Chapter 4: Beauty

WORKING WITH THE POEM

Question 1.The poet says, “Beauty is heard in” can you hear beauty? Add a sound that you think is beautiful to the sounds the poet thinks are beautiful.
The poet, Keats, said:
Heard melodies are sweet,
But those unheard are sweeter.
What do you think this means? Have you ever ‘heard’ a song in your head, long after the song was sung or played?

Answer:Yes, beauty can be heard anywhere. When we hear something enchanting, it attracts us towards it. We want to hear it again and again. It can be a melodious song by a bird, sound of leaves, air etc. Keats said in the above lines that melodies which we can hear are sweet, but those which we can’t hear are even sweeter. They can only be imagined and beauty lies in the imagination. Yes, sometimes a melodious song stays in one’s mind for long and it keeps playing in one’s head as it has touched that person’s soul.

Question 2.Read the first and second stanzas of the poem again. Note the following phrases.
Corn growing, people working or dancing, wind sighing, rain falling, a singer chanting
These could be written as

• Corn that is growing
• People who are working or dancing

Can you rewrite the other phrases like this? Why do you think the poet uses the shorter phrases?

Answer:
Wind which is sighing
Rain which is falling
A singer who is chanting
The poet uses shorter phrases In the poem to make it more attractive and appealing. The poet created a particular order of rhyme scheme.

Question 3.Find pictures of beautiful things you have seen or heard of.

Answer:Do it yourself as each one of us has a different concept of beauty.

Question 4.Write a paragraph about beauty. Use your own ideas along with the ideas in the poem. (You may discuss your ideas with your partner.)

Answer:Beauty is immortal as it remains forever. If it keeps on changing with time, it can’t be called beauty. Beauty keeps giving us joy and happiness.
Some people find beauty only in physical appearance which changes with time and place. Beauty lies within and remains constant while good looks are deceptive.