CBSE Reading comprehension (poem)

 Read the following poem and answers the questions that follow:

Night 

by William Blake  

The sun descending in the west,

The evening star does shine;

The birds are silent in their nest.

And I must seek for mine.

 The moon, like a flower

 In heaven's high bower,

 With silent delight

 Sits and smiles on the night.

Farewell, green fields and happy grove,

Where flocks have taken delight:

Where lambs have nibbled, silent move

The feet of angels bright;

 Unseen they pour blessing

 And joy without ceasing

 On each bud and blossom,

 And each sleeping bosom.

They look in every thoughtless nest

Where birds are covered warm;

They visit the caves of every beast,

To keep them all from harm:

 If they see any weeping

 That should have been sleeping,

 They pour sleep on their head,

 And sit down by their bed.

 (Extract from the poem 'Night' by William Blake)

1: What does 'bower' represent here?

2: What is the moon compared to?

3: Why have the Birds' nests been described as 'thoughtless'?

4: Explain the figure of speech used, in the line 'In heaven's high

bower'.

5. Where do the angels move?

6: Complete the following summary of the poem by filling in the blanks with suitable words or phrases.

The first stanza describes a landscape with "the sun i)

__________________," when the world is settling quietly into ii)

_____________. Night has a iii) __________ connotation in this

poem because the moon "iv) _________________ on the night,"

showing how night is v) ______________and peaceful. This is

continued in stanza two, where vi) ___________ tread where lambs

vii) _________________ and viii) _______________have taken

delight" pour[ing] blessing." The angels’ duties are described in stanza

three. Angels "visit caves" and "look in ix) _____________, keeping

the animals safe and giving them sleep when the animals are x)---------. 

ANSWERS

1. a bouquet of flowers 1

2. a flower 1

3. the occupants are asleep without any care. 1

4. Metaphor 1

5 green fields and happy grove/ where lambs have nibbled and flocks have

taken delight 1

6 i) descending

 ii) night

 iii) positive

 iv) sits and smiles

 v) silent

 vi) angels

vii) had nibbled/grazed

viii) flocks

 ix) nests

 x) mournful