Summer Sun
Have you ever thought about the importance of the sun in our lives?
There cannot be life without the sun. Let us read this poem about the sun.
Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven without repose;
And in the blue and glowing days-
More thick than rain he showers his urnth Day
rays.
Though closer still the blinds we pull
To keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find a chink or
two
To slip his golden fingers through.
Thedusty
The dustyaipoin
attic, spider-clad, cation
Sur He,through the keyhole,
And through the broken edge maketh glad;
Into the laddered hayloft of tiles,
smiles.
Meantime his golden face around
He bares to all the garden
And sheds a warm and ground,
glittering
Among the ivy's inmost nook. look
Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing
To please the child, to true,
paint
The gardener of the World, the rose,
he goes.
repose rest blinds:
thick
hayloft the
ogting true upper floor curtains
a steady of a farm parlour. a
building
and balancd
Summer Sun
Have youever thought about the iimportance of the sunin our the sun.
lives?
There cannot be life without the sun. Let us read this poemabout
Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven without repose;
And in theblue and glowing days& urinth Day
More thick than rain he showers his rays.
Though closer still the blinds we pull
To keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find achink or two
To slip his goldenfingersthrough.
Ryz-poson caton
The dusty attic,spider-clad,
Sn He, through the keyhole, maketh glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles,
Into the laddered hayloft smiles.
Meantime his golden face around
He bares to all the garden ground,'
And sheds a warm and glittering look
Among the ivy's inmost nook.
Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes.
repose rest binds: thick curtains partour.a roomto
havloft the upper floor of a farm building useo Tor storingmeet guests in, a sitting room chink: a crack anarrow openin9
này inmost nook a deep hidden corner
footing true asteady and balanced way of walking
26
Robert Louis Stevenson(1850-1894) was born in Scotland. He was a lawyer who later became a
writer. Stevenson loved to travel. He and his family travelled in their own ship across the
Pacifc Ocean and visited many islands. He authored the popular novets Treasure Island and Kidnapped
in this section, ue s
Make connections idertify and irterret
certral deas of a poem
recogyire relevart detals
to arsuer uestiors baned
Answer the following questions based on the poem. on he pern
(C-21C-20
1. Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven without repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain heshowers hisrays.
a. What do you think the poet means by 'empty heaven'?
b. Why are the rays described as 'more thick than rain'?
c. Whydid he shower his rays 'in the blue and glowing days'?
2. Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through.
a. Who 'willfind a chink? Where was he supposed to find 'a chink?
b. What do you think the poet means by 'golden fingers'?
c. Why was he being kept out?
3. The dusty attic, spider-clad,
He, through the keyhole, maketh glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles,
Intothe laddered hayloft smiles.
a. Who did the sun make happy? How did he do this?
b. How did the sun enter the hayloft?
C. What do these lines tell youabout the sun?
4. Why do you think the poet has chosen summer as a setting for the
poem?
you agree with the poet when he refers to the sun as the gardener of the World'?
5. Do
Justify your answer.
Appreciation
Personification
Read these lines
Tet he will find a chink or two
To slip his goden fingers thrugh.
In the lines given above, the poetrefers to the sun as if it were aperson,
using the pronouns ke and him for it. This kind of reference is known
as personihcation.
Personification is when we speak or write about a thing, an idea or an animal as ifit has
human qualities.
Personification is a literary device we use to make poetry more interesting.
Let us read a few more examples of personification.
The wind howled all night.
The bees danced with the flowers.
Truth conquers.
The cars crawled through the traffic jam.
1. List two examples of personification from the poem.
2. Identify the personification in the verses given below.
a "The sun was shining on thesea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.
The moon was shining sulkily,
Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done
It's very rude of him} she said,
"Tocome and spoil the fun."
28
b. Ilooked for you by the front door,
Under my bed, on the bathroom floor,
Near the back stairs, in the drawer with my
socks,
Next to the table, and out in the sandbox.
My mother is calling me, and I am calling you,
Where have you gone, my missing shoe?
C. The deep grass moved and whispered
And bowed and brushed my face.
It whispered in the sunshine:
The winter comes apace."
3. Use your imagination to complete these personification prompts.
a. The moon arrives
b. The trees waited
C. The angry fire swallowed
d. The clock looks
e. Beauty lives
f. The wise owl