Chapter 8 : The Violet

Tulips English Class 5 Semester1 Oxford Education Press

Warm Up: Look at the picture of the flower. Write the missing letters to find its name. _ I _ I _ C _ S
- Answer:H I B I S C U S
In-Text Question: Where did the lovely flower grow?
- Answer: It grew “Down in a green and shady bed”.

1. Answer the following questions.

(a) What is this poem about?
- Answer: The poem is about a modest, beautiful violet flower that grows hidden in the shade, and how the poet wishes to learn the lesson of humility from it.
(b) Which lines tell us that the violet could not be easily seen?
- Answer: The lines are: “Its stalk was bent, it hung its head, / As if to hide from view.”
(c) Why does the poet call the violet a ‘lovely flower’?
- Answer: The poet calls it lovely because “Its colours [are] bright and fair” and it diffuses a “sweet perfume”.
(d) What does the poet want to learn from the violet?
- Answer: The poet wants to learn to grow in “sweet humility”.

2. Read these lines from the poem and answer the following questions.

(a) It might have graced a rosy bower, / Instead of hiding there
- (1) What is a rosy bower?
  - Answer: According to the poem’s glossary, a bower is “a shady place under trees”. A rosy bower refers to a beautiful, prominent garden spot adorned with flowers.
- (2) Why might the violet have graced it?
  - Answer: Because it is a beautiful flower with bright and fair colors, making it pretty enough to be shown off in a prominent place instead of hiding.
(b) And there diffused its sweet perfume / Within the silent shade.
- (1) What does ‘diffused its sweet perfume’ mean?
  - Answer: It means the flower spread its pleasant scent over a wide area.
- (2) Why does the poet use the word ‘silent’ to describe the shade?
  - Answer: To emphasize the quiet, peaceful, and unnoticed environment where the modest flower chose to grow, highlighting its humility.

3. Choose the correct statement.

In every stanza, the …

(a) the words in the middle of each line rhyme with each other

(b) the words at the end of each line rhyme with each other

(d) the words at the end of every alternate line rhyme with each other

Answer:(d) the words at the end of every alternate line rhyme with each other. (For example: bed/head, grew/view).

4. Write three pairs of rhyming words from the poem.