Activity 1.3.1 , 1.3.2, 1.3.3 & 1.3.5 ; ‘True Royalty’
1.3.1 Listen to the recitation of the poem. Then, practice reciting it in pairs/groups. Finally, recite it for the whole class.
True Royalty
By Rudyard Kipling
There was never a Queen like Balkis,
From here to the wide world’s end;
But Balkis talked to a butterfly
As you would talk to a friend.
There was never a King like Solomon,
Not since the world began;
But Solomon talked to a butterfly
As a man would talk to a man.
She was Queen of Sabaea—
And he was Asia’s Lord—
But they both of ’em talked to butterflies
When they took their walks abroad.
সত্যিকারের রাজকীয়তা
-রাড্ইয়ার্ড কিপলিং
বলকিসের মতো রানী কখনোই ছিল না,
এখান থেকে বিস্তৃত বিশ্বের শেষ পর্যন্ত;
কিন্তু বলকিস একটা প্রজাপতির সাথে কথা বলল
যেমন তুমি বন্ধুর সাথে কথা বলবেন।
শলোমনের মত রাজা কখনও ছিল না,
পৃথিবী শুরু হওয়ার পর থেকে নয়;
কিন্তু সোলায়মান একটা প্রজাপতির সাথে কথা বলতেন
একজন মানুষ যেমন একজন মানুষের সাথে কথা বলত।
তিনি ছিলেন শেবার রানী ছিলেন-
এবং তিনি ছিলেন এশিয়ার প্রভু-
কিন্তু তারা দুজনেই প্রজাপতির সাথে কথা বলেছিল
তখন তাঁরা উভয়েই প্রজাপতির সাথে কথাই বলতেন ।
1.3.2 Read the poem ‘True Royalty’ again. Then, ask and answer the following questions in pairs/groups. Finally, share your answers with the class.
Questions
- a) How many characters are there in the poem?
- b) Who are Balkis and Solomon?
- c) How are they?
- d) Who is their friend?
- e) What are the rhyming words used in the poem?
- f) What are the words that are repeated in the poem?
- g) Do these repeated words help you understand what the poet wants to say through Queen Balkis and King Solomon?
Answers:
(a) There are two characters in the poem.
(b) Bilkis is a Queen of Sheba and Solomon is an Asia’s Lord.
(c) They are extraordinary.
(d) A butterfly is their friend.
(e) The rhyming words used in the poem are End-friend, began-man; Lord-abroad.
(f) There was never, Queen, but, like, talk to betterfly etc. are the words/ phrases repeated in the poem.
(f) Yes. By using these word more than once, the poet wants to say through Queen Balkis and King Solomon that we all should be great lovers of nature and beauty like them.
1.3.3 Now, read the note given below. Then in pairs/groups, read the poem ‘True Royalty’ again and identify the ‘similes’ used to describe Queen Balkis and King Solomon. Finally, share your answers with the class. Also, discuss the reasons for using these similes in the poem.
1) As
An example sentence: His shirt is as white as snow. Here, the colour of the shirt is compared to snow which expresses the whiteness of the shirt.
2) Like
An example sentence: Our freedom fighters fought like lions. In this example, the strength and courage of our freedom fighters are compared to those of the lions. A simile provides a mental image to the readers or listeners. That’s how it makes a better connection between a reader/listener and the text. For this reason, people use simile in their conversations and poets use it in their writings.
| Characters described | Compared to/ with | Simile | My sentence | Reason for using the simile |
| Queen Balkis | a friend | As you would talk to a friend | Queen Balkis talked to butterfly as a man talks to his friend | Here simile ‘as’ is used to descriobe Balkis’s love for nature and beauty |
| King Solomon | other king | There was never a king like Solomon | There was never a king like King Solomon | ‘Like’ has been used to express the greatness of King Solomon |
1.3.5 Now, it’s your turn to identify the rhyming patterns of the rest two stanzas. Later, share them with the whole class.
Stanza-2
There was never a King like Solomon______, D
Not since the world began_____; E
But Solomon talked to a butterfly_______ F
As a man would talk to a man______. E
Answer:
There was never a King like Solomo—–n [the ending sound of this verse is n/] D
Not since the world beg —–an; E
But Solomon talked to a butterfly——–y; F
As a man would talk to a m——-an; E
Verse/line 1…………….n
Verse/line 2…………….an
Verse/ line 3 ……………y
Verse/ line 4 ……………an
| She was Queen of Sabae_________ G
And he was Asia’s Lord_______ H But they both of ’em talked to butterflies_______ I When they took their walks abroad______. H |
Verse 1 is named D (ending sound n)
Verse 2 is named E (ending sound an) Verse 3is named F (ending sound y) Verse 4 is named E (ending sound an) |
Finally, we can say that the rhyming pattern of the second stanza is DEFE
Stanza-3
She was Queen of Sabae ——a, [the ending sound of this verse is /a/.] G
And he was Asia’s Lor —–d; H
But they both of ’em talked to butterflie———–s; I
When they took their walks abroad———–d; H
| Verse/line 1…………….a
Verse/line 2…………….d Verse/ line 3 ……………s Verse/ line 4 ……………d |
Verse 1 is named G (ending sound a)
Verse 2 is named H (ending sound d) Verse 3is named I (ending sound s) Verse 4 is named D (ending sound d) |
Finally, we can say that the rhyming pattern of the third stanza is GHIH