Summary – This is a ballad poem means it narrates a story in short paragraphs. Also, in a ballad, all the paragraph contains four lines. And in total it has 16 stanzas that tell us a story. They are part of the folk culture or popular culture that orally passed from one generation to the next. However, folk culture is stories of an area that we know as a ballad. Besides, this is the story of the Northern area, which is near the North Pole. The poet doesn’t specify the exact place. But ‘Northland’ means the area in the northernmost part of the earth i.e., near the North Pole. Further, ‘legend’ refers to a historical story that is very old and has been orally passed from generation to generation.
The Northland is an area near the North Pole where days are short because the sun’s rays reach for very little time. Here, during the winter, the duration of the night is longer and days are shorter. The word ‘they’ in line 4 refers to the people who live in this region. Also, the poet says that the duration of nights is long and people can’t sleep them through. The poet wants to emphasize the fact that the nights are very long.
The region experiences severe cold conditions as it is a snowy area. Moreover, reindeers are the animals that live in the polar region, which the people use to pull their sleds. Also, the poet says that children look like polar bear cubs as they wear clothes made from the fur of the skin of the bear. Inline 1 of the 3rd para, ‘they’ refers to the elders and ‘them’ refers to the children. In addition, the elders tell a strange and interesting story about the young ones. However, the poet does not believe that the story is true, still, it gives an important message.
This ballad refers to the time when Saint Peter lives in the world and went around, giving spiritual lectures to the people like all saints do, and then one day an incident happened. While giving lectures, one day he reached the door of a cottage where a small woman was making cakes in the fireplace. Saint Peter was very hungry that day, as he hasn’t had a meal and was feeling weak. So, he approaches the women and asks for one cake out of the many baked by her.
The women were selfish and she did not give him a cake from the store. In its place, she makes a very small cake for Saint Peter. She does not want to share her things. However, when she places the cake for baking she thought that it’s too big to give away. The miser women then again started making a smaller cake. She did this three-time but didn’t give any cake to Saint Peter. She reason that when she ate them they felt small. But when she had to give them they felt too big to give to someone. And finally, she put all the cakes on her kitchen shelf and didn’t give any cake to the saint.
Saint Peter get angry and cursed her because he was very hungry and felt very weak. Saint said to her that you are selfish and did not deserve to live as a human being. He further adds that God has given her food, shelter, and fire to keep her warm but she became selfish and greedy. Hence the women became a bird who had to build their houses by boring into the wood and collect very little food by working the entire day.
When Saint Peter cursed her she became a bird and flew through the chimney. When she flew the bird has a red cap on her head dame as the women wear. Moreover, when people in the countryside and children see this kind of bird their elder tells them this story of a bird.
Literary devices/figures of speech used in the poem A Legend of the Northland:
Simile: It is a poetic device which involves the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind using “as” or “like”. In this poem, we find a lot of example of simile. e.g. “the children look like bear’s cubs”, “baked it thin as a wafer”, “you shall build as the birds do”, “Black as a coal in the flame”.
Stanza 2 – ‘the children look like bear’s cubs’. Children compared to bear’s cubs
Stanza 9 – ‘baked it thin as a wafer’. Cake is compared to a wafer.
Stanza 15 – ‘clothes were burned black as a coal’. The colour of the burned clothes is compared to that of coal.
Alliteration: It is the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. e.g. “That they cannot sleep them through”, “To the sledges, when it snows”, “In their funny, furry clothes”, “They tell them a curious story”, “yet you may learn a lesson”, ” If I tell the tale to you” etc.
Stanza 1 – that, they, them through – ‘th’ sound is repeating
Stanza 2 – they, the – ‘th’ sound is repeating
look, like – ‘l’ sound is repeating
funny, furry – ‘f’ sound is repeating
Stanza 3 – they, them- ‘th’ sound is repeating
yet, you – ‘‘y sound is repeating’
learn, lesson – ‘l’ sound is repeating
tell, tale, to – ‘t’ sound is repeating
Stanza 5 – woman, was – ‘w’ sound is repeating
Them, the, hearth – ‘th’ sound is repeating
Stanza 6 – faint, fasting – ‘f’ sound is repeating
Stanza 8 – still, smaller – ‘s’ sound is repeating
Stanza 9 – took, tiny -‘t’ sound is repeating
Stanza 10 – seem, small – ‘s’ sound is repeating
Stanza 13 – build, birds – ‘b’ sound is repeating
by, boring, boring – ‘b’ sound is repeating
Enjambment: It is the continuation of a line after the line breaks. In this poem, several sentences continue to next lines. e.g. “Once, when the good Saint Peter Lived in the world below, And walked about it, preaching, Just as he did, you know, He came to the door of a cottage, In travelling round the earth, Where a little woman was making cakes, And baking them on the hearth“.
