AP Board 8th Class English Solutions Chapter 2B The Cry of Children
Comprehension
Answer the following questions
1.What kind of places are the children working in?
ans:The children are working in the places such as coal factories, iron factories, jinning mills, shops, hotels, tea-stalls, automobile shops, fields, etc
2.The reddest flower would look as pale as snow. What does the phrase reddest flower refer to ? Why does it become pale?
ans:The phrase reddest flower refers to the blood coloured eye of the child. It becomes pale as the child is very tired. (In the other sense, the reddest flower becomes pale before the red eyes of the children. The eyes of the children are very red in colour because of their restlessness and sleeplessness.)
3.How does the work affect the children?
ans:The children become very tired. They cant run or leap as a normal child can. They want to sleep. They are not playful. They are very unhappy with their life
4.Do children enjoy their lives when engaged in work?
ans:No, children dont enjoy their lives when engaged in work. They dont find any time to enjoy
5.If the poem were written from the point of view of a factory owner, what kind of things would he say about children?
ans:If the poem were written from the point of view of a factory owner, he would say that the children were not doing their work properly. He would say that the children had to work hard. He would say that they were sitting leisurely
6.What is the poet? attitude towards child labour? Pick out the words/expressions that reveal her attitude
ans:The poet? sympathies are with the child labourers. She feels that the child labourer? lives are very miserable. The expressions, "we are weary and we cant run or leap", "Our knees upon our faces", "we drag our burden tiring", "we drive the wheels of iron", etc. reveal her attitude
The Cry of Children Summary in English
In this poem E. Browning shows and criticises the sorrow of the children in those years how the exploitation was managed in coal mines and factories. In those days, children were working endlessly under deplorable conditions
The children are tired and weary. They are fed up with the continuous work in the coal mines and iron factories. They have no joy of living. Their routine is always the same. They start their work early in the morning and finish it late in the evening
They dont experience the sunlight in the dark undergrounds of the coal mines. They dont have play time. They dont have any happiness. They cant run or jump. They want to sleep in the meadows. Their knees are trembling with their heavy work. Their eyelids are drooping with tiredness
About the Poet
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) was a great poet of English language. She published a Collection of Poems, Sonnets from the Portuguese, Aurora Leigh, The Seraphim and Other Poems. She married Robert Browning, a famous English poet and moved to Italy. Most of her poems deal with human emotions
The Cry of Children Glossary
weary (adj): tired and lost all the strength
meadows (n): land that is covered with grass
merely (adv): only
sorely (adv): in a painful manner
drooping (adj): hanging downward
pale (adj): not bright/light in colour
stooping (n): bending ones body forwards and downwards
drag (v): to pull something along with effort and difficulty