Tamilnadu State Board New Syllabus Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Guide Pdf  Poem 1 The Castle Text Book Back Questions and Answers, Summary, Notes.

Tamilnadu Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Solutions Poem 1 The Castle

12th English Guide The Castle Text Book Back Questions and Answers

Textual Questions:

1. Based on your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions in one or two sentences each:
(Text Book Page No. 20)

Question a.
who is the narrator in the poem?
Answer:
A soldier is a narrator in the poem.

Question b.
How long had the soldiers been in The Castle?
Answer:
All through the summer, the soldiers had been in The Castle.

Question c.
why were the soldiers in The Castle fearless?
Answer:
They were fearless because they were behind a well-guarded castle headed by a brave captain. Allies were close at hand and they had adequate arms to fight and foodgrains to sustain them under a siege.

Question d.
Where were the enemies?
Answer:
The enemies were half a mile away from The Castle.

Question e.
Why does the narrator say that the enemy was no threat at all?
Answer:
Soldiers behind the turret wall were ready to shoot the enemy at sight. The castle was surrounded by a deadly moat. The captain was brave and the soldiers loyal. Allies were close at hand. Hence, the enemy was no threat at all.

Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Guide Poem 1 The Castle

Question f.
Did the soldiers fight with the enemies face to face?
Answer:
No, The soldiers did not fight with the enemies face to face.

Question g.
Who had let the enemies in?
Answer:
The aged greedy wicket gate keeper had let the enemy in.

Question h.
How did the enemies enter The Castle?
Answer:

  1. The disloyal warder, who guards the wicket gate, let the enemies inside the famous citadel for gold.
  2. Thus the enemies entered The Castle.

Question i.
Why were the secret galleries bare?
Answer:
The secret galleries were looted by the cunning enemies. So, they were bare.

Question j.
What was the ‘shameful act’?
Answer:
The disloyal warder, who guards the wicket gate, let the enemies inside the famous citadel for gold. This was the shameful act.

Question k.
Why didn’t the narrator want to tell the tale to anybody?
Answer:
The narrator did not want to tell the shameful act because it will expose the greed of the aged warder. He had sold them all for a bag of gold. They did not have any weapon to fight the invisible enemy within.

Question l.
Why did the narrator feel helpless?
Answer:

  1. The narrator’s troop and castle were defeated by all the enemies.
  2. He could not accept this treacherous defeat. So he felt helpless.

Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Guide Poem 1 The Castle

Question m.
Who was the real enemy?
Answer:
“The gold” was their real enemy.

2. Read the poem again and complete the summary using the words given inbox. (Text Book Page No. 21)

Question 1.
Stanzas 1-3:
The Castle’ by Edwin Muir is a moving poem on the (1) ______ of a well-guarded (2)______. The soldiers of The Castle were totally stress-free and relaxed. They were (3)______ of their castle’s physical strength. Through the turrets, they were able to watch the mowers and no enemy was found up to the distance of (4)______ and so they seemed no threat to The Castle. They had (5)______ of weapons to protect them and a large quantity of (6)______ in stock to take care of the well-being of the soldiers inside The Castle. The soldiers stood one above the other on the towering (7)______ to shoot the enemy at sight. They believed that The Castle was absolutely safe because their captain was (8)______ and the soldiers were loyal.
Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Guide Poem 1 The Castle 1
Answer:

  1. Capture
  2. Castle
  3. Confident
  4. half-a-kilometer
  5. Plenty
  6. Ration
  7. Watching
  8. Brave

Question 2.
Stanzas 4-6:
Even by a trick, no one but the birds could enter. The enemy could not use a (9)______ for their entry inside The Castle. But there was a wicket gate guarded by a (10)______. He (11)______ in the enemies inside the famous citadel that had been known for its secret gallery and intricate path. The strong castle became(12)______ and thin because of the greedy disloyal warder. The (13)______ was captured by the enemies for (14)______. The narrator (15)______ over the (16)______ of the useless warder and also decided not to disclose this (17)______ story to anyone. He was (18)______ and wondered how he would keep this truth to himself. He regretted not finding any (19) to fight with the (29)______ called ‘gold’.
Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Guide Poem 1 The Castle 2
Answer:
9. Bail
10. wicked guard
11. let
12. helpless
13. citadel
14. disloyalty
15. lamented
16. weak
17. shameful
18. gold
19. weapon
20. enemy

Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Guide Poem 1 The Castle

3. Read the poem and answer the following in a short paragraph of 8-10 sentences each: (Text Book Page No.. 21)

Question a.
How safe was The Castle? How was it conquered?
Answer:

Introduction:
The poet Edwin Muir beautifully brings out the strength of The Castle.

Safety of The Castle:
The soldiers did not worry about threats around them because The Castle gates were strong and walls were high, thick, and smooth. They felt very safe because they had more confidence towards The Castle. They trusted a lot that even by a trick no one could enter The Castle. The human beings did not have the courage to enter The Castle but birds could enter. So the soldiers were in a relaxed manner and stress-free about everything around them.

The belief of the soldiers:
They believed that The Castle was absolutely safe and because of its physical strength and their captain was brave and the soldiers were loyal.

Disloyal warder:
The strong castle became helpless and thin. The soldiers unexpectedly faced failure because of the greedy disloyal warder. The famous citadel was captured by the enemies for disloyalty (gold). The black sheep was one of their own men (warder) who let the enemies inside the citadel that had been known for its secret gallery and intricate path.

Conclusion:
Once, The Castle was safe because soldiers were united and loyal and their captain was brave. But later disloyalty arose from their own men warder, The Castle was conquered by the enemies.
Greedy kills humanity.

Question b.
Bring out the contrasting picture of the as depicted in stanzas 3 and 5.
Answer:
The poet Edwin Muir beautifully brings out the strength of The Castle. The soldiers did not worry about threats around them because The Castle gates were strong and walls were high, thick, and smooth. They felt very safe because they had more confidence towards The Castle. They trusted a lot that even by a trick no one could enter The Castle. The Castle was very high and smooth. So human beings did not have the courage to enter The Castle but birds could enter. Birds were harmless to them.

So the soldiers were in a relaxed manner and stress-free about everything around them. They believed The Castle was absolutely safe because their captain was brave and the soldiers were loyal. They only focussed on the strength of physical surroundings and what was beyond The Castle but betrayed from within caused The Castle’s fall. The strong castle became helpless and thin. The famous citadel was captured by the enemies for disloyalty.

The warder had let the enemies inside the famous citadel that had been known for its secret gallery and intricate path. Once The Castle was safe because soldiers were united and loyal and their captain was brave. Later disloyalty arose from their own men warder, The Castle was conquered by the enemies.

Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Guide Poem 1 The Castle

Question c.
Human greed led to the mighty fall of the citadel. Explain.
Answer:
Greed means a selfish or excessive desire for more than is needed or deserved, especially of money, wealth, food, or other possession. One who is greedy follows the path of unfair means, betrayal, and crime. This makes other’s life miserable. “Greed’ can also mean helping an enemy, such a person who gives secret information to an enemy country. That brings the mighty fall of the kingdom.

Here, In the poem ‘The Castle’, a greedy warder was the main cause and culprit who brought failure to his own men. Before that, the soldiers were stress-free and relaxed. They have plenty of arms and food. The Castle gates were strong and walls were high, thick, and smooth. They believed that The Castle was absolutely safe because their captain was brave and the soldiers were loyal.

Yet these men were defeated when the enemy entered to their own man (warder) who let the enemy soldiers through a little gate. At first, The Castle was safe because soldiers were the united castle and loyal and their captain was brave. But later, The Castle became weak and thin. As disloyalty arose from their own men, warder, The Castle was conquered by the enemies.
‘Greed kills humanity’. Thus human greed led to the mighty fall of the citadel.

Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Guide Poem 1 The Castle

4. Read the given lines and answer the questions that follow in a line or two: (Text Book Page No. 21)

a. All through the summer at ease we lay,
And daily from the turret wall,
we watched the mowers in the hay.

i. Who does ‘we’ refer to?
Answer:
‘We’ refer to soldiers who are in a strong castle.

ii. How did the soldiers spend the summer days?
Answer:
The soldiers spent the summer days lying and relaxing.

iii. What could they watch from the turret wall?
Answer:
They could watch the mowers from the turret wall.

b. Our gates were strong, our walls were thick,
so smooth and high no man could win.

i. How safe was The Castle?
Answer:
The Castle was safe with thick and high walls and strong gates.

ii. What was the firm belief of the soldiers?
Answer:
The firm belief of the soldiers was that none on earth could win it.

c. A foothold there, no clever trick
could take us dead or quick,
only a bird could have got in.

i. What was challenging?
Answer:
Entering The Castle was a challenging task.

ii. Which aspect of The Castle’s strength is conveyed by the above line?
Answer:
No one could enter but the birds could enter. This seems The Castle is too high and strong enough for anyone to enter.

Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Guide Poem 1 The Castle

d. ‘Oh then our maze of tunneled stone
Grew thin and treacherous as air.
The Castle was lost without a groan,
The famous citadel has overthrown.

i. Bring out the contrast in the first two lines.
Answer:
Once The Castle was very strong and thick, now it became helpless and thin because of the greedy disloyal warder.

ii. What happened to The Castle?
Answer:
The Castle was captured by the enemies for disloyalty.

e. ‘we could do nothing, being sold.’

i. Why couldn’t they do anything?
Answer:
They couldn’t do anything because they were betrayed by one of the soldiers.

ii. Why did they feel helpless?
Answer:
They felt helpless because they were surrounded by enemies in an unexpected way with the help of their own greedy disloyal warder.

Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Guide Poem 1 The Castle

Additional Questions:

a. ‘For what, we thought, had we to fear
with our arms and provender, load and load.

i. Do they have fear?
Answer:
No, they don’t have any fear.

ii. What does ‘our arms’ mean?
Answer:
Our arms’ means powerful weapons.

b. A foothold there, no clever trick
Could take us dead or quick,
Only a bird could have got in.

i. Who does ‘us’ refer to?
Answer:
‘Us’ refers to soldiers who are in The Castle.

ii. What does ‘quick’ mean here?
Answer:
Here ‘quick’ means alive.

c. Our captain was brave and we were true.
There was a little private gate,
A little wicked wicket gate,
The wizened warder let them through.

i. Who does ‘we’ refer to?
Answer:
‘We’ refer to soldiers.

ii. Whose captain was brave?
Answer:
The loyal soldier’s captain was brave.

iii. Who guarded the wicket-gate?
Answer:
The wicket gate was guarded by a wicked guard.

Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Guide Poem 1 The Castle

d. Grew thin and treacherous as air.
The cause was lost without a groan,
The famous citadel overthrew,

i. How did the strong castle become?
Answer:
The strong castle became thin and treacherous.

ii. What does ‘overthrown’ mean?
Answer:
‘Overthrown’ means defeated. The soldiers were defeated by the enemies.

e. ‘How can this shameful tale be told?
I will maintain until my death

i. Does the narrator say about his failure as a shameful tale?
Answer:
Yes, the narrator says about his failure as a shameful tale.

ii. What will be maintained until his death?
Answer:
The narrator decided not to disclose this shameful story to anyone. This will be maintained until his death.

5. Explain the following lines with reference to the context: (Text Book Page No. 22)

a. They seemed no threat to us at all.
Reference:
This line is taken from the Poem – “The Castle”, Poet – “Edwin Muir”.
Context:
Here the poet talks about the power of The Castle.
Explanation:
The soldiers of The Castle were confident of their castle’s physical strength. Through the turrets, they were able to watch the mowers and no enemy was found up to a distance of half a kilometer and so they seemed no threat to The Castle.

Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Guide Poem 1 The Castle

b. How can this shameful tale be told?
Reference:
This line is taken from the Poem – “The Castle”, Poet – “Edwin Muir”.
Context:
Here the poet talks about the unexpected failure of the soldiers.
Explanation:
The soldiers believed that The Castle was absolutely safe because their captain was brave and the soldiers were loyal. Yet these men are defeated by the enemies. The enemies got help from one of their own warders, who lets the enemy soldiers through a little gate.

c. ‘I will maintain until my death’
Reference:
This line is taken from the Poem – “The Castle”, Poet – “Edwin Muir”.
Context:
Here the poet talks about the ‘shameful act’.
Explanation:
The narrator decided not to disclose this shameful story (soldiers got failure because of the greedy disloyal warder) to anyone. This will be maintained until his death.

d. Our only enemy was gold
Reference:
This line is taken from the Poem – “The Castle”, Poet – “Edwin Muir”.
Context:
Here the poet talks about the ‘success of the enemy’.
Explanation:
The narrator wondered about the tricks played by enemies. At last, the enemy won them by giving them gold as a bribe. So the narrator called the enemy gold.

Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Guide Poem 1 The Castle

6. Read the poem and complete the table with suitable rhyming words: (Text Book Page No. 22)

Question 1.
Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Guide Poem 1 The Castle 3

Answer:

Lay hay
Wall all
Fear tier, near
Load road
Thick trick, quick
Win in
Bait gate
True through
Stone groan
Air bare
Told sold, gold
Death with

Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Guide Poem 1 The Castle

7. Underline the alliterated words in the following lines: (Text Book Page No. 22)

  1. With our arms and provender, load on load
  2. A little wicked wicket gate.
  3. The wizened warder let them through.

8. Poetic Devices/Figure of speech:

Poetic lines Figure of Speech
1. A little wicked wicket gate Metaphor
2. Oh then our maze of tunneled stone Metaphor / Imagery / Irony
3. Grew thin and treacherous as air Simile
4. How can this shameful tale be told? Metaphor / Interrogation
5. our only enemy was gold Personification / Irony
6. A little wicked wicket gate Alliteration
7. And we had no arms to fight it with Irony
8. The famous citadel overthrown Personification

Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Guide Poem 1 The Castle

Listening:

The Soldier:

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is forever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam;
A body of England’s, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter learned of friends and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
– Rupert Brooke

The Castle Summary in Tamil

கோடை முழுவதும் ஓய்வாய்
அந்த கோபுர உச்சியில் நின்று
எங்கள் விழிகள் புல்வெளிகளை நோக்கின.
எதிரிகளும் நோக்கினர் அரைமயில் தூரத்திலிருந்து.
எப்பக்கம் இருந்தும் அவர்கள் அச்சுறுத்துவதாய் இல்லை.

எதற்காக நாம் பயப்பட வேண்டும்
பணபலமும் படைபலமும் குவிந்திருக்கும் போது,
எமது படைக்கலன்கள் அடுக்கடுக்காய் உயர்ந்திருக்கும் போது,
நமத நட்பு நாடுகள் அருகிலிருக்கும் போது,
இலைகள் நிறைந்த மரங்கள் இந்த கோடை சாலை மீது இருக்கும் போது,

எமது வாயில்களும் வலியது, மதில்சுவர்களும் வலியது
மிக உயர்ந்தது, எவரும் வெற்றிகொள்ள இயலாது,
எந்தவொரு காலடியோ, கூர்மிகு சூழ்ச்சியோ எம்மை எளிதாய் நெருக்கிட முடியாது)
எந்நேரமும் நுழைந்திட பறவையால் மட்டுமே முடியும்.

