Unit 4: Poem: Beauty

Q1Written answer

The poet says, “Beauty is heard in …”

Can you hear beauty? Add a sound that you think is beautiful to the sounds the poet thinks are beautiful.

The poet, Keats, said:

Heard melodies are sweet,

But those unheard are sweeter.

What do you think this means? Have you ever ‘heard’ a song in your head long after the song was sung or played?

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Worked solution

Answer: We do hear beautiful sounds. For instance, when a guitarist plays the guitar, when a cuckoo sings, when the raindrops fall on the ground, when a soft breeze flows, etc.

“Heard melodies are sweet,

But those unheard are sweeter.”

This means that our imagination can go beyond and be even more beautiful than reality. Heard melodies are the ones which are actually being played around. But the unheard are the ones that our mind plays in our hearts, and such sounds are sweeter and closer to our hearts.

Yes, I have heard songs in my head long after the song was sung or played. Those are my favourite songs.

Q2Written answer

Read the first and second stanzas of the poem again. Note the following phrases.

corn growing, people working or dancing, wind sighing, rain falling, a singer chanting

These could be written as

• corn that is growing

• people who are working or dancing

Can you rewrite the other phrases like this? Why do you think the poet uses the shorter phrases?

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Worked solution

Answer: Here are some more examples of such short phrases: stream flowing, wind blowing, children laughing, mob shouting, etc. They can be rewritten as follows: stream that is flowing, wind that is blowing, children who are laughing, and mob that is shouting.

I think the poet uses the shorter phrases to give a musical rhythm to the poetic lines.

Q3Written answer

Find pictures of beautiful things you have seen or heard of.

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Worked solution

Answer: Do it yourself.

Q4Written answer

Write a paragraph about beauty. Use your own ideas along with the ideas in the poem. (You may discuss your ideas with your partner.)

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Worked solution

Answer: “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.”

The statement is true to its core. Beauty is how you perceive things. Everything in nature is beautiful. Every insect, tree, plant, human, mountain, river, rain, and soil is beautiful in its own way. It depends on the person who sees it, whether he/she considers it to be full of beauty or not.

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