Brotherhood Questions and Answers
Answer the following questions (each in a single sentence):
What does the poet of ‘Brotherhood‘ see when he looks up?
The poet of ‘Brotherhood’ sees that the stars when he looks up.
How does the poet introduce himself in the poem ‘Brotherhood’?
Ans. In the beginning of the poem ‘Brotherhood’ the man.
Who spells out the poet’s destiny?
Ans. The almighty God or the poet’s reader spells put the poet’s destiny.
(‘Unknowing I understand’- What does the poet understand?
Ans. The poet understands that he too is written like all other elements of the universe.
How does the poet express the magnitude of the night in ‘Brotherhood? or, How is the night in ‘Brotherhood’?
Ans. The poet expresses the magnitude of night by calling it enormous.
In ‘Brotherhood’ what does Octavio Paz mean by ‘Little do I last’?
Ans. By the expression ‘Little do I last’ Octavio Paz means that the life-span of human beings is short.
Who do the stars write ?
Ans. The stars write the life of the man as part of the universe.
What do the stars control in the poem ‘Brotherhood?’
Ans. In the poem ‘Brotherhood’ the stars control the life and destiny of a man.
What is the original title of the poem ‘Brotherhood’?
Ans. The original title of the poem ‘Brotherhood’ is ‘Hermandad’.
In which language was the poem actually composed?
Ans. The poem was composed in the Spanish language.
12 Who translated ‘Hermandad’ into English?
Ans. Eliot Weinberger translated the poem into English.
13 ‘I am a man’- Who is the ‘man’ referred to in the opening line of the poem?
Ans. In the opening line of the poem ‘man’ is referred to human being.
14 What does the poet of Brotherhood’ feel about the night?
Ans. The poet feels that the night enveloping the universe is enormous.
15 How does the poet understand that he too is written?
Ans. The poet understands that he too is written unknowingly.
To Who is that ‘someone’ that spells out the poet in ‘Brotherhood?’
Ans. ‘Someone’ refers to the reader of the poem.
What does the poet see the stars to do in ‘Brotherhood’?
Ans. In the poem ‘Brotherhood’ the poet sees the stars to write.
18 out ‘ ‘And at this very moment/Someone spells me What moment is suggested in the line?
Ans. The moment suggested here is the moment when the poem is being read.
19 When does the poet of ‘Brotherhood’ see that the stars write ?
Ans. The poet of ‘Brotherhood’ sees the stars to write when he looks up.
20 How long, according to the poet of ‘Brotherhood’ does a man last?
Ans. According to the poet, a man lasts little or for a short while.
21 Who ‘spells out’ the poet of the poem ‘Brotherhood’?
Ans. The readers of his poem spell out the poet of the poem ‘Brotherhood’.
To whom is a homage paid in the poem ‘Brotherhood’?
Ans. In the poem ‘Brotherhood’ a homage is paid to Claudius Ptolemy.
|
When does the poet of ‘Brotherhoodthat he too is written ?
Ans. The poet of ‘Brotherhood’ feels is written when he looks up into the sky.
At what time did the poet of ‘Brotherhood’ look up into the sky?
Ans. The poet of ‘Brotherhood’ looked up into the sky at night.
What is the poet’s final realization in the poem ‘Brotherhood’?
Ans. The final realization of the poet in the poem Brotherhood is the kinship between the universe and mankind.
Long Answer Type / Descriptive Type Marks-5
In the poem ‘Brotherhood’ what does the poet
say about his position on earth? What does the poet mean by ‘I Too am written?’ How does he understand this? [2 + 2 + 1 = 5] .
The poet looks up the starry night sky. He feels man is very tiny compared to the vast and powerful infinite universe. Man’s life is transitory. He realizes his life is insignificant in this gigantic universe.
The poet feels that his life is settled beforehand. He is too created as part and parcel of this creation. Cosmic laws are there to control and regulate his existence. At this very moment he is being spelt and in the ongoing process of creation that exists perpetually.
Though the poet cannot explain it by reason, he realizes it instinctively.
What is the central idea of the poem ‘Brotherhood’?
Ans. ‘Brotherhood’ is a short but a very meaningful poem. In this poem the poet tells about man’s relationship with the universe and the meaning of his life from this universal perspective. Man appears to be an insignificant part of this infinite and timeless universe with his little knowledge and short life-span. But after being inspired by Ptolemy’s endeavour to unravel the mystery of the universe, the poet realizes that his life has a particular purpose in this universal scheme.
