After Blenheim Question and Answers

After Blenheim Questions and Answers (

Part A: Reference to Context

Part B: Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.

It was a summer evening,

Old Kaspar's work was done,

And he before his cottage door Was sitting in the sun,

And by him sported on the green

His little grandchild Wilhelmine,

(a) What kind of atmosphere is seen in the extract given above? Where does the scene take place ?

(b) Why was the old man Kaspar sitting before the door of his cottage? What mood was he in?

 (c) What was the profession of the old man? In which stanza do we come to know about his profession and how?

(d) Who were two grand children of Old Kaspar? What kind of nature did they have? Where was Wilhelmine playing?

(e) What was the topic of conversation and who participated in the conversation and when ?

(f) Which battle does the poet describe in the poem: What does he condemn? Under whose leadership did the English get glorious victory?

Answers:-

(a) It is summer evening. A kind of serenity and peace pervades the atmosphere. There is also a tinge of gloominess in the atmosphere. The scene takes place before the cottage of an old man named Kaspar who is sitting in front of the door of his cottage and is taking rest after the day's work.

(b) The old man Kaspar was badly tired of the day's work and wanted to have some rest in the peaceful atmosphere of evening, so he sat before the door of his cottage to relax himself. Though he was in the mood of relaxation, he seemed to be contemplating over something.

(c) The old man was a farmer and we come to know about his profession in the fourth stanza of the poem when he tells his children that he oftenly found such skulls in a large number while ploughing his field.

(d) Old Kaspar had two grandchildren whose names were Peterkin and Wilhelmine. Peterkin was his grandson and Wilhelmine was his grand daughter. They were the children of very curious nature, Wilhelmine was playing near the old man in a green lawn before the cottage.

(e) The topic of the conversation was the Battle of Blenheim which i was fought between the English and the French and in this battle, the English got a glorious victory. Three persons, the old man Kaspar and his two grand children named Peterkin and Wilhelmine participated in the conversation. The conversation started when Peterkin brought a skull to his grandfather.

(f) The poet describes the famous Battle of Blenheim which was fought in 1704. He condemns blind patriotism and castigates all wars which only bring out horror, death and destruction. The English got glorious victory under the leadership of the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene.

Question 2.

She saw her brother Peterkin Roll something large and round, Which he beside the rivulet

In playing there had found He came to ask what he had found,

That was so large and smooth, and round.

(a) What was the old man Kaspar doing? Did the oldman have the feelings of dejection? What did Wilhelmine see? 

(b) What did Peterkin find and where? Why did he arrive to his grandfather?

(c) Who are the protagonists of the poem? For what does the word Blenheim' stand? 

(d) Why does the poet choose an incident from a simple household

(e) How do we come to know that children are curious by nature ? (f) What did the old man do when he took the thing from Peterkin? In what state was the boy and why?

Answers:-

(a) The old man Kaspar was relaxing himself after the day's work in the mild rays of the setting sun. The old man seemed to be engrossed in thoughts. Wilhelmine saw her brother rolling something round in shape.

(b) Peterkin found something large, round and smooth while playing near a rivulet He arrived to his grandfather because he was very curious to know about the thing which he discovered near the stream.

(c) The two children named Wilhelmine and Peterkin are the protagonists of the poem. They ask questions to old Kaspar, their grandfather, about the victory in the war of Blenheim. Blenheim in the English name for the German village of Blenheim, situated on the left bank of the Danube River in the state of Bavaria in Southern Germany. 

(d) The poet chooses an incident from a simple household because he wants to express his response to the war and its victims. By using a simple response of two innocent children to the war, he evokes pity for the victims and hatred for the war.

(e) When Peterkin finds a skull, he brings it to his grandfather and immediately asks him what it is. Kaspar tells him that it is a skull of a soldier who died in the Battle of Blenheim. Peterkin's sister, Wilhelmine then asks Kaspar to describe the war and explain its causes.

(f) Taking the thing from Peterkin, the old man observed it carefully. The boy was expecting some answer from the old man because he wanted to satisfy his curiosity by knowing about the thing which he found near the river.

Question 3.

Old Kaspar took it from the boy,

Who stood expectant by:

And then the old man shook his head,

And, with a natural sigh,

Tis some poor fellow's skull, said he

Who fell in the great victory. 

(a) Who is the boy referred to here? What did he bring home? Why did he hurry to home?