Stanza 1 – line 3 and 4
Stanza 2 – Line 1 and 2; line 3 and 4
Stanza 3 – Line 3 and 4
Stanza 4 – Line 1 and 2; 3 and 4
Stanza 10 – Line 1, 2 and 3
Stanza 11 – Line 1 and 2
Repetition: It is the repetition of a word or phrase of poetic effect. e.g. “Away, away in the Northland”, “And rolled and rolled it flat;”, “By boring, and boring, and boring,” etc
Stanza 1 – ‘away’ word is repeated
Stanza 9 – ‘rolled’ word is repeated
Stanza 13, 16 – ‘boring’ word is repeat
Question and Answers
1. Which country or countries do you think “the Northland” refers to
A. The northland refers to the region around the north pole which is extremely cold. It could be any country like Russia, Canada, Greenland, Norway, etc.
2. What did Saint Peter ask the old lady for? What was the lady’s reaction?
A. Saint Peter asked the lady to give him a cake as he was hungry. The lady did not give him a cake out of the ones that she had baked, instead she baked a smaller one for him.
3. How did he punish her?
A. He punished the selfish lady by turning her into a woodpecker bird that had to bore into the dry wood all day to get some food and shelter.
4. How does the woodpecker get her food?
A. The woodpecker gets food by boring holes in the wood.
5. Do you think that the old lady would have been so ungenerous if she had known who Saint Peter really was? What would she have done then?
A. If the old lady knew who Saint Peter was, then she would not have been ungenerous. On the other hand, she would have served him well for the fulfilment of her greedy desires.
6. Is this a true story? Which part of this poem do you feel is the most important?
A. It is not a true story. The point of the story where the woman is turned into a woodpecker bird is the most important. This is so because the punishment teaches everyone the lesson to be generous.
7. What is a legend? Why is this poem called a legend?
A. A legend is a popular story from the past which is believed to be true but cannot be verified. It contains a moral which is narrated to the children to teach them moral values.
8. Write the story of ‘A Legend of Northland’ in about ten sentences.
A.One day, Saint Peter was preaching around the world and reached the door of a cottage where this woman lived. She was making cakes and baking them on a hearth. St. Peter was fainting with hunger. He asked the lady to give him a piece of cake. The cake that she was baking then appeared to be too big, so she did not give him that and instead, she baked another smaller one. That also appeared to be big so she did not give him that also. The second time she baked yet another smaller cake but found it too big to give away. In the third attempt, she took an extremely little scrap of dough and rolled it flat. She had it as thin as a wafer but was unable to part with that also. This angered St. Peter a lot. He said that she was not fit to live in human form and enjoy food and warmth. He cursed her and transformed her into a woodpecker bird who had to bore in hard, dry wood to get its scanty food. She can be seen in the trees all day boring and boring for food.
Question
1.
Which country or countries do you think “the Northland” refers to?
Answer:
It is a country in the north where days are short and nights are long.
Question
2.
What did Saint Peter ask the old lady for? What was the lady’s reaction?
Answer:
Saint Peter asked the old lady for a piece of cake. The lady behaved miserly
and kept decreasing the size of the cake. At last she did not give him anything
to eat.
Question
3.
How did he punish her?
Answer:
He cursed her and made her a woodpecker.
Question
4.
How does the woodpecker get her food?
Answer:
The woodpecker bores the hard and dry wood to get its food.
Question
5.
Do you think that the old lady would have been so ungenerous if she had known
who Saint Peter really was? What would she have done then?
Answer:
No, she would not have done this. On the contrary, she would have given him a
large piece of cake to make him happy with the greed to get a handsome return.
Question
6.
Is this a true story? Which part of this poem do you feel is the most important?
Answer:
No, it is an imaginative story. It is a legend. The third stanza of the poem is
very important.
Question
7.
