The Goat Path by James Stephens
The Goat Path
- by James Stephens
1. Where are the straying goats found ?
Ans.- The straying goats are found in the wasteland covered with shrubs which provide them mouthful of grass.
2. Why do the goats go to the heath and not to a grassy field ?
Ans.- The goats go to the the crooked path and not to grassy field because they find both sunniness and quietness; also there is no disturbance as its upon the hill.
3. Are these goats different from the others of their kind?
Ans.- No, these goats are not at all different from the other goats of the same species.
By nature ,the goats like quietness away from disturbance of any kind.
4. How many times are the words relating to "quiet " used in this poem? And to what effect?
Ans.- The word "quite" has been used 10 times in this poem.
The poet James Stephens has used the word "quite" to describe the calm and silent atmosphere of the hill where the goats happily graze through out the day without any disturbance.
5. How does the poet relate " quietly in quietness" ( line 13 ) to " the roving Sky " (line 16 ) ?
If you were to make two sections of the poem ,how would you divide it ?
Ans.- The poet James Stephens relates the phrase - "quietly in quietness" of line 13 to that of the phrase " the roving sky" of line 16 as there is a similarity. On the hill , the goats graze in a quite manner like wise above we find " the roving sky" also keeps moving silently in a quite manner.
6. How would you react if someone called the first section " observation "and the second , "reflections" ?Ans.- Yes, we will agree to the name - the first section as " observation " and second as "reflection" as James Stevens is very much impressed by the life of the goats and wants to follow it in his own life.
7. What do you notice in the voice of the poet ?
Ans.- We find 'a sense of oneness with God's creation in the voice of the poet.
8. What does the poet say he would do when is ' sunny solitude ' is disturbed ?
Ans.- James Stephens says when his 'Sunny Solitude' is disturbed he would run away to a more quieter place where there is no disturbance.
9. Why does the poet called the goats ' wise ' ?
Ans.- The poet - James Stephens call the goats ' wise' as they live a care free life away the evil thoughts and feelings against dear ones away from greed , jealousy, selfishness etc.
10. The expression "if I were" conveys a wish . What is the poet's wish?
Ans. Yes, the expression "if I were" conveys a wish. The poet's wish is to become a goat so that he could listen to his inner-self by moving away from all disturbances to enjoy the natural process of life and the world .This way he can have the true meaning of life and peace.
11. "I would think until I found / something I can never find. " How would you comment on the complexity of thought implicit in these lines?
Ans. James Stephens is very much upset with the negative mind set of the people in his surroundings. The way he describes the goat path and their solitary life , it seems he also wants to run away from all noise and the complexities of the world.
12. Can you write a simple paraphrase of the last stanza.
Ans. In the last time stanza of the poem - "The goat path" , the poet - James Stephens wants to be in a quite and lovely place where there is no noise. He wants to meditate on his inner self to understand the natural process of life and the world so that he can explore something new in his life.
14. What purpose do the words "quite sunniness" , "Sunny quietness", "deeper sunniness" , "quietly in quietness" , " sunny solitude" serve”?
Ans. - i) they cast a spell on the reader.
- Actually , these words give meanings to understand the depth of the poem.
Also, ii) they add to the musicality of the poem.
Comments
Post a Comment