THE POWER OF MUSIC, NET MATERIALS

 

The Power of Music Summary

During the summer season, one can hear the song of Bhisma Lochan Sharma. It is loud and can be heard from Delhi to Burma. His voice is not pleasant. So it seems that perhaps he has lost a bet and has to sing because of that or he has decided to sing forcefully. The people are confused and cannot think properly due to the unpleasant song. They run around to save themselves and a stampede occurs. Their faces are pale and they look ill due to Bhisma’s unpleasant voice. They request him to stop singing. Even the animals are affected by the loud noise. The bullock carts get overturned and the horses come out on the roads. But the singer continues. The animals disliked the sound of his song as soon as they heard it. They cry in revolt and even raise their feet in the air. The fishes try to escape the noise by diving deep into the water. Even the tree trembles and gets uprooted. The thud sound can be heard even a mile away. The birds flying in the sky overturn. All the people cry and request Bhisma to stop or else they will die. The sky also weeps on hearing his noise.

A wise male goat appears. He attacks Bhisma with his horns. Its bellow sound is similar to the noise made by Bhisma. Bhisma is thrown up in the air, and he rotates around. Thus Bhisma stops and the world gets a gift of silence.

The Power of Music Poem Explanation

Poem:
When summer comes, we hear the hums
Bhisma Lochan Sharma.
You catch his strain on hill and plain from Delhi
down to Burma.
He sings as though he’s staked his life, he sings
as though he’s hell-bent;
The people, dazed, retire amazed although they
know it’s well-meant.

Word meanings:
Hums: sings
Strain: song / music
Staked: put on bet
Hell-bent: determined, stubborn
Dazed: unable to think clearly
Retire: leave
Amazed: greatly surprised

Explanation:
During the summer months, one can hear Bhisma Lochan Sharma singing. His song can be heard on hills and plains which shows that he sings loudly. He can be heard over a long distance. The poet creates humour when he says that one can hear Bhisma’s song from Delhi to Burma. He sings as if someone has forced him to do so because his song is not at all melodious. It is as if he has lost a bet and now he has to sing in return for losing, or perhaps he is determined to sing irrespective of whether his singing is pleasant or not. On hearing his unpleasant song, the audience gets dizzy and confused. They leave the show but they know that Bhisma is singing for their entertainment.

Poem:
They’re trampled in the panic rout or languish
pale and sickly,
And plead ‘My friend, we’re near our end, oh
stop your singing quickly! ‘
The bullock-carts are overturned, and horses
line the roadside;
But Bhisma Lochan, unconcerned, goes
booming out his broadside.

Word meanings:
Trampled: crushed
Panic rout: stampede
Languish: force to suffer
Sickly: ill
Plead: request
Near our end: have lost patience
Overturned: turned upside down
Unconcerned: does not bother
‘booming out his broadside’: sings in such a loud voice that sounds harsh to others

Explanation:
The audience starts running away from Bhisma’s concert. There is a stampede. The audience feels sick. They request Bhisma to stop the noise. Even the animals are affected by his unpleasant song. The bullock carts overturn and the horses also come on the roads to escape the noise. But Bhisma continues to sing in his loud, unpleasant voice.

Poem:
The wretched brutes resent the blare the hour
they hear it sounded,
They whine and stare with feet in air or wonder
quite confounded.
The fishes dived below the lake in frantic search
for silence,
The very trees collapse and shake – you hear the
crash a mile hence –

Word meanings:
Wretched: pitiful
Brutes: animals (horses)
Resent: protest
Blare: loud, unpleasant noise
Whine: cry out
Confounded: highly upset
Dived: plunge down
Frantic: desperate
Collapse: fall down
Crash: loud sound (thud)

Explanation:
The poor horses cry out against the loud noise as soon as they hear it. They become upset, they cry and revolt by raising their feet in the air. Even the fishes dive into the water bodies, hoping that in the depths they will get away from the noise. The trees also tremble and get uprooted, on hearing the harsh sound of Bhisma’s song. The sound of the tree falling can be heard for a distance of one mile.

Poem:
And in the sky the feathered fly turn turtle while
they’re winging,
Again we cry, ‘We’re going to die, oh won’t you
stop your singing?
But Bhisma’s soared beyond our reach, howe’er
we plead and grumble;
The welkin weeps to hear his screech, and mighty
mansions tumble.

