POEM
A PSALM OF LIFE
What the Heart of the Young Man Said to the Psalmist
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream! For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Find us farther than today.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
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5
10
15
20
Trust no Future, how’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, - act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to walk.
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- H W Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), the great
American poet, was a professor at Harvard. His great fame began
with the publication of his first volume of poems ‘Voices of the
Night’ in 1839, which included “A Psalm of Life,” one of nineteenth
century’s best-loved poems. His other collections include Ballads
(1841), Evangeline (1847), Hiawatha (1855), The Courtship of
Miles Standish (1858) and Tales of a Wayside Inn (1863).
Longfellow was the most popular poet of his age and during
his lifetime he became a ‘national institution’. “His work was
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musical, mildly romantic, high-minded, and flavoured with
sentimental preachment” (Norton Anthology of American
Literature).
“This poem seems to give a great deal of good advice. It
tells the reader not to waste his/her time but to be up and going;
not to be discouraged by failures but to have a heart for any fate;
not to judge life by temporary standards but to look to eternal
reward.” (Brooks and Warren)
Glossary (the line numbers are given for easy reference):
Psalm /sA:m/
1 numbers /'nVmbEz/
3 slumbers /'slVmbEz/
7 dust /dVst/
10 destined end
/'destInd end/
11-12
13 fleeting /fli:tIN/
14 stout /staOt/
15 muffled /'mVfld/
18 the bivouac of life
/QE 'bIvOGk Ev laIf/
31 forlorn /fE'lC:n/
:
:
:
:
song or poem
poetic metres, rhythms
sleeps
Refer to Genesis (The Bible)
3:19. “Dust thou art, and unto
dust shalt thou return.”
: goal
: There should be progress every
day of our lives and tomorrow
should be much better than today.
: passing/brief
: strong
: not easy to hear
: simple temporary camp made by
: soldiers. Here it refers to the
temporary stay (sojourn) in this
world.
: lonely and sad
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I.
Answer the following questions briefly in about 50 words
each:
1.
What does the life of great men teach us?
2.
Highlight the significance of the line, “Act in the living present.”
3.
Comment on the last line of the poem: “Learn to labor, not to
walk”.
II. Answer the following question briefly in about 200 words:
What is the message of this poem?
III. Answer the following questions:
1.
Mark the rhyme scheme of the poem. The rhyme scheme for
the first stanza is as follows:
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
a
Life is but an empty dream! -
b
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
a
And things are not what they seem.
2.
b
Alliteration: “Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant
sound in several nearby words.” Note that in alliteration the
sound and sense go together.
“For the soul is dead that slumbers
And the grave is not its goal.”
In the first line, /s/ is repeated (soul-slumbers), and in the
second line /g/ is repeated (grave-goal). Find out two more instances
of alliteration.
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UNIT II
COMPETENCIES
A LISTENING: Identifying pauses
B SPEAKING: Facing/conducting interviews
C READING: Reacting to a text
Evaluating a text
D VOCABULARY: Identifying words in extensive reading and
relating them meaningfully
Using/identifying words belonging to different semantic
networks in speech/writing
Using words according to their grammatical function
E STUDY SKILLS: Accessing the Internet
Using the e-mail for sending / gathering information
F GRAMMAR: Using conditional/concessive clauses
G WRITING: Writing a letter
H OCCUPATIONAL COMPETENCY: Writing a message
I STRATEGIC COMPETENCY: Using language confidently
J CREATIVE COMPETENCY: Attempting to write a poem
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A. Listening
In the first Unit, you have learnt in detail how to listen to a
passage being read and to divide it into tone groups. Pauses served
as cues for dividing into tone groups. Now let us focus on pause
alone. As you are aware, in written English, pauses are indicated
by commas, semicolons and fullstops. So when you read a text you
will have to pause wherever and whenever necessary so as to convey
the meaning of the sentence effectively.
The teacher will read a passage twice. Listen carefully.
(The teacher reads)
Were you able to comprehend the passage in the first reading?
If not, why?
How did the reading sound?
Were you able to comprehend the passage in the second
reading?
What do you think, helped you in your comprehension?
How did the second reading sound?
Task:
One of your classmates will read a passage. Listen
carefully and identify the number of pauses made during
his/her reading.
(A student reads)
B. Speaking
Excerpts from an interview with Anju George, a day after
her sixth-place finish in the long jump final at the 2004
Olympics, Athens.
Q:
What happened in the final?
A:
I’m really disappointed and don’t know what happened to
me. After the first jump, I was feeling giddy. And I felt tired
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all of a sudden. I opened with a 6.83m jump. I should have
then jumped almost 7m. In earlier competitions, I have started
with 6.4m and gone on to 6.8m. The heat was a little too
much and the wind was fluctuating a lot. There was a lot of
dust in the training area and I am allergic to dust. Also, there
was something wrong with my new spikes. It was just bad luck.
Q:
Did you feel the pressure of a billion people?
A:
Not at all. I have learnt to cut myself off from pressure.
Q:
Did the medal ceremony and practice going around the
long jump arena distract you?
A:
Not at all. That is very common and we are used to it. There
cannot be any excuses.
Q:
Do you think the Russians (who won the three medals)
were on drugs?
A:
I don’t want to comment on that.
Q:
Are there any jumpers who have increased their range
dramatically?
