Descriptive Answer-type Questions — 6 Marks
Descriptive Questions
Who is the ‘soldier’ referred to here? Narrate in your own words how the soldier lies in the Valley? [2+4] [WBCHSE H.S. 2016]
👉In Rimbaud’s poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’ the soldier who lies open-mouthed is a very young soldier who has become a casualty of war.
Related Questions
[I] Write the substance of the poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’.
[II] What picture of the sleeping soldier do you get in the poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’?
[III] Describe after Arthur Rimbaud, the soldier, asleep in the Valley.
2️⃣ “A small green valley…..”
Describe the valley as mentioned in the poem, “Asleep in the Valley”.
[I] Describe the natural scene indicated here in the poem, “Asleep in the Valley”.
[II] Bring out the natural scenery described in the beginning of the poem, “Asleep in the Valley”.
3️⃣ “They fill the hollow full of light.”
What are ‘they’ referred to here? What is the ‘hollow’ referred to here? How does the ‘hollow’ look like? Who is lying in the hollow? How is he lying there?
[1+1+1+1+2]
👉Here ‘they’ refer to the rays of the sun which, streaming from the mountaintop, brighten and beautify the valley.
Here the ‘hollow’ actually refers to the valley where the very young soldier sleeps peacefully.
Here the valley looks like a hollow from the mountaintop.
A very young soldier is lying there.
The soldier is lying peacefully in the warm sunlight in the small green valley with one hand on his breast.
Related Question
4️⃣ “A soldier, very young, lies open-mouthed.”
Who is the soldier? How is he sleeping? How is the place where he sleeps? [1+1+4]
👉The soldier depicted in the poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’ who lies dead in a beautiful valley, is a casualty of war.
In the beautiful small green valley, the very young soldier lies open-mouthed. He appears to be sleeping peacefully in warm sunlight with one hand on his breast.
👉Rimbaud’s war poem rather an anti-war poem, “Asleep in the Valley” opens with a beautiful picture of a small green valley surrounded by high mountains where a very young soldier lies open-mouthed. He appears to be sleeping peacefully in warm sunlight with one hand on his breast. However, when viewed closely it is seen that there are two deep red bullet wounds in the side of his body–the soldier is actually dead. It is a tragic discovery. At once the picture of gloom and horror flashes upon our mind. He has become a casualty of war. We become conscious of the tragedy of war, the suffering of the soldier that he was forced to endure in the battle field. Grim death is the inevitability of war and the poem ironically presents the monstrous destruction that the soldier has to experience in a warfare. The title suggests the theme of the poem which is all of the futility of war.
Related Questions
[I] How does the picture of the soldier describe the tragedy of war? Explain.
[II] How is Arthur Rimbaud’s attitude towards war revealed in the poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’?
[III] Discuss the poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’ as a war or an anti-war poem.
[IV] “The poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’ is a poem about war–about the futility of war.” Discuss briefly.
[V] What picture of war do you get from the poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’?
[VI] Explain the poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’ as a war poem or an anti-war poem.
[VII] Bring out the futility of war as depicted in the poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’.
[VIII] “A soldier, very young..”
Describe the condition of the soldier and indicate how far the picture of the soldier serves to bring out the pitiful tragedy of war.
[IX] Write a short note on the aptness of the title of the poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’.
[XI] Write the central idea or central theme or critical estimate of the poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’.
[XII] Bring out the irony of the poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’.
[XIII] When does the reader recognize that the soldier is ‘asleep’ in a different sense?
[XIV] What do you know about the poet’s attitude to war as revealed in the poem “Asleep in the Valley”?
[XV] Assess Rimbaud’s poem ‘Asleep in the Valley’ as an anti-war poem.
6️⃣ “Pale in his warm, green, sun-soaked bed.”
Who is ‘Pale’ and why? Why is the bed called ‘warm, green and sun-soaked’? [2+4]
👉In Rimbaud’s poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’, the soldier is pale because he is dead. So, he is death-pale.
