Tartary poem summary questions answers

Tartary

                 by Walter de la Mare

If I were Lord of Tartary,
Myself, and me alone,
My bed should be of ivory,
Of beaten gold my throne;
And in my court should peacocks flaunt,
And in my forests tigers haunt,
And in my pools great fishes slant
Their fins athwart the sun.

If I were Lord of Tartary,
Trumpeters every day
To all my meals should summon me,
And in my courtyards bray;
And in the evening lamps should shine,
Yellow as honey, red as wine,
While harp, and flute, and mandoline
Made music sweet and gay.

If I were Lord of Tartary,
I’d wear a robe of beads,
White, and gold, and green they’d be —
And small and thick as seeds;
And ere should wane the morning star,
I’d don my robe and scimitar.
And zebras seven should draw my car
Through Tartary’s dark glades.

Lord of the fruits of Tartary.
Her rivers silver-pale!
Lord of the hills of Tartary.
Glen, thicket, wood, and dale!
Her flashing stars, her scented breeze,
Her trembling lakes, like foamless seas,
Her bird-delighting citron-trees,
In every purple vale!

Meanings:

lord: a man of high office; a nobleman

ivory: a hard yellowish white part that forms the tusk of animals like the elephant and rhino.

flaunt: to show off

haunt: to scare away someone

athwart: to move from one side to another

trumpeters: people playing the trumpets

summon: call

bray: a loud harsh sound

harp, flute, mandolin: musical instruments

gay: happy

clustered: a group or a collection of

ere: before

wane: decrease in size

scimitar: a short sword with a curved blade

don: to wear

robe: a long loose garment

draw my car: pull the carriage

glen: narrow valley

thicket: a group of bushes

wood: forest

dale, vale: a valley

trembling: shaking

foam: bubbles formed on the surface of a liquid

citron: a type of citrus fruit bearing tree

Summary:

Introduction:

The poet Walter de la Mare takes us on a wonderful journey of an imaginary land called ‘Tartary’.

1^st Stanza:

The poet wonders that if he was the lord of a place called Tartary in which only he would live all alone, then his bed should be made of ivory and his throne made of gold. He also imagines that in his court there will be peacocks showing off their features while in the forest the tigers will scare the other animals. In his pools the fishes will swim fearlessly with their fins pointing to the sun.

2^nd Stanza:

He further wishes that if he were the lord of Tartary, then there would be trumpeters in the courtyard who would play the trumpets to call him when it was time to have his meals. And in the evening, colourful lamps would be lit with yellow and red glow. The yellow colour reminds him of honey and the red colour reminds him of wine. He also imagines that there would be exotic musical instruments like the harp, flute and the mandolin playing sweet, happy tunes.

3^rd Stanza:

Continuing his desire to be the Lord of Tartary, he dreams of himself wearing a robe of colourful beads of white, gold and green that will be strung very close together. He would wake up very early while it is still dark and the morning stars haven’t disappeared. He would wear his robe of beads, carry his sword and travel through Tartary’s dark valleys on a carriage that will be drawn by seven zebras.

4^th Stanza:

He now imagines himself to also be Lord of all the fruits of Tartary and the pale-silver rivers. He wants to be, not only the Lord of the hills of Tartary but also its valleys and bushes. He wants to enjoy the night life of Tartary’s shinning stars, her scented breeze, her lakes that are like seas, her citron trees that birds have made their home and her valleys that look purple in the night.

ENGLISH WORKSHOP

1. Find the words that mean the following from the first stanza.

• Gold hammered into a flat, thin shape : beaten gold

• show off proudly : flaunt

• tilt, move at an angle : slant

• across, especially in a slanting direction: athwart

2. Find the names of the exotic musical instruments and animals mentioned in the poem.

Exotic musical instruments – trumpet, harp, flute, mandoline.

Exotic animals – peacocks, tigers, great fishes, zebras.

3. In the last stanza, there are three four-letter words that refer to a beautiful valley.

They are : glen, dale, vale

4. From the poem, find three lines that use comparisons.

(i) Yellow as honey, red as wine

(ii) And clustered thick as seeds.

(iii) Her trembling lake like foamless sea.

5. Colour, sound and images from nature add to the beauty of a poem : ‘Tartary’ is a perfect example of the above. Pick out lines that contain- • Colour • Sound • Images from nature

1. Colour :

(i) Yellow as honey, red as wine

(ii) White, and gold and green they’d be

(iii) Her rivers silver-pale

(iv) In every purple vale.

2. Sound:

(i) Trumpeters every day to every meal would summon me, And in my courtyard bray.

(ii) While harp, and flute, and mandolin, Made music sweet and gay.

