Class 5 :: English Literature :: My Book - (poem)
My Book
(Poem)
The Poem:
"I love my books.
They are the homes
Of queens and fairies,
Knights and gnomes.
Each time I read, I make a call
On some quaint person, large or small,
Who welcomes me with hearty hand,
And leads me through his wonderland.
Each book is like
A city street
Along whose winding
Way I meet
New friends and old who laugh and sing,
And take me off adventuring!"
The Summary of the Poem:
This poem is about the aspects of book reading. It has three stanzas. In the first stanza, the poet says that he/she loves reading books. Books are the homes of queens, fairies, knights and gnomes as there are many stories about them.
In the second stanza, the poet shares that he/she hears a call of a strange person whenever he/she reads book. The strange person welcomes the poet and takes him/her to some wonderland. Actually the poet experiences some joy and happiness reading the books.
In the third or last stanza, the poet has compared every book with a city street. While we walk along a street, we find various known and unknown people in every twist and turns of the street. In the same way, the poet discovers new and old characters in the duration of reading books. The characters make the poet laugh or cry and give him/her an adventurous experience.
1. Name two things that books are compared to in the poem.
= The two things that books are compared to in the poem are - i) the homes of queens and fairies, knights and gnomes, and ii) a city street.
2. In the poem, find
a) the opposite of the word 'ordinary'
= 'adventuring'.
b) a synonym of the word 'twisting'
= 'winding'
c) two pairs of rhyming words.
= 'homes-gnomes'; 'call-small';
3. "I love my books.
They are the homes
Of queens and fairies,
Knights and gnomes."
a) How does the narrator feel about books?
= The narrator loves books.
b) List the characters that the poet has read about.
= the poet has read about - queens, fairies, knights and gnomes.
c) What kind of books do you think that the poet is describing in these lines? Name one such book that you have read.
= The poet is describing about fairy tales.
The name of such a book is 'Beauty and the Beast'.
4. Who 'welcomes' the poet? What do you think the expression 'hearty hands' means?
= Some large or small quint person 'welcomes' the poet.
The expression 'hearty hand' means with warm-hearted and friendly manner.
5. How is reading a book like having an adventure?
= According to the poet, the book he reads is like a city street. It has lots of bends and turns. The poet meets new and old friends who laugh and sing. This feels like having an adventure to the poet.
6. What book do you enjoy reading? If you meet someone who did not read books, what would you say to encourage the person to read?
= I love to read books of all kinds. I like poetry books, fairy tales, adventure books and my school text books the most.
If I meet someone who did not read books, I would say him that books are our best friends. Books not only increase our knowledge but also guide us to live a good life.