What is a legend? Why is this poem called a legend?
Answer:
A legend is a story from ancient times about people and events. The title of
the poem tells that it is a legend. The poet himself says that ‘I don’t believe
it is true’.
Question
8.
Write the story of ‘A Legend of the Northland’ in about ten sentences.
Answer:
The poem is a story of an old woman. She is asked by Saint Peter for alms who
has become weak because of fasting and travelling. But her greed forces her not
to give him anything. He becomes angry and makes her a woodpecker who bores
hard, dry wood to get food. Her clothes are burnt to ashes and she is left with
a cap on her head. She continues boring into hard wood for her little food.
II.
Question 1.
Let’s look at words at the end of the second and fourth lines, viz., ‘snows’
and ‘clothes’, ‘true’ and ‘you’, ‘below’ and ‘know’. We find that ‘snows’
rhymes with ‘clothes’, ‘true’ rhymes with ‘you’ and ‘below’ rhymes with ‘know’.
Find more such rhyming words.
Answer:
Earth-hearth, done-one, lay-away, another-over, flat-that, faint-saint, form-
worm, food-wood, same-flame.
Question
2.
Go to the local library or talk to older persons in your locality and find
legends in your own language. Tell the class these legends.
Answer:
Do it yourself.
Additional Questions
Short answer type
questions
Question
1.
Why was Saint Peter tired and hungry?
Answer:
Saint Peter was a holy man. He used to preach people. For his preaching he
often made long journey. During the course of his journey, sometimes, he did
not take food and water. Besides, he had to observe fasts also. Fasts and
journey were the essential part of his life. Hence, he was tired and hungry.
Question
2.
What happened to the cake every time when the old lady tried to bake it?
Answer:
The old lady was a greedy woman. She had no desire to share her things with
others. Once Saint Peter was tired and hungry. He arrived at her cottage to get
something. The old lady tried again and again to bake a too small cake for
Saint Peter. But the size of cake always appeared to her bigger and the lady
was even unable to give this cake to the saint.
Question
3.
What happened to the old lady when Saint Peter cursed her?
Answer:
Saint Peter became angry at her greed because she did not give a piece of cake
to Saint Peter to satiate his hunger. When he cursed the lady, she turned into
a bird. She flew through the chimney. Finally, she became a woodpecker. She
wore a red cap and her body was black. Besides, she was bound to live in the
forest with scanty food.
Question
4.
Describe the landscape of the Northland as described in the poem.
Answer:
The Northland is far away in the north. In this land of snow and ice, the days
are very short. The nights are too long. When it snows, they harness swift
reindeer to the sledges. Children are packed with so many layers of clothes to
protect from the cold. In their funny and furry clothes they look like cubs of
bears.
Question
5.
Why does the poet tell a story which he does not believe to be true?
Answer:
The poet wants to tell a ‘curious’ story. It is the story of St. Peter and a
greedy little woman. The poet himself doesn’t believe in the truth of the
story. But still he is compelled to tell this story simply for one reason. The
story gives a moral lesson. Greed is an evil trait in man. It is punished in
the end. The greedy little woman who didn’t want to give a small piece of cake
to hungry St. Peter was cursed to be a woodpecker. She had to live with little
food. We should show human qualities in our behaviour.
Question
6.
Who was St. Peter and why did he come to the cottage of a little woman?
Answer:
St. Peter was a holy man and a Christian saint. He went around different places
preaching the people. Too much travelling made him tired and hungry. He needed
food and rest badly. Therefore, he came to the cottage of a little woman who
was making cakes. He asked the woman to give one from her store of cakes to
him.
Question
7.
Why did the little woman knead another and still a smaller cake?
Answer:
St. Peter asked the little woman to give one cake from her store of cakes. The
little woman made a very little piece of cake to give it to the hungry Saint
Peter. However, even that little piece seemed too large to be given away.
Therefore, the greedy little woman kneaded another and still a smaller cake.
Question
8.
Why did the little old woman have to struggle for her scanty food after she was
cursed to be a woodpecker?
Answer:
The greedy little woman denied hungry St Peter even a small piece of cake. She
made a very small piece of cake but it seemed too large to her to be given
away. She went on making it still small and smaller. She was cursed by St.
Peter to be a woodpecker. She was made to struggle even for her scanty food. As
a woodpecker, she went on boring to get a small morsel of food.
