13. Laughing Song

 A. WARMER

Different people laugh in different ways. Can you do a mimicry showing different ways of laughing?

Now enjoy this poem.

When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy, 

And the dimpling stream runs laughing by;

When the air does laugh with our merry wit,

And the green hill laughs with the noise of it;

When the meadows laugh with lively green,

And the grasshopper laughs in the merry scene; 

When Mary, and Susan, and Emily

With their sweet round mouth sing,' ha, ha, he'

When the painted birds laugh in the shade,

Where our table with cherries and nuts is spread: 

Come live, and be merry, and join with me,

To sing the sweet chorus of 'ha, ha, he'

William Blake

 

Word meaning:

Green woods:हरे जंगल, Voice: आवाज, Joy: खुशी, Dimpling: उपर नीचे, Stream: छोटी नदी, Merry: खुशी, Wit: राय, Meadows:घास का मैदान, Grasshopper: टिड्डा, Scene: दृश्य, Shade: छाया, spread: फैला हुआ, Join: जुड़ना, Mimicry: आवाज की नकल करना, Chorus: साथ मे गाने वाला गीत, 
B. 1. Think and Tell:

Q. 1. How does the green-woods laugh?
Ans. The green-woods laugh with the voice of joy.

 

Q. 2. Where do the painted birds laugh?
Ans. The painted birds laugh in the shade.

 

Q. 3. How does the green hill laugh?

Ans. The green hill laughs with the noise of it.

 

B. 2. Think and write:

B.2.1 Fill in the blanks:
The greenwood laughs with the voice of ……….
The air laughs with our ………. wit.
Mary, Susan and Emily ……….. ‘ha, ha, he’.
The painted birds laugh in the ……….
Our table is spread with cherries and ………..

Ans. joy, merry, with their sweet round mouth sing, shade, nuts.

 

B.2.2. Tick the right answers to each of the questions given below :

1. When the air does laugh with our merry wit. “Our merry wit means:
(a) Our laughing
(b) Our natural aptitude for using our words and ideas in a quick and inventive way to create humour ·
(c) The air laughing

 

2. When the painted birds laugh in the shade. Here ‘painted birds’ means:
(a) Birds painted by an artist
(b) Colourful birds

 

3. Whom does the poet invite to sing the sweet chorus of ‘ha, ha, he’?
(a) Everyone
(b) Mary, Susan and Emily
(c) The painted birds

Ans. 1. (b), 2. (b), 3. (a)

 

B. 2.3. Answer in not more than 50 words

Q. 1. Why laughter is called a sweet chorus?
Ans. The laughter does a mimicry showing different ways of laughing. Different people laugh in different ways. So the laughter is called a sweet chorus.

Q. 2. Describe the scene around the poet?
Ans. The poet is a laughter himself. He appears different kinds of natural things with their laughing moods. At last he calls them to come with him to make a sweet chorus of ‘ha, ha, he, he’.

 

Q. 3. Write the theme of the poem in your own words.
Ans. As the heading ‘Laughing Song’ the meaning of the poem is clear. The poet William Blake who loves nature and sees the laughter’s in the natural sight. We not only human beings laugh but all the things in the world laugh also. The styles and poses of laughing are different but sense of enjoyment is the same. We should have to listen and learn the laughing’s of others and make ourselves to participate with them to make sweet chorus.

C. WORD POWER:

C.1. Match column ‘A’ with column ‘B’.

       ‘A’                                     ‘B’
Woods                                   fields of grass
Stream                                  river
Meadows                             densely grown trees
Merry                                   a song sung by many people together
Chorus                                 happy

Ans. ‘A                            ‘B’
Woods                               densely grown trees
Stream                              river
Meadows                         fields of grass
Merry                               happy
Chorus                             a song sung by many people together

 

C. 2. Use the following words in the sentences of your own:
                  Joy     Voice    Wit    Noise    Shade

Ans.
Joy  – Ram plays with joy.
Voice – He sings in thrilling voice.
Wit – Radha wits everything.
Noise – Rivers flow with noise.
Shade-In summer people sit in shade.

D. LET’S RHYME

Can you find out the rhyming words for the following:
Wit             …………
Joy             …………..
green         …………..
sjade         …………..
shade        …………

Ans. it, by, scene, spread.

E. LET’S TALK AND WRITE

Discuss in pairs the theme of the poem and then write a paragraph on it.
Ans:  Laughing Song :
Joy is the feature of the nature. Everything in the nature has a character of being pleased. Forests, rivers, sun and air, hills and green fields and grasshoppers all like to live laughing and pleasing. Mary, Susan and Emily also want to laugh ha, ha, he. Colourful birds also laugh and sing in the shade. So, the poet invite us all to join and laugh in chorus.

F. COMPOSITION:

F. 1. What do you see in the picture? Describe in six sentences:
Ans. There is the natural sight in the picture. There is a pond, trees and grasses. A Tractor is seen moving in the field. There is a farmer also who has a dibble on his shoulder. There are green trees. Grasses are spread around. There is a road also.

G. TRANSLATION :

G. 1. Translate into English :.
1. The green woods laugh.
2. The dimpling stream runs.
3. The moon shines in the sky.
4. The stars twinkle.
5. The trees sing a beautiful song.

Ans. 1. हरे वन हँसते हैं।
2. गहरी जलधारा बहती है ।
3. चन्द्रमा आसमान में चमकता है ।
4. तारे टिमटिमाते हैं ।
5. वृक्ष सुंदर गीत गाते हैं ।