(b) Was the boy alone with his grandfather? Who was present beside them and why? What made the old man shake his head and sigh?

(c) Explain the following 'Tis some poor fellow's skull Why did the old man call the battle a great victory? 

(d) Where was the skull found? Why does the speaker say that the skull was of some poor fellow?

(e) How common were the skulls there 1 At which place many of them could be found?

(f) What is ironical about the great victory in the Battle of Blenheim ? 

Answers:-

 (a) The old man Kaspar's grandson whose name is Peterkin has been referred here as the boy. He brought a thing to home which was large, round and smooth. He hurried to home as he was extremely curious to know about the thing

(b) The boy was not alone with his grandfather. His sister, Wilhelmine also stood there because she too wanted to know about that strange thing from her grandfather. The old man shook his head and sighed as if he recalled some sorrowful time while having a brief look at the thing which was brought by Peterkin.

 (c) After observing the thing brought by Peterkin, the old man told the children it was somebody's skull. The person must have died in the battle fought at Blenheim. The old man called the battle a great victory because he was a Bavarian who sided with the English, and he was proud of the victory won by the English.

(d) The skull was found near the small stream where Kaspar's grandson Peterkin was playing. The speaker says that the skull was of some poor fellow as he had heard that many innocent soldiers became the victims of the fierceness of battle and their corpses were left lying scattered on the ground under the open sky.

(e) As a large number of soldiers and common people were killed in

this battle of Blenheim and their corpses were left unclaimed rotting in the sun, it was common to find such skulls. A large number of skulls could be found in the field. Whenever the fields were ploughed, the skulls often came out with the blade of the plough.

(f) It is ironical that the poet glorifies the outcome of the war in the form of great victory for a nation, at the cost of huge destruction, both of life and property. Although old Kaspar was aware of the damage caused by war and that too, to his own family, yet he seemed to be more interested and aware of the victory achieved in war than its purpose or benefits.

Question 4.

I find them in the garden

For there's many here about; And often when I go to plough, Were slain in that great victory.

The ploughshare turns them out! For many thousand men, said he

(a) In the earlier stanza, what did Peterkin bring with him? Where did he find it? What was he doing with it?

(b) Why did Peterkin bring the thing to home? What was Old Kaspar's reaction on looking at it ? (c) What did the ploughshare turn out? What did it speak out ? (d) What does the old man mention when asked about the thing brought by Perterkin? What did the children ask the old man ?

(e) What did the old man answer to the children when asked about the purpose of war?

(f) Why did the old man repeat the words 'great victory many times

Answer

(a) Peterkin brought with him a thing which was something large, round and smooth (actually it was a skull). He found it near the small stream. He was playing with it. (b) Peterkin brought the thing to home because he seemed to be

curious to know about the thing which he had never seen. While

making a brief look at the thing, the old man shook his head as if he

remembered some sorrowful event.

(c) The ploughshare turned out the skulls and many other things. It spoke the fierceness of the Battle of Blenheim which led to death of thousands of soldiers and common people whose corpses lie deep. scattered in the land,

(c) As the children were innocent, they did not have any knowledge

and purpose of the war, hence, for them the war seemed to bring thrill and excitement along with certain amazement Little Wilhelmine was so curious to know about the war and the reason behind it that it reflected in her eyes gleaming for a wonder to unfold

(d) Kaspar was able to describe where the war was fought and between whom but he could not explain the purpose nor the benefits of war. He had no idea about the causes. All that mattered to him was that Austrians and England won a great victory against France

(e) On one hand is the old Kaspar, whose only concern is the great victory gained at the cost of death and devastation; on the other - hand are the children who do not grasp the so-called benefits of the war The children, who are like many people uncorrupted by adult thinking, can readily perceive war for what it is ie death and destruction

(f) The poet reflects upon the zeal and enthusiasm associated withi young age. The ability to question things is a peculiar quality of kids which fades with growing age. Alliteration is the repetition of a speech sound in a sequence of nearby words. The term is usually applied only to consonants, and only when the recurrent sound begins a word or a stressed syllable within a word. Here is an instance of alliteration: With wonder-waiting eyes

Question 6.

