Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
Extract – I
Bangle sellers are we who bear
Our shining loads to the temple fair…….
Question 1 : Why does the poet use the word ‘delicate’ to describe the bangles? How is ‘rainbow-tinted circles of light’ and appropriate description of bangles?
Answer : The poet uses the word ‘delicate’ to describe the bangles as they are made of glass and hence can break easily. ‘rainbow-tinted circles of light’ refers to the round shaped, multi-coloured bangles that glow in sunlight. Therefore, it is an appropriate description of the bangles.
Question 2 : Explain the following phrases from the poem in your own words; Shining loads, Lustrous tokens of radiant lives, For happy daughters and happy wives
Answer :
- ‘Shinning loads’ means the bangles which are sparkling in sunlight.
- ‘Lustrous tokens of radiant lives’ means bright symbols of shining lives.
- ‘For happy daughters and happy wives’ means that the radiant bangles are meant for happy daughters and happy wives. It expresses the happiness of daughters at young age and the joys a married woman has in her marital life.
Question 3 : The poet uses several images of sight and sound to create a musical effect in the poem.
Answer : The examples of these things are : ‘shining loads’, ‘Tinkling, luminous, tender, and clear’ and ‘Rainbow-tinted circles of light’.
Question 4 : What are the emotions that the poet associates with a bride on her wedding day? What colours are the bangles on her wrist that reflect these emotions?
Answer : The poet associates the emotions of happiness and sadness with a bride on her wedding day. She is happy as she is getting married and entering into a life of her dreams. She is sad because she is going to leave her parental home. The bride is wearing bangles that are deep red in colour which express the passion of her heart.
Question 5 : What colours does the poet associate with: a maiden, a middle aged woman. How does the poet describe the thoughts and concerns of women in both these stages of life?
Answer :
- Blue, green, red and silver colours are associated by the poet with a maiden.
- Purple and gold-flecked grey colours are associated by the poet with a middle-aged woman.
The maiden is fresh and beautiful and dreams of getting married. The middle-aged woman is mature and responsible. She is concerned about fulfilling her household duties.
Extract – II
Some are meet for a maiden’s wrist,
Silver and blue as the mountain mist,
Sone are flushed like the buds that dream
On the tranquil brow of a woodland stream,
Some are aglow with the bloom that cleaves
To the limpid glory of new born leaves.
Question 1 : As per the poetess, what types of bangles are suitable for young maidens?
Answer : According to the poetess young maidens symbolises purity and freshness. The youth in them shines and the light attracts everybody’s attention towards them. So they should wear the types of bangles that can compliment their beauty and freshness. Hence they are advised by the poetess to wear the bangles of silver and blue colours.
Question 2 : Explain the express “flushed like the buds that dream”
Answer : Beautiful imagery has ben used by the poetess here. The poetess is comparing the colour of some of the bangles which is worn by young maidens. Some bangles are in pink and reddish colour and they have been compared to the colour of a blooming bud growing along a silent riverside that flows through the forest.
Question 3 : Why are silver and blue colours compared to the mountain mist?
Answer : According to the poetess the bangles of maidens are always new and bright. They are pure and untouched which look extremely beautiful around her wrists. They usually produce silver and blue reflections, same as those of the mountain mist (fog) that makes the mountain look like the hands of a lady decorated with silver and blue bangles.
Question 4 : How does the poetess compare the colour of bangles to the ‘new born leaves’?
Answer : The poetess says a new born green leaf is transparent and every thing across it visualises clearly as the leaf is like a green glass sheet. So some bangles of this green colour produce the same effect as the new born leaves. ‘New born leaf’ also symbolises a newly wedded girl as she too is gentle and innocent like a new born leave in her inlaw’s house.
Question 5 : How can you say that ‘Sarojini Naidu’ is an expert in the use of the colour of imagery?
Answer : In the poem ‘The Bangle Sellers’ the poetess Sarojini Naidu has presented vibrant colours of bangles that Indian girls and women of different age groups prefer to wear. She has not only described the colours of bangles but also told that how these colours resemble the state of mind of their wearers. She is successful in arising the feeling of happiness and joy in the mind of readers through the use of colour imagery, which demonstrates her expertise in the same.