A:
Yes, there are some who have increased by 40 to 50cm in
one year. It is actually very difficult to go from one range to
another.
Q:
How much are you capable of jumping?
A:
I can reach 7.15-7.20m, but so far, I have not been able to
achieve it. But I know I can do it.
Q:
Are you happy that you smashed a national record?
A:
I wasn’t trying for a national record. I had won a world
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championship bronze last year in Paris against the same group of
athletes who competed in the Olympics. And it was a dream of
Bobby (husband) and I to win an Olympic medal.
Q:
Are you aiming for the world championship next year?
A:
Yes.
Q:
Do you feel comfortable being in the limelight?
A:
Athletics rarely gets coverage in the media. My world
championship bronze had a good effect. Others felt that they
could also win something. You saw how the 4x400m women’s
relay team reached the final.
Q:
Are you upset over your performance in the final?
A:
Yes I’m upset, but my best is to yet to come.
Q:
What are your future plans?
A:
The day I cannot continue, I will stop. But my performance
now is up there with the very best.
The above is an interview with a famous sports personality. This
is one kind of interview conducted by the media and for the media.
Please note that the language used here is informal and the register is
connected to athletics and sports. In such interviews there is no rigidity
on the part of both the interviewer and the interviewee. There is a relaxed
atmosphere and friendliness between the two.
There is yet another kind of interview wherein you may be
interviewed not as a celebrity, but as an aspirant for a position in a firm
or company. Here it is a formal setting.
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An interview for the post of Software Engineer
in a reputed firm
Setting: Board room
Participants: Interview
panel
- Senior Manager, Human Resources
Managing Director
Head of Department (Software)
Candidate
(The candidate enters the interview chamber
after being summoned.)
HR : Good morning Ms. Indira! Please take a seat.
MD : You seem to be a little nervous. Relax please.
HD : Hope you’re comfortable now.
C
: Thank you for making me feel comfortable.
HR : Tell us something about yourself.
C
: I am a first generation engineering graduate in my family.
Why? I’m a first generation ‘graduate’ for that matter.
Basically, ours is a family of farmers. Computers have been
my passion from my school days.
MD : Your English is good. How did you pick it up?
C
: Exposure, Sir. Pure exposure. Thanks to the medium of
instruction in my school days.
HD : You talked about your passion for computers. How did
this come about?
C
: Sir, I had a lesson on Bill Gates in Class X. That was the
inspiration, probably the turning point.
HR : Does it mean that you had some other plans before you
came to know of Bill Gates?
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C
: Hailing from a family of farmers, originally I wanted to be
an Agricultural Scientist.
(After a few questions to test the
candidate’s expertise in software engineering)
HD : Who are the two Indians who have done us proud in the
field of computers?
C
: Infosys’ Narayana Murthy and Wipro’s Aziz Premji.
MD : Why is it that Indians are in great demand in countries like
the USA?
C
: Indians are prepared to work for a far less remuneration
than the native Americans.
HD : Are you convinced about this?
C
: I think yes.
MD : Isn’t it an insult to the Indian brain and Indian pride?
C
: I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I take back what I said. There is
yet another reason. Indians are known for their
unquestionable loyalty to those whom they work for. They
are also known for their hard work, and by far they are
more intelligent than the others.
HR : Would you like to go to America, if offered a chance?
C
: I would love to.
MD : If youngsters like you go in search of greener pastures,
will it not result in brain drain?
C
: mmm... I’m not very sure about it.
........................................................................................
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HR
: Your resume speaks very well about your academic
achievements.
Tell us something about your hobbies and interests?
C
: I read a lot. I listen to music and play chess.
..................................................................................
MD : Thank you Ms. Indira. We will get back to you.
C
: Thank you gentlemen.
Remember: An interview is not an ordeal. It is–
•
•
a chance to show your ability to communicate effectively to a
small group
a challenge to prove yourself, your potential and worth
Before the interview:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
have a check list of things to take
arrange your certificates, testimonials, etc.
relax, do not fret
start well in time
take care to present yourself well
be thorough in your specialised subject
be familiar with current affairs
During the interview:
•
•
•
•
•
•
be confident
watch your body language and manners
give precise, appropriate answers
do not exaggerate, merely state facts
if you do not know something, acknowledge it
do not interrupt when you’re being questioned, listen to the
questions carefully
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Task 1: Practise both the above interviews taking roles.
Task 2: You are a sports correspondent. Prepare an interview
between yourself and Rajyavardhan S Rathore who won
a silver medal for India at the 2004 Olympics, Athens,
in the men’s double-trap shooting event. Practise the
interview taking roles.
(You can collect information from the sports columns of
newspapers, sports magazines and Internet.)
Task 3: Form pairs and prepare an interview between a
candidate and the interview panel, for the post of Sales
Executive. Practise the interview taking roles. (Include
questions on remuneration, perks, place of posting, when
willing to join, etc.)
C. Reading
Pre-reading
•
•
•
Given an opportunity, women will prove better explorers and
more adventurous than men.
Women are more decisive than men, they will prove to be better
soldiers in non violent struggle.
Woman is the companion of man, gifted with equal mental
capacity.
1.
What’s the theme of the lesson to which you are being led?
2.
Who do you think, said the above - ‘Woman is the
companion..... mental capacity’?
3.
Do you agree with him/her?
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