1st PUC English The School Boy PDF

Question 1.
Who, do you think, ‘I’ refers to in the poem?
Answer:
I refers to the schoolboy.

Question 2.
The sweet company refers to
a) Skylark
b) Huntsman’s horn
c) Bird’s song
d) All the above three
Answer:
a) Skylark

Question 3.
What drives the boy’s joy away?
Answer:
To go to school on a summer morning drives the boy’s joy away.

Question 4.
How do the little ones spend the day in the school?
Answer:
The little ones spend the day sighing and dismay.

Question 5.
What does cage stand for in the poem?
Answer:
Cage stands for school.

Question 6.
Pick the phrase from the following which does not refer to formal schooling.
(a) Buds are nipped
(b) Fruits are gathered
(c) Plants are stripped
(d) Blossoms are blown away
Answer:
(b) Fruits are gathered

The School Boy Comprehension II:

Question 1.
What does the schoolboy love to do on a summer morning? What drives his joy away?
Answer:

The schoolboy loves to rise on a summer morning. The birds will sing on every tree. The distant huntsman winds his horn. And the skylark sings with the boy. But to go to school on a summer morning drives all joy away.

Question 2.
Describe the boy’s experience in the school.
Answer:

The boy spends the whole day sighing and dismay in the school. He sits drooping at the desk. He had many anxious hours. He did not take delight in his book. He feels that he is born for joy sitting in a cage and singing.

Question 3.
According to the poet how does formal education curb a learner’s potential?
Answer:

William Blake believed in freedom of speech, democracy and ‘free love’, for these reasons he disagreed strongly with formal education and conventional teaching in both schools and churches. He believed that this constrained people stopping them from having their own thoughts.

Blake believed that children not given a formal education would want to learn of their own accord making learning more fun and enjoyable for the child. Blake portrays these opinions in the poem The schoolboy’; he chose to write in the voice of ‘the schoolboy’ himself, to stand up for children whose views on schooling are rarely acknowledged. The children are asked to sit for many hours in the school.

A learner used to spend many anxious hours. He cannot take any delight from his books. Sitting in the school is like being in a cage. The learner cannot show the total skills and abilities because of the curriculum he has undergone. Thus, formal education curbs the learner’s potential.

The School Boy Comprehension III:

Question 1.
Formal schooling not only takes away the joy of childhood but also hinders the child’s growth forever. Explain.
Answer:

William Blake embraced school and always advocated for formal education. He always advocated for hard work and quality in education. William Blake believed formal schooling puts a limitation on the children in the school.

Question 2.
Do you think the poet is arguing against education? Discuss.
Answer:

No, the poet is arguing against the ill-treatment in the school. He speaks about the freedom of the school-going children. The education should be enjoyable and amusing. It has to provide a child to grow mentally, intellectually, socially and psychologically.

The School Boy Additional Question and Answer

Question 1.
The sweet company is in the poem
(a) With other boys
(b) With the huntsman
(c) With the skylark
Answer:
(c) With the skylark

Question 2.
The boy goes to school on a
(a) summer morn
(b) winter morn
(c) spring morn.
Answer:
(a) summer mom

Question 3.
The cage here means
(a) cage of a bird
(b) the situation of the boy
(c) the school.
Answer:
(c) the school.

Question 4.
The reason for forgetting his youthful spring is
(a) the school
(b) fears annoy
(c) when he reads the books
Answer:
(b) fears annoy

The School Boy Summary.