Word meanings:
Feathered fly: birds
Turn turtle: go upside down
Winging: flying
Soared: sang so loudly
Grumble: complain in an unpleasant way
Welkin: sky
Screech: loud, unpleasant sound
Mighty: strong
Mansions: buildings
Tumble: fall down

Explanation:
The birds flying in the sky above overturn on hearing the unpleasant sound of Bhisma’s song. The people cry and say that they will die if he doesn’t stop his singing. But Bhisma kept on singing loudly. He was not affected by the requests and complaints of the audience. Even the sky started crying due to his loud noise and the huge houses started falling apart.

Poem:
But now there comes a billy goat, a most
sagacious fellow,
He downs his horns and charges straight, with
bellow answ’ring bellow.
The strains of song are tossed and whirled by
blast of brutal violence,
And Bhisma Lochan grants the world the golden
gift of silence.

Word meanings:
Billy goat: male goat
Sagacious: wise
Downs: put down
Charges: hits
Bellow: shout in a loud voice
Whirled: circled
Tossed: thrown up in the air

Explanation:
Then a male goat arrives. It is a wise animal. It attacks Bhisma with its horns. The goat makes a bellow sound which is similar to the noise made by Bhisma. The singer, Bhisma is hit, he is tossed in the air and rotates in the air due to the heavy blow by the goat. Thus the noise ends and everyone gets the gift of silence.

 

Class 10 English The Power of Music Question Answers – Comprehension Passages

PASSAGE-1

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
When summer comes, we hear the hums
Bhisma Lochan Sharma
You catch his strain on hill and plain from Delhi
down to Burma
He sings as though he’s staked his life, he sings
as though he’s hell-bent;

(i) Who is Bhisma Lochan Sharma? How does he sing?
Ans. He is a singer who sings unpleasantly.

(ii) In Lines 3-4 the poet uses a hyperbole. What is its purpose?
Ans. A hyperbole is used to exaggerate.

(iii) What kind of person is Bhisma?
Ans. He is stubborn.

(iv) How are people affected by his song, as revealed later in the context?
Ans. They get confused, they are in shock and they panic.

(v) What do they plead with Bhisma? Does he listen to them? If not, why not?
Ans. They plead that he must stop singing. He does not listen to them. It seems that either he has staked his life or that he is determined to keep on singing.

PASSAGE-2

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
The people, dazed, retire amazed although they
know it’s well-meant.
They’re trampled in the panic rout or languish
pale and sickly.
And plead, ‘My friend, we’re near our end, oh
stop your singing quickly!’

(i) What has confounded the people?
Ans. Bhisma’s unpleasant singing.

(ii) What do they plead to Bhisma?
Ans. To stop singing.

(iii) How does Bhisma’s music affect them?
Ans. It puts them in a daze. They are shocked and panicked.

(iv) What do they want?
Ans. They want him to stop the loud, unpleasant noise.

(v) Who else besides humans are affected by Bhisma’s singing? How?
Ans. The animals, birds and fishes.

PASSAGE-3

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
The bullock-carts are overturned, and horses
line the roadside;
But Bhisma Lochan, unconcerned, goes
booming out his broadside.
The wretched brutes resent the blare the hour
they hear it sounded,
They whine and stare with feet in air or wonder
quite confounded.

(i) How are people affected by Bhisma’s singing?
Ans. They get confused, they are in shock and they panic.

(ii) What happens to bullock-carts and horses?
Ans. The carts overturn and the horses line the roadside.

(iii) Who are wretched brutes? Why do they behave abnormally?
Ans. The animals who are pitied due to the unpleasant singing.

(iv) Explain the last two lines.
Ans. The animals cry and revolt by waving their legs in the air. They are confounded by the singing.

(v) Even fishes in the lake are affected by Bhisma’s singing. What do they do?
Ans. They dive deep into the water to avoid the noise.

PASSAGE-4

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
The fishes dived below the lake in frantic search
for silence,
The very trees collapse and shake – you hear the
crash a mile hence –
And in the sky the feathered fly turn turtle while
they’re winging.

(i) What exaggerated situations has the poet depicted earlier in the context? What affect do they create?
Ans. The carts overturn and the horses line the roadside. The animals cry and revolt in anger.

(ii) Why do the fishes dive below the lake?
Ans. They try to get rid of the noise.

(iii) What happens to trees?
Ans. They tremble and get uprooted.