Long answer type
questions
Question
1.
A holy man should not curse the lady. Justify this statement in the context of
the poem ‘A Legend of the Northland’.
Answer:
A holy man is known for his wisdom. He teaches moral lessons to the people
whether they are liberal or greedy. All are equal in his eyes. In the present
story, Saint Peter is a holy man. He is also famous for his preaching. He has
preached and travelled a lot. So, he is hungry. He asks the lady for some food
but she does not share her food with him. Finally, the saint becomes angry and
curses her. In fact, he should have shown some mercy and the example of his
wisdom. Therefore, it is appropriate to say that a holy man should not curse
the lady.
Question
2.
How can you say that the old lady was greedy?
Answer:
The old lady was running a bakery. Saint Peter was a wise saint. He had
travelled and preached a lot so he was tired and hungry. He had arrived at her
door for some food. Still the lady made him wait for the cake for a long time.
Every time she tried to bake too small cake but unfortunately the cake often
seemed to her of a bigger size. The old lady did not want to share the cake of
this size with the saint. At last, the saint grew angry and cursed her. So, it
can be said that her greed had no limit.
Question
3.
Why was St. Peter forced to curse the greedy little woman? Do you justify the
action of St. Peter?
Answer:
St. Peter was a holy man. He was a Christian saint. He spent his time moving
around places and preaching the people there. Saints generally bless the
people. They don’t curse them. However, these holy men resort to cursing when
people defy good sense and become evil. The little woman in the story was
extremely selfish and greedy. After much travelling and preaching, St. Peter
had become tired. He had become weak and hungry after the fast. He came to the
cottage of the little woman for food. Seeing her baking cakes, St. Peter asked
her to give one from her store of cakes. The greedy woman made a very little
piece of cake for him. Even that small piece looked too large to be given away
to the saint. Hence, she went on making it smaller and smaller. The hungry St.
Peter cursed the selfish and greedy woman. She was cursed to be a woodpecker
boring and struggling for her scanty food. St. Peter was justified in cursing
her. She had deprived a tired and hungry saint even from a small piece of cake.
She was rightly punished for her greed.
Question
4.
Why was the little woman cursed particularly to be a woodpecker and not another
bird? How did she struggle to get her scanty food?
Answer:
The little woman aroused the anger of a holy man. The saint spent most of his
time in travelling and preaching. Constant fasting had made him hungry and
weak.
Saint
Peter asked for a small piece of cake when he saw a little woman baking cakes.
The greedy woman could have easily given a piece of cake to the saint. But the
selfish woman thought that even a very little piece was too large to be given
away to him. She denied even this little offering. The saint cursed her to be a
woodpecker. A woodpecker has to bore for a long time to get even a scanty food.
She was cursed to labour hard by boring into the tree to get even her scanty
food as she had made the saint to wait so long for such a small piece of cake.
Value based questions
Question
1.
What moral lesson do you get from this poem?
Answer:
This poem teaches us that true happiness lies in sharing things with the
persons who are in need. If we are greedy, we cannot have happiness in our
life. On the other hand our charitable nature makes us think about pains and
sorrows suffered by the other people. The charitable people have many friends
and they are always connected with one another with a strong bond of
sentiments. But the greedy people have hardly any friends and they often live
alone in the world.
Question
2.
What quality do you find in saints?
Answer:
Saints are wise people. They have gained heavenly power. Riches make no sense
for them, for which people often hanker. They need only food to survive in this
world. They travel far off land and give people moral lessons.
Question
3.
How is true satisfaction spoiled by greed?
Answer:
True satisfaction lies in sharing things with others. Peace and satisfaction
are the two sides of a coin. If there is satisfaction in our life, peace is
bound to come in our life. However greed spoils both. If we are greedy, we
cannot get satisfaction as well as peace in our life. In the poem, the old lady
was greedy and she failed to give cake to the saint. If she had satisfaction,
she would certainly have shown honour and regard to the saint. So, in the case
of this little lady it can be said that her greed had spoiled her peace and
satisfaction.
Actually,
saints try to create such societies in which all the people shall be treated
with equality and greed will have no room in them. With the help of teachings,
they desire to bring down heaven on the earth.