3. Images from nature

(i) And in my court should peacocks flaunts, And in my forests tigers haunt, And in my pools great fishes slant, Their fins athwart the sun.

(ii) And ere should wane the morning star

(iii) And zebras seven should draw my car Through Tartary’s dark glades.

(iv) Her rivers silver-pale

(v) Glen, thicket, wod and dale! Her flashing stars, her scented breeze, Her trembling lake like foamless seas, Her bird-delighting citron trees, In every purple vale.

6. Complete the following phrases with the help of the poem. • music • rivers • breeze • lake • citron-trees

1. sweet and gay music

2. silver-pale rivers

3. Scented breeze

4. trembling lake

5. bird-delighting citron-trees

7. Write about the daily routine of the ‘Lord of Tartary’ in 8-10 lines.

8. Using your imagination, write about a beautiful region – its land forms, water bodies, flora and fauna, night sky, people, etc.

9. Language Study : Consonance : Consonance is repetition of one or more consonant sounds especially at the end of words. Consonance is usually pleasant to the ear. Examples : • Pitter-patter, pitter-patter • Rivers silver-pale • The lint was sent with the tent. • All’s well that ends well. • Find at least two examples of consonance from poems that you study in this book

I. Pick out at least two examples of consonance from the poem.

Ans – Consonance :

1) Her rivers silver-pale

2) Her trembling lake like foamless seas.

Figures of Speech in the poem Tartary:

Simile:

(i) And clustered thick as seeds.

(ii) Yellow as honey, red as wine.

(iii) Her trembling lake like foamless sea.

Inversion:

(i) Of beaten gold my throne.

(ii) And in my court should peacocks flaunt.

(iii) Trumpeters everyday,

       To every meal would summon me.

(iv) And ere should wane the morning star.

(v) And zebras seven should draw my car.

Repetition:

(i) White and gold and green they’d be.

Exclamation:

(i) Her rivers silver pale!

(ii) In every purple vale!

Tautology:

(i) Glen, thicket, wood, dale.

Personification:

(i) Her trembling lake like foamless sea.

Extra Questions:

Stanza 1:

1. What does the poet wishes to be?

Ans. The poet wishes to be the Lord of Tartary.

2. Of what will the poet’s bed and throne be made?

Ans. The poet’s bed will be made of ivory and his bed of beaten gold.

3. What will the peacocks do in his court?

Ans. The peacocks in his court will flaunt their feathers.

4. Where would the tigers haunt or what would the tigers do?

Ans. In the poet’s forest the tigers would haunt.

5. What does the poet imagine about the fishes of Tartary?

Ans. The poet imagines that in his pools great dishes would swim with the fins athwart the sun.

Stanza 2:

1. Who will summon the poet for every meal?

                        Or

      When will the trumpeters summon the poet?

Ans.  Everyday and for every meal the trumpeters will summon the poet.

2. Where will the trumpeters play their trumpets?

Ans.  The trumpeters will play their trumpets in his courtyard.

3. How does the poet describe the evening?

Ans. The poet says that in the evening the lamps would shine and the glow of the lamps would be yellow like honey and red like wine. And the musical instruments the harp, flute and mandolin will play sweet and happy music.

4. What are the lamps compared to?

The lamps are compared to honey and wine.

5. Which musical instruments are mentioned in the 2^nd stanza?

Ans. The musical instruments mentioned are trumpets, harp, flute and mandolin.

6. What kind of music will be played?

Ans. Sweet and happy music will be played.

Stanza 3:

1. Describe the robe or what kind of robe will the poet wear?

Ans. The poet will wear a robe of white, gold, and green beads that are clustered together.

2. When will the poet wear the robe?

Ans. The poet will wear the robe before the morning – star wanes out.

3. What will he carry with him?

Ans. The poet will carry with him a scimitar.

4. Who will draw his car?

Ans. Seven zebras will draw his car.

5. Where will he travel?

Ans.  He will travel through the dark glades of Tartary.

Stanza 4:

1. Of what does the poet wants to be the lord of?

Ans. The poet wants to be the lord of fruits, rivers, hills, glen, thicket, wood, dale, stars, breeze, lake citron trees and the valley.

2. What time of the day is it? How do you know?

Ans. It is night time. We can say this because the rivers are described as silver pale, there are stars flashing and the valleys are purple.

3. Name the words that refer to the valley.

Ans. Glen, dale and vale are the words that refer to the valley.

4. Why does the poet describe the valley as purple?

Ans. During dusk when the sun has just set, the shy looks purple and when we look far into the valley, that too looks purple.

5. Name the describing words from the stanza.

Ans. Silver-pale, flashing, scented, trembling, foamless, bird-delighting and purple.