words -

1. Quote the refrain of the poem 'The Brook'. Explain it briefly.

Ans: In a poem or song, the refrain is that part that is repeated several times. The refrains in the poem 'The Brook' is -

"For men may come and men may go,

But I go on forever".

This refrain is repeated with deep thought. It is a constant reminder to the readers that human life is temporary/transitory whereas nature, represented by the brook, is permanent/eternal. The refrain further highlights the central idea of the poem and maintains its unity. The brook will have eternal life.

2. Which lines in the poem compare the brook to a human being?
Ans: The comparison is brought in the refrain -

"For men may come and men may go,

But I go on forever".

These lines bring an effective contrast between the transient nature of humans and the eternal flow of nature, represented by the brook. Man is mortal, once born will die but the brook is eternal and will flow on forever.

3. Describe in brief the journey of the brook in the early part of the poem.
Ans: The journey of the brook begins in the highest hill ranges, the dwelling places of aquatic birds like coot and heron. It makes a sudden movement and flows sparkling out among the ferns, bickering down a valley. The brook hurries down many hills, slips between the ridges and passes through many small villages, bridges, and a little town. It chatters on its stony path babbles with gurgling laughter like a child as it flows into eddying bays. It flows by the farms of a man called Philip, fields in the brimming sunlight in a curving movement before it joins into an overflowing river.

4. How does the poet convey the central idea of the poem through the journey of the brook?
Ans: While describing the journey of the brook, the poet brings in certain universal truths which form the central idea of the poem that human life is temporary whereas nature is eternal. The refrain of the poem itself says, "For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever". This refrain is of great importance. It means that human lives are transitory, but nature is eternal and everlasting. The brook as an object of nature will be there for eternity.

D. Give a suitable answer to the following -

1. Discuss in brief the beauty of nature as described by the poet in the poem.
Ans: The poet Lord Tennyson in his poem 'The Brook' describes the beauty of nature at its best as he traces the journey of the brook rushing down from the remote hills to join the overflowing river in the valley below. The journey of the brook begins in the highest hill ranges, the dwelling places of aquatic birds like coot and heron. It makes a sudden movement and flows sparkling out among the ferns, bickering down a valley. The brook hurries down many hills, slips between the ridges and passes through many small villages, bridges, and a little town. It chatters on its stony path babbles with gurgling laughter like a child as it flows into eddying bays. It flows by the farms of a man called Philip, fields in the brimming sunlight in a curving movement before it joins into an overflowing river. As the brook continues its excited and happy journey amid the flora and fauna of the countryside, it carries the flower and foamy flake along and happily offers refuge to fishes like trout and grayling. In the course of the journey, the brook meets various obstacles like stone, pebbles, and 'golden gravel'. Further, it steals quietly on grasslands, slides by the hazels moves aside the forget-me-nots, slip, glooms, glances, and murmurs under the night sky to finally join the brimming river. Thus all through the poem, the poet has depicted the beauty of nature in a picturesque and vivid way.

2. How does the poet convey the central idea of the poem through the journey?
Ans: In the poem 'The Brook' the poet Lord Tennyson, describes the journey of the brook and brings out certain universal truths which form the central idea of the poem i.e. human life is temporary but nature is eternal. The journey of the brook begins in the highest hill ranges, the dwelling places of aquatic birds like coot and heron. It makes a sudden movement and flows sparkling out among the ferns, bickering down a valley. The brook hurries down many hills, slips between the ridges and passes through many small villages, bridges, and a little town. It chatters on its stony path babbles with gurgling laughter like a child as it flows into eddying bays. It flows by the farms of a man called Philip, fields in the brimming sunlight in a curving movement before it joins into an overflowing river. As the brook continues its excited and happy journey amid the flora and fauna of the countryside, it carries the flower and foamy flake along and happily offers refuge to fishes like trout and grayling.
In the course of the journey, the brook meets various obstacles like stone, pebbles, and 'golden gravel'. Further, it steals quietly on grasslands, slides by the hazels move aside the forget-me-nots, slip, glooms, glances and murmurs under the night sky to finally join the brimming river. This journey of the brook is a representation of nature is everlasting whereas human life is short-lived and transitory. This idea is exhibited in the refrain of the poem -

"For men may come and men may go,

But I go on forever".

Ticker

The Brook by Alfred Lord Tennyson - Important questions and answers