Unit-5 (The Rivals)- IX

The Rivals by James Stephens

About the Poet:

James Stephens (1880- 1950), an Irish novelist and poet was born in Dublin and died in London. He is popular for his style of retelling Irish myths and fairy tales. His style of retelling is often comical and lyrical. His novel ‘the Crock of Gold’ has gained much popularity and has been translated in many languages. His last book ‘Kings and the Moon’ was also a volume of verse that published in 1983. He was interested in socialism and wrote poems on different human emotions.

About the Poem:

The poem 'The Rivals’ is about the description of one of the ugliest states of human mind i.e. rivalry. People are the victim of this wrong emotion when they feel the circumstances are not in their favor. They feel for or against hundreds of things, based on: do they make much of me, make me important? People see someone else as good or not good depending on whether that person favors and praises them. The bird in the poem is charming; it is welcoming the world—the dew, the wind. But the speaker senses the bird is worthless to listen to, because it didn’t admire him: “For he didn’t sing to me.”

Summary of the Poem:

The poem beautifully depicts the morning scene. The speaker listens to the melodious sound of the bird. The bird is singing sweetly upon the tree in the morning. At that time the dewdrops are seen on the lawn and the wind is blowing upon the lea. But the speaker doesn’t listen to the bird as it doesn’t sing for him. The speaker feels jealousy since he can sing as beautifully as the bird. Both the speaker and the bird are singing sweetly as if they are competing to praise the beauty of nature. So, they are competitors or rivals.

Exercise (Questions and Answers):

A.     Find the words that are similar in meaning to the following words.

a.    daybreak- dawn

b.    pleasantly- sweetly

c.    grassland- lea

d.    breeze- wind

e.    on- upon

B.   Write ‘True’ for the true statements and ‘False’ for the false ones.

a.    The competition took place in the morning time. True

b.    The speaker was singing much more beautifully than the bird. False

c.    Both of them were singing the same song. True

d.    The birds sing for us but the bird in the poem was not singing for the speaker.  True

e.    The speaker didn’t listen to the bird but the bird listened to him. False

C.   Respond the following questions.

a.    What did the speaker hear in the morning?

Ans- The speaker heard a bird singing in the morning.

b.    What were the bird and the speaker singing about?

Ans- They were singing about the dew and the wind.

c.    Give two reasons why the speaker didn’t listen to the bird?

Ans- i. The bird didn’t sing for him.   ii. The speaker thought the bird was his rival.

d.    When did the competition take place?

Ans- The competition took place at dawn.

e.    Where was the bird singing from?

Ans- The bird was singing from a tree.

f.     According to the poem, where was the wind?

Ans- The wind was on the lea.

g.    Who was singing more sweetly, the poet or the bird?

Ans- Both of them were singing sweetly.

D.   Find the words for the given definitions.

a.    A person competing with another- rival

b.    Drops of water that form on the ground- dew

c.    A natural current of air that moves fast enough- wind

d.    In a charming way- sweetly

e.    A piece of land covered with grass- lea

E.   Match the phrases with the correct continuations.

a.    The speaker and the bird were      i. didn’t listen to the bird.

b.    The song was                              ii. on the lea.

c.    The speaker was                         iii. on the lawn.

d.    There was wind                           iv. both singing at the same time.

e.    The dew was                               v. about the dew and the wind.

f.     The speaker                                vi. competing with the bird.

Ans- a- iv, b- v, c-vi, d- ii, e- iii, f- i