AUTUMN BY JOHN CLARE class 9 ( Summary & Questions Answer )

AUTUMN

AUTHOR

 

AUTHOR John Clare, (born July 13, 1793, Helpston, near Peterborough, Northamptonshire, England— died May 20, 1864, Northampton, Northamptonshire), was an English poet, belonging to the Romantic school, known for his vivid and lyrical descriptions of the rural English countryside. He is often referred to as a ‘peasant poet’ as he was a poor agricultural farm worker forced to live a life of obscurity, devoid of any joys of recognition. His poems were primarily about the beauty of nature, rural life, and suffering. Clare was the son of a labourer and began work on local farms at the age of seven. Though he had limited access to books, his poetic gift, which revealed itself early, was nourished by his parents’ store of folk ballads. Clare was an energetic autodidact, and his first verses were much influenced by the Scottish poet James Thomson. In 1820 his first book, Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery, was published and created a stir. Clare visited London, where he enjoyed a brief season of celebrity in fashionable circles. He made some lasting friends, among them Charles Lamb, and admirers raised an annuity for him. That same year he married Martha Turner, the daughter of a neighbouring farmer. From then on he encountered increasing misfortune. His second volume of poems, The Village Minstrel (1821), attracted little attention. His third, The Shepherd’s Calendar; with Village Stories, and Other Poems (1827), though containing better poetry, met with the same fate. His annuity was not enough to support his family of seven children and his dependent father, so he supplemented his income as a field labourer and tenant farmer. Poverty and drink took their toll on his health. His last book, The Rural Muse (1835), though praised by critics, again sold poorly; the fashion for peasant poets had passed. Clare began to suffer from fears and delusions. In 1837, through the agency of his publisher, he was placed in a private asylum at High

Beech, Epping, where he remained for four years. Improved in health and driven by homesickness, he escaped in July 1841. He walked the 80 miles to Northborough, penniless, eating grass by the roadside to stay his hunger. He left a moving account in prose of that journey, addressed to his imaginary wife “Mary Clare.” At the end of 1841 he was certified insane. He spent the final 23 years of his life at St. Andrew’s Asylum, Northampton, writing, with strangely unquenched lyric impulse, some of his best poetry.

 

 SUMMARY

 

In the above poem the poet John Clare presents the vivid picture of autumn's beauty in the countryside. On giving various account of its beauty, it is characterized by falling leaves, bare branches and strong winds. By this poem John Clare presents the beauty of autumn with his own sweet will. In the very beginning of the poem the poet expressed that he loves the wind that shakes the casement all through the day and from the mossy elm-tree, it takes away all the faded leaves and twirled them near the window pane and thousands others leaves also twirled by the wind down the lane. The poet also loves to see the twig that shakes by the strong wind of autumn and it dances till the evening .The sparrow sits on the cottage's roof and its chirping notes make believe us that spring just flirted by in summers lap. The poet loves to see the smoke of cottage that curls upward through the naked trees. On dull November days the pigeons move around its nest and the cock crows upon the dung hill. The mill continuously moves through the meadows. The feathers of raven falls on the stubble lea. In autumn, the fruit acorn falls from the tree near the old crow's nest by making pattering sound and the pigs grunt and wait for all in hurrying mood and they scramble to get those fruits. Actually the poem is nothing but poet's own view of nature that he hardly described the beauty of autumn in countryside, all through the poem.

 

IMPORTANT WORD-MEANINGS

 

Fitful gust-irregular wind

Casement-a kind of big window made of wood

Elm-tree - a type of tree that is seen in western country

Twirling - spinning round and round 

Cote - nest

Stubble -the short lower part of stem of crops

Lea - grass cover land

Acorn - small brown nut of oak tree

 Pattering-making repeated sound 

Mossy – covered in moss

Gust – sudden strong rush of wind

Shakes – jerks

Twig – tender and soft shoot 

Eve – evening

Chirp – call of birds

Flirting – playfulness

Naked trees – trees without leaves 

Dull – dreary

Mill – factory 

Sails – moves

 heath – open land

Raven – a type of crow 

Scramble – move fast 

Agoing – moving

 QUESTION – ANSWER

 

1.   What happens to the leaves of the mossy elm-tree in autumn?

Ans: In autumn the yellow leaves of the mossy elm-tree fall by the gusty wind. The wind whirled them by the window pane. They fall down in the lane in thousand numbers.

2.   What are the things the poet loves to see on November days?

Ans: On November days the poet loves to see the shaking of casements and falling of leaves by the gusty wind. He also loves to see the shaking of branches and curled up smoke through the bare trees.

3.   What do you mean by 'casement' in the poem "Autumn"?

Ans: In the poem" Autumn ", by 'casement' we mean a big window that opens like a door.

4.   Where do the faded leaves twirl?

Ans: The faded leaves twirl by the window pane.

5.   How long do the shaking twigs dance?

Ans: The shaking twigs dance till the fall of evening.

6.   Where are the sparrows found?

Ans: The sparrows are found on the cottage rig.

7.   What are the two other seasons mentioned in the poem "Autumn"? 

Ans: The two other seasons mentioned in the poem "Autumn" are spring and summer.

8.   Where is the cock found in the poem "Autumn"?

Ans: In the poem "Autumn" the cock is found on the dung- hill.

9.   What is meant by the "stubble-lea" mention in the poem?

Ans: A lea is a meadow, a stretch of open grassland. Here the lea is full of stumps of corn left after harvest.

10.             Name the birds and their cries mentioned in the poem "Autumn".

Ans: The birds mentioned in the poem "Autumn" are the sparrow, the pigeon, the cock, the raven and the crow. The sparrow chirps and the cock crows.

11.             Where do the acorns fall and what happens after that?

Ans: The acorns near the old crow's nest fall pattering down the tree. Then the grunting pigs scramble and hurry towards those acorns.

12.             Describe the activities of the pigs in "Autumn"?

Ans: In "autumn" the pigs wait for the acorns to fall. When they fall, they scramble and hurry to get them. At that time they grunted.

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