‘ Give the significance of the line unknowing I understand’ in ‘Brotherhood’.
Ans. The poem ‘Brotherhood’ begins with the poet’s realization that he is an insignificant man in the infinite universe. He lives for a short while in this timeless world. Then he looks up in the starry sky overhead. He finds the stars that are sending message to him with their far-off blinks. The poet fails to logically understand the meaning of their message. But at that very moment his intuition leads the way. He understands that his life is an integral part of this universe. The manner in which realization comes to him is epigrammatically expressed as ‘unknowing I understand’.
How does the poet see himself in the first two lines of the poem ? What does he realize in the end? [2 + 3 = 5]
Ans. In the first two lines of the poem the poet sees himself as an insignificant human being. He also expresses his awareness that his life span is short in this universe. Along with this he also feels that the night which envelops the universe is enormous and timeless.
The poet, after being dejected at his insignificance in this universe looks up into the sky. He then observes that the far-off stars are sending message. Intuitively he understands the message that he is also an integral part of the universe. The purpose of his life as a poet is to be meticulously studied by his readers.
‘Someone spells me out’-Who is suggested by ‘someone’? How does he spell out the speaker? [2 + 3 = 5]
Ans. The word ‘someone’ here stands for the unknown reader who is reading the poem. Again, it may be the Almighty God existing in this universe. In the last two lines of the poem ‘Brotherhood’ the poet has remarked that at the moment of the poem being read, someone spells him out.
Literally, ‘spell out’ means to explain something in simple terms. The optimistic poet will live in this world through his creation. When a reader reads his poem, he tries to explain himself the ideas or thoughts conveyed in the poem. When a reader reads ‘Brotherhood’ he actually spells out the poet Octavio Paz.
What is man in the hood’ with? contrasted his = 5] contrast? Explain the process by which speaker in ‘Brotherhood’ comes to realize position. [1 + 2 + 2
ans. In the poem ‘Brotherhood’ man is contrasted with the night, signifying the unknown universe. poem What is ‘Brother. the the The contrast is between man and the universal elements like stars. Man is small while the universe is enormous and infinite. Again, a man lives for a short while other universal elements stay for million and million of years.
The poet felt dejected at his smallness and short life-span. But when he looked up into the sky he found that the stars were writing messages for him. Without knowing the poet comprehends that he too is created as a part and parcel of this creation.
‘But I look up’-where did the poet look? What did he realize before looking up? What was his realization after looking up? [1 + 2 + 2 = 5]
Ans. The poet looked up into the sky.
Before looking up into the night sky full of blinking stars the poet realized that he was a man and his lifespan was short in comparison with the night enveloping the enormous and timeless universe.
After looking up into the sky the poet saw that the stars were writing messages for him. He understood the message without logical perception that he too was written and the purpose of his life as a poet was to be spelt out by his readers.
9 Why do you think that the poem ‘Brotherhood’ is dedicated as a homage to Claudius Ptolemy? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans. Claudius Ptolemy was a first century mathematician of Alexandria in Egypt. Ptolemy calculated the geocentric model of the universe. It was considered as authentic model till Renaissance. In other words Ptolemy was one among the humans to I have tried to establish a relationship between man and the universe. In the poem, ‘Brotherhood’ the poet Octavio Paz is also trying to explain his position as a human being in the universal scheme. From this approach the poem is a befitting tribute to Ptolemy. The poem is meaningfully dedicated to Ptolemy.
10 “I too am written’-who is referred to as ‘I’? What leads him to this realization? In what way is he written? [1 + 2 + 2 = 5]
Ans. The poet of the poem ‘Brotherhood’ is referred to here as ‘I’.
As a man the poet finds himself small, insignificant in comparison with other enormous elements of the universe. Then he looks up into the sky and finds that the stars are sending message to him about his position in the universe.
The poet’s life is written in the sense that he is connected with other elements and lives in the universe. His vocation as a poet has a purpose that his poems and ideas will be understood and explained by his readers.
***********************************************
RAED MORE….
Noble Lecture by Mother Teresa Questions and Answers
The Sick Rose Questions and Answers
Meeting at Night Questions and Answers
Daybreak Questions and Answers
The Place of Art in Education Questions and Answers