7️⃣ “His smile is like an infant’s—“
Whose ‘smile’ is being referred to here? Why is his smile compared to the smile of an infant? How does nature take care of him? [1+3+2] [WBCHSE H.S. 2019]
👉The smile of the sleeping dead soldier is referred to here.
The soldier retains a beautiful innocent smile on his face that bears no trickery. His smiling face indicates that he has got a chance to take rest after a strenuous struggle in the battle field. The peace, the soldier is enjoying during his sleep makes his face as innocent as that of an innocent child.
Related Questions
[I] “His smile is like an infant’s—“
Whose ‘smile’ is referred to here? Why is his ‘smile’ compared with that of an infant? How does nature treat with him? /Describe the blessing of nature on the soldier lying in the green valley. [1+3+2]
[II] “His smile is like an infant’s—“
Whose ‘smile’ is referred to here? Why is it compared to that of an infant? How does nature treat him? [1+3+2]
[III] “His smile is like an infant’s—“
Who sleeps and where? What is the implication of the line? [2+4]
Related Questions
[I] “His feet among the flowers, he sleeps.” Whom are the words spoken about? Where does he sleep and how? Give the significance of the quoted line. [1+2+3]
[II] Why does the poet of the poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’ invoke nature?
Who rests and where? Why is his rest not disturbed by the insects? [1+2+3] [WBCHSE H.S. 2020]
👉The very young soldier, in the poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’, takes rest in the pleasant, warm, green valley.
The soldier is not disturbed by the insects. He seems to be sleeping in peace.
Related Questions
Who rests and where? Who is not disturbed by the insects? Why can’t the insects disturb his rest? /What is his actual state? [2+1+3]
[II] “The humming insects don’t disturb rest.”
Who is taking rest? Why cannot insects disturb his rest? [1+5]
[III] “The humming insects don’t disturb rest.”
1️⃣0️⃣ “In his side there are two red holes.”
Who is the person referred to here? What do the ‘two red holes’ signify? How is the pity of war reflected in the line? [1+2+3] [WBCHSE H.S. 2017]
👉The very young soldier who lies open-mouthed in the beautiful sunlit valley with one hand on his breast is referred to here in the above line.
In the last line of the poem the phrase ‘two red holes’ actually denote the two bullet wounds or injuries visible on the side of the soldier lying dead on a pleasant warm valley.
Related Questions
[I]“In his side there are two red holes.”
What is indicated here? What do you think, does the discovery of the ‘two red holes’ lead the reader to? [2+4]
[II]“In his side there are two red holes.”
Who is the person referred to here? What do the ‘two red holes’ signify? What attitude of the poet to war is reflected here? [1+2+3] [WBCHSE H.S. 2022]
[III] “In his side there are two red holes.”
What do the ‘two red holes’ signify? What does the poet seek to suggest in this line? What attitude of the poet to war is reflected here? [1+2+3]
[IV] “In his side there are two red holes.”
What do the ‘two red holes’ indicate here? How does the line evoke the sense of pity of war? [1+5]
[V] “In his side there are two red holes.”
Who has ‘red holes’ by his side? What do the ‘red holes’ signify? What attitude of the poet to war is reflected here? [1+2+3]
[VI] “In his side there are two red holes.”
What do the ‘red holes’ depict? How is the pity of war reflected in the line? What are the themes suggested in the poem?[1+3+2]
👉In the last line of the poem the phrase ‘two red holes’ actually denote the two bullet wounds or injuries visible on the side of the soldier lying dead on a pleasant warm valley.
It is a tragic discovery. At once the picture of gloom and horror flashes upon our mind. He has become a casualty of war. The reader become conscious of the tragedy of war, the suffering of the soldier that he was forced to endure in the battle field. Grim death is the inevitability of war and the poem ironically presents the monstrous destruction that the soldier has to experience in a warfare. The title suggests the theme of the poem which is all of the futility of war.