(iv) What is amusing about the image of the flying birds in Lines 5-6 here?
Ans. The birds turn upside down while they are flying.

(v) Which, according to you, is the most absurd situation depicted in the poem?
Ans. The birds turning upside down inflight is absurd.

PASSAGE-5

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Again we cry, ‘We’re going to die, oh won’t you
stop your singing?’
But Bhisma’s soared beyond our reach, howe’er
we plead and grumble;
The welkin weeps to hear his screech, and mighty
mansions tumble.

(i) Who are ‘we’? Why have they to plead repeatedly with Bhisma to stop singing?
Ans. The poet and other onlookers. As the singing is unpleasant, they request him to stop.

(ii) Who are badly affected by Bhisma’s singing?
Ans. The people, animals, birds and fishes.

(iii) What is personified in this extract? What is the purpose?
Ans. The sky is personified. To breathe life into inanimate things.

(iv) In what way are you affected when you read about the fate of humans, animals and even non-living things impacted by unpleasant voice of the singer?
Ans. I feel sympathy towards them.

(v) Who ultimately stops Bhisma from singing and how?
Ans. A wise male goat hits Bhisma with his horns.

PASSAGE-6

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
But now there comes a billy goat, a most
sagacious fellow,
He downs his horns and charges straight, with
bellow answ’ring bellow.
The strains of song are tossed and whirled by
blast of brutal violence,
And Bhisma Lochan grants the world the golden
gift of silence.

(i) Who have failed to stop Bhisma’s song? Why are they unhappy?
Ans. The people have failed. They are unhappy because they have to hear the loud, unpleasant noise.

(ii) How is the billy goat presented here?
Ans. A wise fellow.

(iii) In what way does the goat hit the singer, and to what effect?
Ans. With the horns. The singer flies up in the air and swirls.

(iv) What do you mean by the ‘golden gift of silence’?
Ans. It means that Bhisma stops singing.

(v) What is meant by, ‘bellow answering bellow’.
Ans. It means that the sound of the goat was like Bhisma’s unpleasant song. The goat retaliated Bhisma’s song with his bellow sound.

 

Read the following questions and select the correct option:

1. What kind of poem is ‘The Power of Music’?(a)serious
(b) light-hearted
(c) ironical
(d) elegiac

2. What kind of person was Bhisma Lochan Sharma?
(a) pleasant
(b) stubborn
(c) gentle
(d) arrogant

3. Which of these statements is NOT true?
(a) Human listeners cannot tolerate Bhisma’s noisy singing.
(b) Animals too protest against Bhisma’s noisy singing.
(c) Only the sky remains watching carelessly.
(d) Big trees and buildings collapse under the impact of Bhisma’s loud voice.

4. Which of these animals are pitied?
(a) horses
(b) goats
(c) fishes
(d) flies

5. In what state of mind are the human listeners?
(a) cheerful
(b) dazed
(c) indifferent
(d) sullen

6. Which of these collapse on hearing Bhisma’s voice?
(a) roads
(b) building and trees
(c) bridges
(d) none of the above

7. The satire in the poem is directed against …………. .
(a) bad, loud singing
(b) human listeners
(c) fishes
(d) horses

8. ‘The welkin weeps to hear his screech …’ Which literary device is used here?
(a) simile
(b) metaphor
(c) hyperbole
(d) personification

9. How is the billy goat described in the poem?
(a) foolish
(b) intelligent
(c) silly
(d) eccentric

10. Despite their irritation people agree that the song is … .
(a) harmful
(b) well-meant
(c) moralistic
(d) sensuous

11. What does ‘billy’ mean?
(a) pretty
(b) like a cat
(c) silly
(d) wise

12. What is the golden gift?
(a) watch
(b) necklace
(c) silence
(d) friendship

13. What is the rhyme scheme?
(a) abab
(b) abcb
(c) abcd
(d) aabb

14. Bhisma’s song can be heard from Delhi to _____
(a) Agra
(b) Burma
(c) Bangladesh
(d) Thailand

Answers
1. (b) light-hearted
2. (b) stubborn
3. (c) Only the sky remains watching carelessly.
4. (a) horses
5. (b) dazed
6. (b) building and trees
7. (a) bad, loud singing
8. (d) personification
9. (b) intelligent
10. (b) well-meant
11. (d) wise
12. (c) silence
13. (b) abcb
14. (b) Burma