A Slumber did My Spirit Seal | Class IX | CBSE | CBE Questions | NCERT Solution

Lesson Architecture:

• Theme

• Summary

• Text

• Glossary

• NCERT Solution

Theme

• After death a person becomes immortal by becoming a part of nature.

• The body buried into the soil rolls around with the earth like the stones, rocks and trees.

• The poet comes to this realization after his beloved is dead.

• While she was alive, he thought that she would never be affected by the passage of time.

• After her death the poet consoles himself that she continues to exist by being a part of nature.

Summary

• The poem is about the death of the poet's beloved.

• The poet was in deep slumber - a state wherein he was certain that his beloved would not be affected by mortality.

• He had forgotten that she would die one day.

• But after her death she has no motion and no force can move her.

• She neither hears nor sees anything.

• The poet realizes that she exists on a different plane now.

• Along with the rocks, stones and trees, she rolls round with the earth on its course of daily rotation.

Text

​A slumber did my spirit seal— I had no human fears. She seemed a thing that could not feel. The touch of earthy years. No motion has she now, no force— She neither hears nor sees, Rolled round in earth's diurnal course With rocks and stones and trees. (William Wordsworth)

Glossary

1. Slumber: A state of deep sleep. Here it means lack of awareness of mortality ( i.e. he was not aware of the fact that his loved one can die so soon)

2. human fears: Here it means that humans have fears like old age, suffering, pain & death.

3. earthy years: 'Earthly years' refers to the period of time till human beings survive on this earth. 'Touch of earthly years' means the effect of time.

4. Diurnal course: diurnal means daily. ''Earth’s diurnal course” is earth’s daily rotation on its axis.

NCERT Solution:

Thinking about the Poem

1. "A slumber did my spirit seal," says the poet. That is, a deep sleep 'closed off his soul (or mind). How does the poet react to his loved one's death? Does he feel bitter grief? Or does he feel a great peace?

Ans.

• The poet has lost someone he loves. When she was alive, he thought that she could not be affected by time - 'earthly years.' So, common human fears did not affect him.

• Now that she is dead, he seems to derive peace from the fact that she rolls 'round in earth's diurnal course with rocks and stones and trees.

• His reaction is not one of bitter grief. He feels peace at the thought that she has become a part of nature. He feels comforted by the idea that she is still alive in nature

2. The passing of time will no longer affect her, says the poet. Which lines of the poem say this?

Ans. The following lines say this:

• "Rolled round in earth's diurnal course With rocks and stones and trees."

3. How does the poet imagine her to be, after death? Does he think of her as a person living in a very happy state (a heaven)? Or does he see her now as a part of nature? In which lines of the poem do you find your answer?

Ans.

• The poet does not think of his dead beloved as one living in a very happy state or in heaven.

• He thinks she is now a part of nature as she lies buried in earth. She rotates with the earth, along with rocks, stones and trees.

• The lines in the poem which show this are:

• "Rolled round in earth's diurnal course

• With rocks and stones and trees."

Extra Questions | CBE Questions

Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each.

1. Why didn't the poet have any human fears?

Ans. The poet had no human fears because he was certain that his beloved would not

be affected by the passage of time; she would not grow old and die. He seemed to have been lulled into a state of complacency regarding his loved one.

2. What kind of fears do humans have?

Ans. Humans are afraid of the effects of the passage of time. They are afraid of old age, suffering, pain & death.

3. What kind of slumber was the poet in?

Ans. The poet's slumber was a state of mind where he did not feel the fears which humans have. The fear of ageing, becoming weak, and dying never crossed his mind. As if in a slumber, he was quite unaware of such fears.

4. How does the poet feel about his loved one?

Ans The poet has deep love for the person. When she was alive, he thought that she would be there forever. Now that she is dead, he feels a sense of peace and acceptance. He realizes that she has now become a part of nature, and therefore, immortal. He does not grieve or mourn her loss.

Recommended Reading: On Killing a Tree

Recommended Reading: No Men Are Foreign