Based Questions(3 marks)
Read the extract given extracts
below and answer the questions that follow:
Question
1:
He came to the door of a cottage In travelling round the earth Where a
little woman was making cakes And baking them on the hearth
1.
Who does “he” refer to in the first line?
2.
What request did “he” make to the woman?
3.
Was the little woman rewarded or punished? Why?
Answer:
1.
“He” refers to Saint Peter in the first line.
2.
“He” requested the woman to give him a cake.
3.
The little woman was punished since she was highly stingy,
miserly, greedy and mean.
Question
2:
He came to the door of a cottage
In travelling round the earth
Where a little woman was making cakes
And baking them on the hearth.
1.
What was Saint Peter doing?
2.
What was the little woman making?
3.
What is a hearth?
Answer:
1.
Saint Peter was travelling.
2.
The little woman was baking cakes.
3.
Hearth is a fire-place.
Question
3:
Then Saint Peter grew angry
For he was hungry and faint ‘
And surely such a woman Was enough to provoke a saint
1.
Why was Saint Peter about to faint?
2.
How did the woman provoke Saint Peter?
3.
What is the rhyming scheme of the given stanza?
Answer:
1.
Saint Peter was about to faint as he had been preaching and
fasting.
2.
The woman provoked Saint Peter by not giving him the cakes that
were baked for him.
3.
abcb.
Question
4:
He came to the door of a cottage In travelling round the earth Where a
little woman was making cakes And baking them on the hearth.
1.
What was Saint Peter doing?
2.
What was the little woman making?
3.
What is a hearth?
Answer:
1.
Saint Peter was travelling.
2.
The little woman was baking cakes.
3.
Hearth is a fire-place.
Question
5:
And being faint with fasting For the day was almost done
He asked her, from her store of cakes,
To give him a single one.
1.
Who is “He” in the extract?
2.
What did he ask her to*give him?
3. Trace a word from the
extract that means “weak”.
Answer:
1.
“He” referred to in the extract is Saint Peter.
2.
He asked her to give him one cake from her store. ‘
3.
Faint
Question
6:
And being faint with fasting,
For the day was almost done,
He asked her, from her store of cakes,
To give him a single one.
1.
Who is “He” in the passage?
2.
Why was he fainting?
3. What is meant by “the
day was almost done”?
4.
Answer:
1.
“He” in the passage is Saint Peter.
2.
He was fainting due to fasting.
3.
“The day was almost done” means that the day had finished or
passed.
Short Answer Type
Questions (2 marks each)
(About
30-40 words each)
Question
1:
Why does the poet say that the hours of the day are few ?
Answer:
In the poem, the poet uses a name Northland. In the area of Northland, the
nights are longer and the days are shorter. As a result there are very few
hours in a day.
Question
2:
Who came knocking at the door of the old woman? Why was he there?
Answer:
In the Northland an old lady Lived in a cottage. She was baking cakes when
St. Peter came knocking at her door. He had become weak with fasting and
travelling. He was looking for food
Question
3:
Is this a true story? Which part of the poem do you think is really important?
Answer:
This is a legend. It is not a true story. Even the poet feels that it is not
true. The most important part of the poem is the point when we realize that the
old woman is very greedy. She could not part with her cakes for a hungry man.
Question
4:
Is this poem correct in being known as a legend? Explain.
Answer:
A legend is a semi true story which has been passed on from person-to-person
through ages. This legend has an important meaning or symbolism for the culture
in which it originates. A legend includes an element of truth or is based on
historic facts but with mythical qualities. The saint in turn curses the old
woman. This poem can also be regarded as a folktale which again is a story told
from one generation to another.
Value Based Questions
Question
1:
Why did the woman bake a little cake ?
Answer:
The woman in the poem has been shown as a highly stingy, miserly, greedy and
mean by nature. Whenever, she took out cake from the hearth, they appeared to
be larger than the original size. Hence, she baked a very small cake for Saint
Peter.
Question
2:
Greed is a quality which God does not like. Discuss it in the context of
the poem.
Answer:
Greed is considered to be a sin. This has been clearly brought out in the poem.
In a legend of the Northland greed has no end. This is evident in the behaviour
of the old lady when she was asked for a cake by St. Peter. She could not even
give him a wafer thin slice. This angered St. Peter and he cursed her to be a
woodpecker. One should always be able to share with others as God has been so
kind to give us so much.
.
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