It was the English, Kaspar cried,

Who put the French to rout; But what they fought each other for, That 'twas a famous victory,

I could not well make out But everybody said, quoth he

(a) What had Kaspar told about the Battle of Blenheim before in the

context ? (b) What was the query posed to the old man by the young Peterkin ? Why the word cried' used by the poet in the first line 1

(c) What did Kaspar try to satisfy his grand children? What inability

did he show to the children?

(d) What interesting thing about the old man can be noted in the above extract? (e) What did Kaspar tell about the famous victory ? In what sense was it famous ?

(1) What is the significance of the following line 1 could not well make out ?

(f) What is the significance of the following line 1 could not well

make out ?

Answer

(a) Kaspar had told the children that the Battle of Blenheim which was fought between the English and the French was very fierceful and in this battle thousands of people were killed. The fierceness of the battle could be judged from the fact that after so many years of the battle, many skulls were found whenever the ground was ploughed

(b) The query which was posed to the old man by the young Peterkin, was that why the battle was fought and what outcomes were seen. The poet has used the ward cried to emphasise the conventional belief of the old man about the war. Instead of expressing his sorrow about the war, he showed his overwhelming. feeling at the victory of the English.

(c) Kaspar tried to satisfy his grand children by telling them that the history books tell us that the British defeated the Franco-Bavarian army in the Battle of Blenheim The old man was unable to tell the children the purpose and reason of fighting the war.

(d) The interesting point to note here is that the old man did not know the reason behind the war nor did he try to find it. He believed on what every body told him that it was a famous victory.

(e) Kaspar told the children it was the English who suppressed the

French army badly in the Battle of Blenheim and got a 'famous

victory at the cost of thousands of lives. The old man supported the

views of the people about this victory, hence in conventional term it

was a famous victory

(f) The following line signifies that in an outbursts of praise for the heroes who won the war, old Kaspar reveals the typical inability of an ordinary citizen to grasp the reason why the war took place

Question 7

"My father lived at Blenheim then

Yon little stream hard by

They burnt his dwelling to the ground. And he was forced to fly So with his wife and child he fled Nor had he where to rest his head

(a) What irony about the war does the poet bring to us in the poem

(b) Why does Old Kaspar repeatedly mention the Battle of Blenheim. as a great and famous victory without knowing the reason? (c) In the earlier lines what shows a large number of killings in the war ?

(d) While narrating to his grandchildren how a lot of people were forced to flee from there as their houses were set to fire, he tells them that he himself experienced that misery when his father fled with him and his mother and they were probably wandering on the street as they had no place to stay.

(e) The old man whose name was Kaspar, had suffered much in the hands of warmongers during the Battle of Blenheim. He was a representative of the common stereotype people who glorified war without a reason. He was someone who wanted to stick to the old ideals. With Kaspar, there were two grand children-Wilhelmine and her brother Peterkin-the representatives of a new generation who tried to question everything. They asked their grandfather why he thought the war to be great and famous'. The grandfather was sitting before his cottage door, in the sun and the two children were playing in the green field beside him.

(f) The results of the great victory were very horrible. Thousands of soldiers and common people had become the prey of the fierceness of the battle Many people had become shelterless as their houses were set to fire and they had to roam here and there to seek shelter.

Question 8.

"With fire and sward the country round.

And many a childing mother then, And new-born baby died:

Was wasted far and wide, But things like that, you know, must be At every famous victory. For many thousand bodies here Lay rotting in the sun,

They say it was a shocking sight After the field was won

But things like that, you know, must be After a famous victory.

(a) How was the great victory' a personal tragedy for Kaspar family

? (b) What made Kaspar praise a horrible incident? Why did his

grand children fail to understand his view point?

(c) How was the country affected by the war?

(d) What was the most tragic about the war hinted here? (e) Why and how did the old man try to justify the war?

(f) What do the words fire and 'sword symbolise? What kind of

image does the word 'wasted conjure ? Answer (a) The great victory had become a personal tragedy for Kaspar family as their house was set to fire and the young Kaspar along with his parents fled to a different place but could not find a home

because of the impending war. They had to roam from one place to

another seeking rest.

(b) Kaspar's conventional belief in patriotism and heroism and his romantic views of war made him praise a horrible incident. His grand children failed to understand his view point because they thought how a wicked thing like war which only brought destruction and killings, could be praised as glorious victory.

