ICSE-X-English

03: Bangle Sellers by Sarojini Naidu

with Solutions -

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  • #
    Section : I
    Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow : 
  • Qstn #1
    Bangle sellers are we who bear
    Our shining loads to the temple fair... 
    Who will buy these delicate, bright 
    Rainbow-tinted circles of light? 
    Lustrous tokens of radiant lives, 
    For happy daughters and happy wives.
    1. What is meant by "shining loads"? Where are the bangle sellers going to sell their bangles and why?
    Ans : In this stanza, "shining loads" means the various types of bright and colourful bangles that the bangle sellers carry. The bangle sellers are going to the temple fair. They are going there to sell their bangles to women of different age groups i.e., in different stages of life.
  • Qstn #2
    What rhyme scheme is followed in the poem? Who are the buyers of the bangles suggested here? Describe the bangles mentioned in the extract.
    Ans : Each stanza of the poem is arranged in three couplets that follow the rhyme scheme of aabbcc. The buyers suggested here are happy daughters and wives. The bangles described here are delicate, bright, colourful like a rainbow, and shining
  • Qstn #3
    What do the metaphorical expressions 'shining loads', 'delicate, bright rainbow-tinted circles of light' and 'lustrous tokens of radiant lives' imply?
    Ans : These metaphors describe their features like brightness, softness and colourfulness that make them catchy and fascinating. Due to these features, the bangles are a symbol of positivity, happiness, beauty and hope rather than just objects of cosmetic value worn by women on their wrists.
  • Qstn #4
    Explain how the poet uses her descriptive skills to present facts. Give two examples from the extract?
    Ans : In this extract, the poet touches upon the popularity of bangles not merely as an ornament, but also as a deep-rooted cultural symbol that allows them a kind of freedom in terms of choosing and buying something according to their own preferences. The extract also suggests that temples, apart from being the centres of spiritual activities, may also account for economic activities in the form of purchase and sale of different items and goods used by people.
  • Qstn #5
    Give the relevance of the role of bangle sellers in a traditional Indian set-up, according to this extract?
    Ans : Bangle sellers are a community of people who can be easily spotted. The bangles they sell are a distinctive mark of womanhood and femininity in India's socio-cultural context. They also symbolise an old and culturally established practice associated with women in the traditional Indian society. Thus, bangle sellers can be regarded as people who are responsible for maintaining an old tradition, which in turn lends uniqueness to womanhood.
  • #
    Section : II
    2. Some are made for a maiden's wrist,
    Silver and blue as the mountain mist, 
    Some are flushed like the buds that dream 
    On the tranquil brow of a woodland stream, 
    Some are aglow with the bloom that cleaves 
    To the limpid glory of new born leaves
  • Qstn #1
    What type of bangle is suitable for a maiden's wrist? Why are silver and blue colours compared to the mountain mist?
    Ans : According to the speaker, some of the bangles that are suitable for a maiden's wrist are blue and silver like the mist in the mountains. Some others are reddish in colour like the flushed buds found along a stream. Then, there are others that glow like newborn leaves. Mountain mist is characterised by beauty, freshness and purity. That is why silver and blue colours are compared to it.
  • Qstn #2
    In what way are the buds set to dream? Explain the simile used here?
    Ans : Here, the speaker is alluding to the appearance of a particular type of bangle suitable for maidens. She says that it looks rosy with a glow like 'the buds that dream on the tranquil brow of a woodland stream'. The figure of speech used here is a simile because two dissimilar things (bangle' and 'buds') are compared here for an attribute that is identical (their 'rosiness').
  • Qstn #3
    Explain the line: "On the tranquil brow of a woodland stream."
    Ans : In this line, the speaker has used the phrase 'tranquil brow to imply the calm height or crest of a stream flowing through a forest. It's rather plausible to read it with the noun phrase 'the buds that dream', which precedes it. Keeping in mind the use of words like 'dream', 'tranquil' and 'brow, it seems to be an example of personification.
  • Qstn #4
    How are the bangles compared to the newborn leaves?
    Ans : Describing one type of bangles, the speaker states that it has a pure, untrammelled glow of freshness. This glow of freshness is compared here to the brightness and charm of nascent leaves. The comparison here is metaphorical, because unlike what we see in case of a simile, 'like' or 'as' has not been used to compare two dissimilar objects.
  • Qstn #5
    What colours of the bangles are meant for maidens? What do the colours symbolize?
    Ans : Silver, blue, rosy red and leaf-green are the colours of the bangles that are meant for maidens. While silver is the symbol of purity and brightness, blue symbolises emotional intensity and depth. Rosy red and leaf-green colours are symbols of beauty and freshness, respectively.
  • Qstn #6
    The word 'some' has been repeated in the poem for a purpose. What is it? Which phrases used in these lines reflect the poet's keen understanding of the beauty of nature?
    Ans : The word 'some' represents the different types of bangles in the poem. "Mountain mist', 'woodland stream' and 'newborn leaves are the phrases that reflect the poet's keen understanding of the beauty of nature.
  • #
    Section : III
    3. Some are like fields of sunlit corn,
    Meet for a bride on her bridal morn, 
    Some, like the flame of her marriage fire, 
    Or, rich with the hue of her heart's desire, 
    Tinkling, luminous, tender, and clear, 
    Like her bridal laughter and bridal tear.
  • Qstn #1
    What do the first two lines of the extract explain? What is being compared to the "fields of sunlit corn"? Why?
    Ans : In the first line, some bangles are compared to 'fields of sunlit corn'. In the context of a bride to whom it relates, it suggests the bright and joyful prospect of a new phase of life that is about to begin. Thus, the colour of the bangles described here corresponds to the appearance of a bride preparing to set out for a fresh and extremely meaningful journey in her life.