CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 7 Animals – Complete Poem Summary: In this blog, we have highlighted a short summary of CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 7 Animals. The name of the poet is Walt Whitman. The poem Animals has been taken from his work ‘Song of Myself’ in the Leaves of grass. In this poem, the poet Walt Whitman expresses his love for animals.
We have presented the summary here and after you finish reading remember to check the meanings of the important words. You will find it at the end of the summary. Read each part with a focused mind.
CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 7 Animals – Complete Poem Summary & Notes
The poem “Animals” and its complete explanation can be found below for students to review. The explanation will aid students in better comprehending the poem’s meaning.
Animals Poem Explanation Notes
I think I could turn and live with animals, they are
so placid and self-contain’d,
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with
the mania of owning things,
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that
lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.
So they show their relations to me and I accept them,
They bring me tokens of myself, they evince
them plainly in their possession
I wonder where they get those tokens,
Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?
By WALT WHITMAN
God structured man and animals in a way that would help them to live on earth. God placed human beings in a position that was way better than the animals. The great American poet, Walt Whitman has a belief and the belief is that animals are better than men.
There are some qualities in animals that drew the attention of the poet and he thought it was something which was not present in human beings. He tried to present his thoughts on animals and man in his poem “Animals”.
Walt Whitman is always attracted to the company of animals. The poet wants to live a life among the animals because he believes that animals are calm and independent in the truest sense. They don’t complain about anything or weep during various situations. They are satisfied with what they have and they focus on their duties towards God.
Animals have always tried to spread the message of love and respect for human beings. Animals usually spend their lives peacefully without having any kind of demands. They are not emotionally attached to any kind of possession. They don’t try to show respect for others and they don’t even try to pay tribute to the thousand old descendants. They treat both sorrow and happiness equally.
The poet has tried to make some comparisons here. Human beings are always obsessed about materialistic things and they lie awake at night. They feel bad for the things they have done and they cry. They also fight for little things.
Animals are totally different on the other hand. Animals are always at peace. They don’t waste their time by talking about their duties to God like human beings. He thinks that humans are falling behind in terms of qualities such as signs of love, quietness, kindness, selflessness, honesty, patience, sympathy, etc. We need to have these qualities for a peaceful life.
The poet is interested to learn from the animals since they share their deepest thoughts with them. They are always true to themselves. Their qualities has driven the poet crazy. He wishes to learn from them despite the fact that he has been careless . He thinks that the life of a man is nothing but a package which consists of stress, depression, anxiety, unhappy. For this reason he doesn’t want to live with other humans.
He desires to live in a place which will be surrounded by animals and over there he will try to establish a connection with them. He thinks that he will understand the meaning of real happiness from the animals. He craves for a real connection with animals. This is a short of summary of the poem “Animals” written by Walt Whitman.
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Important Word Meanings from CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 7 Animals – Poem Summary
Here you can check the word meaning for CBSE Class 10 English First Flight For Chapter 7 Animals – Poem.
- Placid – quiet, calm
- Self-contained – poised (in the right mind; in full control of self)
- Sweat and whine – to cry (to complain)
- Sins – misdeeds (immoral actions)
- Demented – affected with madness
- Mania – madness
- Owning – possessing
- Kneels – bends (as a sign of respect)
- Tokens – symbols
- Evince – to show
- Possession – ownership
- Negligently – in a careless manner
CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 7 Animals Poem Rhyme Scheme
There is no rhyme scheme followed in the poem.
CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 7 Animals Poem Question and Answers
Q1- Notice the use of the word ‘turn’ in the first line, “I think I could turn and live with animals…” What is the poet turning from?
A1- The poet is diverting his gaze from the world of human beings. He like animals since they are more calm and self-contained, and he wants to live with them.
Q2- Mention three things that humans do and animals don’t?
A2-
The following are three things that humans do that animals do not:
- Humans complain and weep about their troubles and tragedies.
- Humans lie awake at night thinking their mistakes.
- Humans also continue to tell others about their religious beliefs and responsibilities to God.
Q3- Do humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago? Discuss this in groups?
A3- Yes, humans kneel in front of other humans thousands of years ago. They could be ancestors, saints, or preachers who they venerate religiously. They worship them and listen to their lectures.
Q4- What are the ‘tokens’ that the poet says he may have dropped long ago, and which the animals have kept for him? Discuss this in class. (Hint: Whitman belongs to the Romantic tradition that includes Rousseau and Wordsworth, which holds that civilisation has made humans false to their own true nature. What could be the basic aspects of our nature as living beings that humans choose to ignore or deny?)
A4- According to the poet, the word tokens refers to human attributes. The poet believes that positive traits no longer exist in people nowadays. They have sacrificed them for the sake of worldly goals that they must achieve at all costs.
We have covered CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 7 Animals – Poem Summary. Feel free to ask us any questions in the comment section below.
CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 7 Animals- FAQs
Notice the use of the word ‘turn’ in the first line, “I think I could turn and live with animals…” What is the poet turning from?
The poet is diverting his gaze from the world of human beings. He like animals since they are more calm and self-contained, and he wants to live with them.
Where can I get CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 7 Animals Notes?
You can get CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 7 Animals Notes from the above article.
Where can I check the CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 7 Animals Poem Summary?
You can check the CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 7 Animals Poem Summary from the above blog.