(c) in the Battle of Blenheim, many lives were lost. Thousands of people were killed in the battle. There was also a great loss of the property. The houses were set to fire. Indeed, there was a huge destruction

(d) in the Battle of Blenheim, the whole country was ruined far and

wide with fire and sword. The most tragic thing was that the expected mothers and new bom children died in the battle (e) The old man tried to justify the war by saying that such things

like devastation and killings were the part of war which was fought

for grand victory. His justifying the war clearly showed his

conventional attitude towards the war.

(1) Fire and sword' symbolise man's cruetly for man They

represent destruction, death and horror. Wasted is an emotionally

changed word. It conjures an image of a land raped of any use.

purpose and dignity. It shows both the futility of war and its power to

destroy

Question 9.1

Great praise the Duke of Maribro won, And our good Prince Eugene.

Why twas a very wicked thing!

Said little Wilhelmine

Nay nay my little girl, quoth he

It was a famous victory And everybody praised the Duke Who this great fight did win. But what good came of it at last?

Quoth little Peterkin Why that I cannot tell." said he

But twas a famous victory.

(a) What did the people say about the war? Give an instance of the figure of speech alliteration ?

(b) What was the cost of victory as narrated in the poem?

(c) Why did Kaspar stick to his stand that it was famous victory? (d) Can it be true that Kaspar was using the term great victory an a sarcastic statement ?

(e) Why did Kaspar praise the Duke of Marlborough and Prince

Eugene?

(1) Who called the war a wicked thing and why? Why did she condemn her grandfather ?

Answer (a) The people said that when the war was over, the scene was heart-moving After the war, thousands of corpses were lying scattered and were rotting under the sun. The figure of speech i

alliteration has been used in the line. They say it was a shocking

sight

(b) Common people had to pay a hefty price for the famous victory in the Battle of Blenheim. The whole country side was wasted with fire and sword. F s houses were burnt down and they were left with no place to live Many common people including childing mother and new-born babies were killed. Thousands of soldiers from both sides were killed in the battle. Their bodies tay rotting in t the sun after the battle was won

(c) Kaspar was a representative of the people who held the old ideas and who were conservative about everything. He found it difficult to believe in something new breaking away from the popular belief that the battle ended in a famous victory. He heard so many people mention it as a great victory, so he believed in it. He did not question it all his life. But now, when his grandchildren were throwing question on it, he was afraid to break free from the stereotypes.

(d) It cannot be true that Kaspar was using the term great victory and famous victory in a sarcastic sense. Rather he had deep faith in the battle ending up in a great victory. If Kaspar was sarcastic in his statements, that meant he was against the war. In that case, he would have taught his grandchildren against war, warned them about the destructive power of war. But in the poem, we saw him opposing the children. When Wilhelmine and Peterkin questioned about the validity of war. Kaspar dinged to his ideals saying it a famous victory.

(e) The Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene representing Britain won the battle which lasted for many days. They defeated the French and brought glory to their nation, hence Kaspar praised them.

(f) Kaspar's granddaughter called the war a wicked thing because it brought a huge destruction and killings: She condemned her grandfather for he was glorifying the bloody war.

Part B: Long Answer Type Questions

Q1. Discuss"After Blenheim" as an anti-war poem.

'After Blenheim' by Robert Southey is an anti-war poem that centres around one of the major battles of eighteenth century the Battle of Blenheim. In - the poem, Kaspar represents the ordinary common people who believe in the claims of authority. He is a common farmer who ploughs the field and grows crops.

Kaspar belongs to that group of people who believe in warmongers who always glorify war to support their own cause by motivating youths to join the army and "sacrifice" their lives for the nation. Kaspar believes in the romantic ideals regarding war and feel proud for the "famous victory" of the English army. He repeatedly utters 'It was a famous victory' though it came at the expense of thousands of lives. In fact, he himself was a sufferer, but he feels that these things happen at every famous victory.

Through a conversation between Kaspar and his grandchildren, the poet gradually reveals the scene of a former battlefield. The instances lead to the revelation of the tragic end of war & the vulnerability of human life.

The poem shows us how devastating wars are, not to mention the thousands of casualties.

Kaspar has no reason to support his claims of a "great victory". This is an indication that Kaspar is symbolic of the old people with their old beliefs. They are afraid to think against the authorities, against the set ideals. They are rather conservative and choose to stick to what they have known so far. Kaspar can be viewed as a perfect foil to his grandchildren who represent new ideas, out of the box thinking and questioning things.