கையூட்டாக எதைத் தரமுடியும் அவர்களால்?
தைரியமான தளபதி எமது நேர்மையான மனது எமது…….
இருந்தது ஒரு சிறிய மறைவான நுழைவாயில்,
சிறிய ஆபத்தான நுழைவாயில்,
வயதான வாயில்காவலன் அவர்களை உள்நுழைய அனுமதித்தான்.

ஓ! பின் எமது சிக்கலான கற்களால் ஆன சுரங்கக்குகை
மெல்லியதாய் துரோகம் நிறைந்ததாய் உயர்ந்தன.
காரணங்கள் கண்ணீர் துளிகள் இன்றி கடந்தன. ப
ுகழ்வாய்ந்த அரியனையோ சூறையாடப்பட்டது,
அதன் இரகசிய கிடங்குகளும் களவாடப்பட்டது.

எவ்வாறு கூறுவேன் இந்த இழிநிலை கதையை?
இரகசியம் காப்பேன் என்னுயிர் நீங்கும் வரை
ஏதும் செய்ய இயலவில்லை எங்களால், விற்கப்படும் போது
எமது ஒரே எதிரியாய் வந்தது பொன்,
எமது ஆயுதங்கள் அனைத்தும் அதன் முன் வீண்.

கவிஞரைப் பற்றி:

எட்வின் மீயூர் (Edwin Muir. 1887-1959) ஒரு புகழ் பெற்ற ஸ்காட்லாந்து (Scotland) நாட்டு புலவர் (poet., நாவல் ஆசிரியர் (Novelist, மொழிபெயர்ப்பாளர் (Translator), மற்றும் விமர்சகராவார் (Critic). இவர் தனது எளிய (vivid)பாடல்களால் நினைவு கூறப்படுபவர். இவர் தனது முதிய வயதில் (old age) பாடல்கள் எழுதத் தொடங்கினார். பின் தனது தனித்தன்மை வாய்ந்த தத்துவமுறை பாடல்களுக்கு தனது முதுமையில் அங்கிகாரம் பெற்றார்.

முதல் பாடல்கள்’ (First poem) மற்றும் ‘புதிதாய் இறந்தோரின் பாடல்கள்’ (Chorus of the Newly dead) இவை இரண்டும் மீயூரின் தொடக்க கால முயற்சியாகும். இவரின் பிந்தைய கவிதைத் தொகுப்பு ‘காலக் கூறு வித்தியாசங்கள், குறுகிய இடம்’, ‘கடல் பயணம்’ மற்றும் பல பாடல்களை உள்ளடக்கியது. ‘குழப்பம்’ மற்றும் ‘ஏதேனில் ஒரு கால்’ (one foot in Eden) போன்றவையும் அடங்கும்.

கவிதையைப் பற்றி:

“அரண்மனை” என்னும் இந்த கவிதை நன்முறையில் பாதுகாக்கப்பட்ட அரண்மனையை (castle) சிறைபிடித்ததைப் பற்றியும் அதில் உள்ள படைவீரர்களைப் (soldier) பற்றியும் வெளிப்படுத்துகிறது) படை வீரர்கள் தங்களின் உடல் வலிமையையும் பாதுகாப்பையும் பற்றி பெறுமைப்பட்டு வியந்தார்களே தவிர தாங்கள் வீழ்த்தப் படப்போவதைப் பற்றி யோசிக்கவில்லை.

கோட்டையின் பின்புறம் ஒரு இரகசியக் கதவு இருந்தது. அக்கதவின் காவலாளி எதிரிகளால் பணம் கொடுத்து வாங்கப்பட்டான். எதிரிகள் கோட்டைக்குள் புகுந்து தாக்கி சேதப்படுத்தினர். கவலையை மறந்து இருக்கும் படைவீரர்களின் வாழ்வில் எதிர்பாராத போரை சந்திக்கும் இக்கவிதையைப் பற்றி தெளிவாக காண்போம்.c