Discuss the use of two contrasting pictures in the poem.
Related Question
1️⃣2️⃣ Do you agree that the word ‘asleep’ is used ironically by the poet in the poem, “Asleep in the Valley”?
👉’Asleep’ is normally associated with a sleeping man. When we describe someone is asleep, we mean to say that he is in sleep and soon he will rise from sleep.
Related Questions
[I] In what sense the word ‘asleep’ is used? How has the poet used this in a different sense to indicate the title of the poem? [1+5]
1️⃣3️⃣ Comment about the structure of the poem, “Asleep in the Valley”.
👉The war poet Arthur Rimbaud has written his war poem, “Asleep in the Valley” in sonnet form-Petrarchan or Italian sonnet form which is divided into two parts-Octave (the first eight lines) and Sestet (the last six lines). The poet uses two stanzas or quatrains of four lines each that form the Octave part of the poem. The Sestet part is made up of two stanzas of three lines each. The stanzas of the poem are clearly connected with one another. In Octave the poet not only gives a beautiful description of the valley but also presents the soldier asleep in his ‘sun-soaked bed’. The Sestet shows how the soldier sleeps and how he is protected by nature. It also gives the readers a rude shock as they come to know that the soldier is not asleep, but dead.
Related Question
1️⃣4️⃣ “A soldier, very young, lies open-mouthed.”
Describe the place where the soldier lies. Why does he lie ‘open-mouthed’? Who takes care of him and how? [2+1+3] [WBCHSE H.S. 2023]
👉Rimbaud’s war poem rather an anti-war poem, “Asleep in the Valley” opens with a beautiful picture of a small green valley surrounded by high mountains. The valley looks like a hollow from the mountaintop where a slow stream flows like a long silvery ribbon. The bright sunlight, streaming from the mountaintop, fills and brightens the valley. Ferns and weeds grow plenty in the valley which have made a pillow under the head of a very young soldier who sleeps open-mouthed there. He appears to be taking a nap and bushes and plants of the valley prepare his green sun-soaked bed. The feet of the soldier are among the flowers in the Valley. Besides there are also various species of insects. They sweetly hum near the soldier. Altogether this beautiful sunlit valley forms an idyllic picture.
The soldier lies ‘open-mouthed’ in the valley because he has died and become a casualty of war.
The soldier is a victim of war. Nobody is there to take care of the body. So, the poet invokes nature to take care of him. But nature does not forget her child. She seems to be all affectionate to the dead-soldier. Though nature’s sympathy is futile, it lovingly cradles him by providing flowers on his feet and also by providing the necessary heat to keep him warm and protect him from the cold.
1️⃣5️⃣ “A small green valley where a slow stream flows…”
👉In Rimbaud’s anti-war poem, “Asleep in the Valley” a very young soldier lies open-mouthed in the small green valley.
He lies there open-mouthed in full warm sunlight with one hand on his breast.
The plentiful bushes and plants which grow in the valley serve as a heavy bed for the soldier. The poet describes his bed as a ‘warm, green, sun-soaked bed’. Fern in the valley serves as a pillow for the soldier beneath his head.
1️⃣6️⃣ “Ah, Nature, keep him warm; he may catch cold.” Who is ‘he’? Why may he catch cold? Why does the poet ask nature to keep him warm? [1+1+4]
👉In Rimbaud’s anti-war poem, “Asleep in the Valley” here in the line ‘he’ refers to the very young soldier who is lying open-mouthed in the valley.
The poet fears that he may catch cold because he is dead, he is not sleeping here.
Related Question
[I] “Ah, Nature, keep him warm;” Who makes such an appeal and where? Who is referred to as ‘him’? How does Nature take care of ‘him’? [2+1+3]
👉In his anti-war poem, “Asleep in the Valley” the poet makes such an appeal to Nature.
Here the word ‘him’ refers to the very young soldier who is lying open-mouthed in the valley with one hand on his breast.
