Class Notes NCERT Solutions for CBSE Students
For Anne Gregory Poem: 10th Class NCERT CBSE English ‘First Flight’ Chapter 22
Question: What does the young man mean by “great honey-coloued /Ramparts at your ear?” Why does he say that young men are “thrown into despair” by them?
Answer: The young man in the poem praises the great honey-colored hair of Anne. Anne’s hair have been called rampart, meaning a wall. It is called so because they act as a wall, as they prevent young men from looking beyond those yellow hair and into her soul. Her hair are so attractive that young men cannot look at anything else. Anne’s yellow hair are so pretty that young men hopelessly fall in love with her. She is so pretty that everyone wants her, which cannot happen; hence, they are thrown into despair.
Question: What colour is the young woman’s hair? What does she say she can change it to? Why would she want to do so?
Answer: Anne s hair are yellow, like the colour of honey. She says that she can change it to black, brown or carrot; she means that she can change it to any colour she wants. Anne says so to show that outer beauty is changeable and not permanent or real. She wants young men to look in her soul and love her for her inner beauty. In order to do so, she needs to show them the superficiality of her external beauty.
Question: Objects have qualities which make them desirable to others. Can you think of some objects (a car, a phone, a dress…) and say what qualities make one object more desirable than another? Imagine you were trying to sell an object: what qualities would you emphasize?
Answer: People desire objects because of their qualities that suit their need. The things we consume, goods we use such as a car, a phone, a dress etc. physical qualities matter the most. Before buying anything, it is always considered that the object is durable and looks pretty. If I were to sell a dress, I would select the one that is very appealing to the eye and comfortable for the body. Then I would emphasize on the durability of the dress so that the customer feels that he / she is spending his / her money at the right place and in the right thing.
Summary:
The poem is basically a conversation between the poet, Yeats and a young girl named Anne Gregory. The poet tells her that if she finds a young boy who becomes sad because of her rejection, it doesn’t mean that he was a true lover. He could have been in love with her because of her beautiful yellow hair. This means that the boy might be in love with her because of her attractive looks. He says that a true lover will be the one who will love her for her inner qualities and not her looks. To this, Anne says that she will change her looks by dying her hair into some other colour. She will become less attractive and then, maybe, she will find a true love for herself. So, at last, he explains to her that the previous night, he had heard some religious man saying that only God loves us for what we are. This means that God never loves us for our looks but for our inner beauty.