Extract – III
Some are like fields of sunlit corn,
Meet for a bride on her bridal morn,
Some, like the flame of her marriage fire,
Or, rich with the hue of her heart’s desire,
Tinkling, luminous , tender, and clear,
Like her bridal laughter and bridal tear.
Question 1 : The word ‘some’ has been repeatedly used by the poetess in this poem. What can be its purpose?
Answer : The poetess has used the word ‘some’ to denote different coloured bangles which have been described by her in different stanzas. She has described different colours for different ages or stages when women would like to wear bangles according to their state of mind.
Question 2 : What does the expression ‘fields of sunlit corn’ mean? How is this relevant in the context of a bride?
Answer : It suggests the joyful prospect of a new phase of life for a bride that is about to start. It suggests that some colours of bangles are meant to a bride as she wears ornaments made of gold so to compliment her jewellery she needs the bangles of golden colour just like the colour of corn when sunray falls on it.
Question 3 : Which figure of speech has been used in the expression ‘like flame of her marriage fire’? Which colour does it suggest?
Answer : The phrase ‘like flame of her marriage fire’ is an example of simile as a comparison is being made between the colours of bangles and the flame of marriage fire.
According to the poetess the colours of the bangles of a bride are red, yellow and golden just as the colours produced by the flame of marriage fire.
Question 4 : Bring out the relevance of the line ‘Some, like the flame of her marriage fire.’
Answer : The bride on her wedding day generally wears crimson red and orange colour bangles which resemble the colour of flame. This flame is very important in a bride’s life as she takes marriage vows with her groom around it. The flame like colour of bangles symbolises the flames of love in a marriage.
Question 5 : What do you understand by the phrases ‘bridal laughter’ and ‘bridal tear’? With what they have been compared in the extract?
Answer : The phrase bridal laughter refers to the happiness of a bride when she is going to start a new chapter of her life while getting married. ‘Bridal tear’ refers to the sadness which a bride feels while leaving the parental house. These phrases have been associated with the bangles suitable for a bride-shiny red, bright and radiant. The colours of the bangles of a bride are the reflection of her mood as when she laughs they look luminous and when she weeps they look tender.
Extract – IV
Some are purple and gold flecked grey
For she who has journeyed through life midway,
Whose hands have cherished, whose love has blest,
And cradled fair sons on her faithful breast,
And serves her household in fruitful pride,
And worships the gods of her husband’s side.
Question 1 : Describe the use of color imagery in this extract.
Answer : The process has used purple and grey colours that signify depth and maturity . When a boy or girl undergoes a transition to adulthood, his or her maturity level also rises due to the experience he or she has undergone. We say that poetess has very judiciously chosen the colours of the bangles for different stages of life for a woman.
Question 2 : Explain the phrase ‘who has journeyed through life midway.’
Answer : The phrase refers to middle aged women who have experienced so much in their life after marriage. They have crossed the stage of a young girl when they longed for beauty and adventures. They have crossed the stage of a bride too when they entered a new life full of responsibilities and struggles. Now after facing all kinds of situations they have become proud wife and proud mother and have gained experience and wisdom.
Question 3 : What colour of bangles does the poetess find suitable for a middle aged woman?
Answer : According to the poetess purple and grey colours symbolise the maturity that comes as one gets experience and establishes oneself in the society. So the poetess refers purple and gold flecked (dot) grey coloured bangles suitable for middle aged women. The colours of the bangles described here are totally different from those mentioned for maidens and brides.
Question 4 : Explain the phrase ‘fruitful pride’ as used by the poetess in these lines.
Answer : The phrase fruitful pride refers to multiple roles and multiple duties a woman carries throughout her life.
She has been a caring daughter, a loving bride, a responsible wife and mother. She has carried out her responsibilities with perfection and she feels proud of her performance while carrying out her household duties.
Question 5 : How does Sarojini Naidu describe the stages of woman’s life through her poem ‘The Bangle Seller’?
Answer : In this poem the poetess has expressed different stages of Indian women’s life and respective colours associated with it. Silver and blue coloured, pink, and green – all these colours are worn by young unmarried girls. The Indian brides wear crimson red, orange and yellow golden coloured bangles. A middle aged married woman prefers purple and grey coloured bangles with a golden tinge in it. The present poem is a celebration of the female life.