TS 8th Class English Guide Unit 6B The Earthen Goblet (Poem)
O silent goblet! Red from head to heel,
How did you feel
When you were being twirled
Upon the potters wheel
Before the potter gave you to the world
I felt a conscious impulse in my clay
To break away
From the great potters hand that burned so warm,
I felt a vast
Feeling of soow to be cast
Into my present form.
Before that fatal hour
That saw me captive on the potters wheel
And cast into his crimson goblet-sleep,
I used to feel
The fragrant friendship of a little flower
Whose root was in my bosom buried deep.
The Potter has drawn out the living breath of me
And given me a form which is the death of me,
My past unshapely natural state was best
With just one flower flaming through my breast.
Questions and Answers:
Answer the following questions.
Question 1.
Who is I in the poem? Who is the speaker in the first stanza?
Answer:
The Earthen Goblet is the I in the poem. The poet is the speaker in the first stanza
Question 2.
What does the phrase fragrant friendship convey about the goblets relationship with the flower?
Answer:
The phrase fragrant friendship conveys the warm and cordial relationship with the flower
Question 3.
The poem has the expression burned so warm. Does the poet have tender feelings towards the goblet or the earth? What is your opinion?
Answer:
The poet has tender feelings towards the earth. We know this from the expression "conscious impulse in my clay to break away from the great potters hand". The clay wanted to escape from the hands of the potter
Question 4.
The goblet has certain feelings towards its present life and past life. Which life does it like? Why?
Answer:
The goblet liked the past life. It was warm, natural and the companionship of a fragrant flower. In its past life, the flowers root was deeply buried in its heart. In the present life of a goblet, the potter has drawn out the living breath out of it. The present form is death to it. The goblet likes its past form
Question 5.
What common things do you notice between the expression living breath of me and natural stage?
Answer:
The common things we notice between the living breath and the natural stage are freedom, happpiness, and fragrant friendship with the little flower
The Earthen Goblet (Poem) Summary in English
The poem The Earthen Goblet was written by a famous Indian poet Harindranath Chattopadhyaya. It is a dialogue between the poet and the goblet. The poem has four stanzas
The poet asked thesilent goblet why it was red from top to toe and what its feelings were when the potter kept it on his wheel and twirled it before giving it to the world as a goblet
The goblet replied that it felt a conscious impulse in its clay to break away from the Great Potters warm hand. It also felt sorrow to be moulded into its present form
Before that dangerous hour, the goblet was the prisoner on the potters wheel and moulded into the crimson coloured goblet. Before that, it used to feel the fragrant friendship of a little flower. The root of the flower was buried deep in its bosom. The association between clay and creeper was very strong
The potter has taken the living breath of it. He gave it a form which was its death (which made it die). Previously it was natural and shapeless. But the form of the clay was the best form for it as a bright flower used to be its companion near its breast
The essence of this is that the shape of goblet made it a prisoner. It did not have freedom or a friend. When it was in the form of clay, it had a friend - a little flower. Its friendship was sweet which was no more available to the goblet. Goblet is used by rich people to take the drink of their choice. The company of rich people did not give the goblet happiness
About the Poet
Harindranath Chattopadhyay was born on 2 April 1898, in Hyderabad in aBengali Hindu Kulin Brahmin family to Aghornath Chattopadhyay and BaradaSundari Devi. He was a multi talented personality as an In¬dian English poet, adramatist, an actor, a musician and a member of the 1st Lok Sabha fromVijayawada constituency. He was the younger brother of Sarojini Naidu, thefirst woman President of Indian National Congress. He is famous for poems like Noon and Shaper Shaped
Glossary
goblet : a cup made of any metal
head to hell : top to toe (bottom)
twirl (v) : turn something round and round
conscious (adj) : deliberate ; noticing something
impulse (n) : a sudden strong wish to do something without stopping
clay (n) : sticky earth that becomes hard when it is burnt/baked
break away (phr.v) : escape from somebody who is holding you in prison
vast (v) : large amount
cast (v) : give shape
form (n) : shape
fatal (adj) : causing disaster or ending in death
hour (n) : time
captive (n) : kept as a prisoner; unable to escape
crimson (adj) : dark red in colour
fragrant (adj) : having a pleasant smell
bosom (n) : chest
burled deep : covered with soil deeply
living breath : life
unshapely (adj) : shapeless ; without having a shape
stage (n) : (here) being in the form of clay
flaming (adj) : shining brightly in dark red colour
breast (n) : chest