Geography Lesson, Class 8 English Honeydew Book Poem 2 Explanation, Summary, Difficult words
Geography Lesson Class 8 English Honeydew Book Poem 2 – Detailed explanation of the poem along with meanings of difficult words and literary devices used in the poem. Given here is the complete explanation of the Poem, along with summary. All the exercises and Question and Answers given at the back of the lesson.
Class 8 English (Honeydew Book) Poem 2 – Geography Lesson
By Zulfikar Ghose
- Geography Lesson- Introduction
- Geography Lesson- Summary
- Geography Lesson- Summary in Hindi
- Geography Lesson- Poem and Explanation
- Geography Lesson- Literary Devices
- Geography Lesson – Question and Answers
Geography Lesson- Introduction
In his poem “Geography Lesson”, Zulfikar Ghose talks about how the earth looks from various heights when one is in an airplane or a jet. He tells the readers that what looks unplanned before the jet takes off, makes sense after it is in the air. Once at a certain height, it became clear as to why the city had been developed the way it is. He found the logic behind geography, justified all the facts about the earth being round and having more water than land, but one thing he could not understand was why men found reasons to hate each other, kill each other and build borders across nations.
Geography Lesson- Summary
The poet Zulfikar Ghose begins his poem “Geography Lesson” by telling the readers how it all makes sense when the jet takes off and is at a height of about six inches to a mile. It becomes clear why the city had been developed the way it is. He mentions how unavoidable it was to notice how unplanned and non-stylish the city looked before the jet took off. When the jet reached a certain height of about ten thousand feet, he talks about how it all made sense as to why the country had cities built along the rivers. The poet even understood why the valleys were inhabited. Moreover, the logic that the intersection of land and water fascinated men behind, could clearly be seen. The poet mentions that as the jet reached a height of six miles, one could clearly see that the earth is round and had more sea than land. All these facts became clear but one thing the poet could not understand was the hate that existed among mankind. He could not understand why people found reasons to divide cities by building walls or why men killed each other. Even from such a height, these questions still remained unanswered.
Geography Lesson- Summary in Hindi
कवि जुल्फिकार घोष ने अपनी कविता “भूगोल पाठ” शुरू करते हुए पाठकों को बताया कि जब जेट उड़ान भरता है और लगभग छह इंच से एक मील की ऊंचाई पर होता है तो यह सब कैसे समझ में आता है। यह स्पष्ट हो जाता है कि शहर को जिस तरह से विकसित किया गया था, उसका क्या उद्देश्य था । उन्होंने उल्लेख किया है कि यह देखना कितना अपरिहार्य था कि जेट के उड़ान भरने से पहले शहर कितना अनियोजित और गैर-स्टाइलिश दिखता था। जब जेट लगभग दस हजार फीट की एक निश्चित ऊंचाई पर पहुंच गया, तो वह इस बारे में बात करता है कि यह सब कैसे समझ में आया कि देश में नदियों के किनारे शहर क्यों बने थे। कवि ने यह भी समझा कि घाटियाँ क्यों बसी हुई थीं। इसके अलावा, यह तर्क कि भूमि और पानी के प्रतिच्छेदन ने पुरुषों को पीछे से आकर्षित किया, स्पष्ट रूप से देखा जा सकता था। कवि का उल्लेख है कि जैसे ही जेट छह मील की ऊंचाई तक पहुंचा, कोई स्पष्ट रूप से देख सकता था कि पृथ्वी गोल है और उसपर जमीन से अधिक समुद्र है। ये सभी तथ्य स्पष्ट हो गए लेकिन एक बात जो कवि नहीं समझ सके, वह थी मानव जाति के बीच मौजूद नफरत। वह समझ नहीं पा रहा था कि लोगों ने शहर को दीवार बनाकर बांटने का कारण क्यों ढूंढ़ लिया या पुरुषों ने एक-दूसरे को क्यों मार डाला। इतनी ऊंचाई से भी, ये सवाल अभी भी अनुत्तरित हैं।
Geography Lesson- Poem and Explanation
Poem
When the jet sprang into the sky,
it was clear why the city had
developed the way it had,
seeing it scaled six inches to the mile.
There seemed an inevitability
about what on ground had looked haphazard,
unplanned and without style
When the jet sprang into the sky
Word Meaning:
Sprang– move rapidly upwards
Scaled– covered
Inevitability– the quality of being certain to happen; that cannot be avoided
Haphazard– without plan or order
Explanation of the Poem – In the first stanza, the poet talks about how the city looked like when the jet took off into the sky. He says that as the jet covered a height of six inches to a mile, it made sense why the city had been developed the way it is. He mentions how unavoidable it was to notice how unplanned and non-stylish the city looked before the jet took off. When he says that whatever there was on the ground looked “haphazard”, he means that it appeared as if it was made without a plan or order.
Poem
When the jet reached ten thousand feet,
it was clear why the country
had cities where the rivers ran
and why the valleys were populated.
The logic of geography —
that land and water attracted man —
was clearly delineated
When the jet reached ten thousand feet.
Word Meaning:
Delineated– shown
Explanation of the Poem – In the second stanza, when the jet reached a height of ten thousand feet, he talks about how it all made sense as to why the country had cities built along the rivers. The rivers provide resources as well as a source of earning and livelihood. The poet even understood why the valleys were inhabited. Moreover, the logic behind the geographical structure could clearly be seen when the jet reached a height of ten thousand feet. The logic of Geography stated that the intersection of land and water fascinated men.
Poem
When the jet rose six miles high,
it was clear the earth was round
and that it had more sea than land.
But it was difficult to understand
that the men on the earth found
causes to hate each other, to build
walls across cities and to kill.
From that height, it was not clear why.
Explanation of the Poem – The poet mentions that as the jet reached a height of six miles, one could clearly see that the earth is round. It was also visible that the seas covered more earth than land. All these facts became clear but one thing the poet could not justify was the hate that existed among men. He could not understand why people found reasons to divide cities by building walls or why men kill each other. Even from such a height, these questions still remained unanswered.
Geography Lesson- Rhyme Scheme
It is a 24-lined stanza poem that does not have a rhyme scheme.
Geography Lesson- Literary Devices
1. Alliteration- the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
Eg- “sprang into the sky”, “seeing it scaled six inches to the mile” and “why the valleys were populated”
2. Imagery- visually descriptive or figurative language
Eg- “walls” symbolise borders
“Cities” symbolise countries
Geography Lesson- Question and Answers
1. Find three or four phrases in stanzas one and two which are likely to occur in a geography lesson.
A. The phrases from stanza one and two which are likely to occur in a geography lesson are “ scaled six inches to the mile”, “the valleys were populated” and “that land and water attracted man”.
2. Seen from the window of an aeroplane, the city appears
(i) as haphazard as on ground.
(ii) as neat as a map.
(iii) as developed as necessary.
Mark the right answer.
A. (iii) as developed as necessary.
3. Which of the following statements are examples of “the logic of geography”?
(i) There are cities where there are rivers.
(ii) Cities appear as they are not from six miles above the ground.
(iii) It is easy to understand why valleys are populated.
(iv) It is difficult to understand why humans hate and kill one another.
(v) The earth is round, and it has more sea than land.
A. The lines that are example of “the logic of geography” are-
(i) There are cities where there are rivers.
(iii) It is easy to understand why valleys are populated.
4. Mention two things that are
(i) clear from the height.
(ii) not clear from the height.
A.
(i) clear from the height.
- There are cities where there are rivers
- The earth is round, and it has more sea than land.
(ii) not clear from the height.
- Why men find reasons to hate each other
- Why men divide cities by building walls
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