Poem – 4

How to Tell Wild Animals

In this post, we have given the Important Questions of Poem 4 “How to Tell Wild Animals”. It is the 4th chapter of Class 10th English.

Board	CBSE Board, UP Board, JAC Board, HBSE Board, UBSE Board, PSEB Board, RBSE Board
Textbook	NCERT
Class	Class 10
Subject	English Beehive
Chapter no.	Poem 4
Chapter Name	How to Tell Wild Animals
Category	Class 10 English Important Questions
Medium	English

Poem 4 How to Tell Wild Animals

Question 1. Does ‘Dyin’ really rhyme with ‘lion’ ? Can you say it in such a way that it does?

Answer: No, ‘Dyin’ does not rhyme with ‘lion’. If we change the pronunciation of lion by speaking it as ‘lying’ then it may rhyme with the word ‘dyin’.

Question 2. How does the poet suggest that you identify the lion and the tiger? When can you do so according to him?

Answer: A lion is a large and tawny beast. A Bengal Tiger has black stripes on its yellow coat. A lion roars when it falls upon its prey, while a tiger attacks silently. We can identify the two while roaming in the jungle.

Question 3. Do you think the words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ in the third stanza are spelt correctly? Why does the poet spell them like this?

Answer: The words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ are not spelt correctly. The poet has spelt them like this in order to maintain the rhythm of the poem. The correct spelling of the words, ‘lept’ is leapt and ‘lep’ is leap. The poet has intentionally spelt them incorrectly to create a sense of humour.

Question 4. Do you know what a ‘bearhug’ is? It’s a friendly and strong hug-such as bears are thought to give, as they attack you! Again, hyenas are thought to laugh and crocodiles to weep (‘crocodile tears’) as they swallow their victims. Are there similar expressions and popular ideas about wild animals in your own language (s)?

Answer: A bearhug is when the bear hugs his prey tightly with both hands and presses him to death.

There are indeed similar expressions and popular ideas about wild animals in every language. For example, in Hindi, we say ‘Magarmach ke aansu aaana’ (Crocodile tears) ‘Haathi ke daant dikhane ke aur, khane ke aur’, ‘Ab pachtaye hot kya jab chidiya chug gai khet’, ‘Girgit ke tarah rang badalna’.

Question 5. Look at the line ‘A novice might nonplus.” How would you write this ‘correctly’? Why is the poet’s ‘incorrect’ line better in the poem?

Answer: The line “A novice might nonplus” can be written correctly as “A novice might be nonplussed”. However, the poet’s incorrect line is better in the poem as it maintains the rhyme scheme of the poem. By writing it incorrectly, ‘nonplus’ rhymes with ‘thus’.

Question 6. Can you find other examples of poets taking liberties with language, either in English or in your own language? Can you find examples of humorous poems in your own language (s)?

Answer: One can find plenty of examples in poetry where poets take liberties with language. This is called ‘poetic licence’. Poets take such liberties in order to create proper rhyming and rhythm. For example, in the following lines the word ‘prest’ is used instead of ‘pressed’ so that it may rhyme with ‘breast’.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth’s sweat flowing breast

Question 7. Much of the humour in the poem arisesfrom the way language is used. Although the ideas are funny as well. If there are particular lines in the poem that you especially like, share these lines with the class, speaking briefly about what it is about the ideas or the language that you like or find funny.

Answer: The way the poet has used language and ideas in the poem is indeed humourous. The lines from the poem that appears to be funny are “A noble wild beast greets you”. The idea that a wild beast is going to welcome you is quite funny. The language in the line, “He’ll only lep and lep again” is also very humorous. The concept of ‘lep’ from the word ‘leopard’ generates humour.

Question 8. Name the different animals and birds found in the jungles of the east.

Answer. The different animals are Bengal Tiger, Asian Lion, Leopard, Bear, Crocodile, Hyena, Chameleon and Lizard. There is no mention of any bird in the poem.

Question 9. What features of a bear are described in the poem?

Answer. The bear hugs tightly when he sees him. It clasps its prey tightly with both its forepaws and brings him to death. It again holds it tightly finally killing him.

Question 10. How can you differentiate between a tiger and a leopard?

Answer.  A tiger has black stripes on its yellow coloured coat, but a leopard has spots on its body. A tiger kills its prey to satisfy its hunger, whereas a leopard can even kill for pleasure.

Question 11. What is the brief summary of the poem?

Answer. The poet tries to distinguish different animals in a humorous manner. He is also educating the reader by describing the various features of wild animals. He is introducing all the animals of East one by one in a very practical way. 

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