{"id":27124,"date":"2023-01-04T10:00:21","date_gmt":"2023-01-04T04:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aplustopper.com\/?p=27124"},"modified":"2023-01-05T10:02:06","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T04:32:06","slug":"treasure-trove-a-collection-of-icse-short-stories-workbook-answers-chapter-4-after-blenheim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aplustopper.com\/treasure-trove-a-collection-of-icse-short-stories-workbook-answers-chapter-4-after-blenheim\/","title":{"rendered":"Treasure Trove A Collection of ICSE Poems Workbook Answers Chapter 4 After Blenheim"},"content":{"rendered":"

Treasure Trove A Collection of ICSE\u00a0Poems Workbook Answers Chapter 4 After Blenheim- ICSE Class 10, 9 English<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

ICSE Solutions<\/a>Selina ICSE Solutions<\/a>ML Aggarwal Solutions<\/a><\/p>\n

English<\/a>Maths<\/a>Physics<\/a>Chemistry<\/a>Biology<\/a><\/p>\n

Comprehension Passages<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Stanza 1 and 2<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Treasure<\/p>\n

Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Question 1.<\/span><\/strong>
\nExplain with reference to context.
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThese lines have been taken from the poem \u2018After Blenheim\u2019 which is an antiwar poem in the form of a ballad. Robert Southey wrote and published it in 1798. It centers on the most famous battle in the War of the Spanish Succession. An elderly farmer named Kaspar sits in front of his cottage watching his grandchildren, Wilhelmine and Peterkin, at play. Peterkin is rolling an object he found near a stream. He takes it to Kaspar and asks what it is.<\/p>\n

Question 2.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWho was playing on the grass near Kasper?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nHis grandchild Wilhelmine was playing on the grass nearby.<\/p>\n

Question 3.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhat was Peterkin doing?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nPeterkin was playing beside a small stream.<\/p>\n

Question 4.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhat did Peterkin find?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nPeterkin found an object that was large,smooth and round.<\/p>\n

Question 5.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWho was Peterkin?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nPeterkin was Old Kasper\u2019s grandson and Wilhelmine\u2019s brother.<\/p>\n

Stanza 3 and 4<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Treasure<\/p>\n

Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Question 1.<\/span><\/strong>
\nExplain with reference to context.
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThese lines have been taken from the poem \u2018After Blenheim\u2019 which is an antiwar poem in the form of a ballad. Robert Southey wrote and published it in 1798. It centers on the most famous battle in the War of the Spanish Succession. The old man, who has found many such objects while ploughing the fields, replies that it is the skull of a soldier who died in the Battle of Blenheim. He tells them that lie found many such skulls as a large number of soldiers had died in the war which was a great victory.<\/p>\n

Question 2.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhat did Old Kasper do when Peterkin came to him with the object?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nWhen Peterkin came to him with the object, old Kasper shook his head and sighed.<\/p>\n

Question 3.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhat did Kasper say?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nKasper said that it seemed to be a skull of some soldier who had died in the great victory of the Battle of Blenheim.<\/p>\n

Question 4.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhat words show that there were many such skulls to be found there?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nKasper comments that:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018I find them in the garden,
\nFor there’s many here about;” For many thousand men,\u201d said he,
\n“Were slain in that great victory” which shows that many people had died in the battle.<\/p>\n

Question 5.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhat does the tone of Kasper\u2019s words suggest?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nIt is evident from Kasper\u2019s answer that he was not upset about the death of thousands in the battle, rather the only thing that concerned him was that it was a great victory.<\/p>\n

Question 6.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhy does the poet use a skull?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nSouthey uses a skull, as it is the most unique part of the human body. This makes you recognise that the skull was once part of a human body that was ruthlessly killed, and again emphasises the pointlessness of war.<\/p>\n

Stanza 5 and 6<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Treasure<\/p>\n

Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Question 1.<\/span><\/strong>
\nExplain with reference to context.
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThese lines have been taken from the poem \u2018After Blenheim\u2019 which is an antiwar poem in the form of a ballad. Robert Southey wrote and published it in 1798. It centers on the most famous battle in the War of the Spanish Succession. Their curiosity aroused, the children ask him about the battle and why it was fought. The English routed the French, he says, in what later generations would call a great and famous victory. However, Kaspar is at a loss to explain the cause of the battle but he is complacent and says that everyone said that it was a great victory and that is all that mattered to him.<\/p>\n

Question 2.<\/span><\/strong>
\nQuote the lines that show the children were curious about the battle and its outcome?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe lines that show the curiosity of the children are:<\/p>\n

“Now tell us what ’twas all about,”<\/strong>
\nYoung Peterkin, he cries;<\/strong>
\nAnd little Wilhelmine looks up<\/strong>
\nWith wonder-waiting eyes;<\/strong><\/p>\n

Question 3.<\/span><\/strong>
\nDid the children wonder about the reason for the war?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe children asked Kasper as to why was the battle fought. They asked:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Now tell us all about the war,<\/strong>
\nAnd what they fought each other for.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Question 4.<\/span><\/strong>
\nName the two opposing sides. Who won?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe battle was fought between the English and French. The French were defeated.<\/p>\n

Question 5.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhy does Kasper repeat the line \u2018twas a great victory?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nOld Kasper continuously repeats this sentence as this is all he knows about the war. Although it is constantly mentioned that it was a great victory this is not what the poem is saying. Southey is using this phrase to emphasise the exact opposite, that it wasn\u2019t a great victory.<\/p>\n

Stanza 7 and 8<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Treasure
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Question 1.<\/span><\/strong>
\nExplain with reference to context.
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThese lines have been taken from the poem \u2018After Blenheim\u2019 which is an antiwar poem in the form of a ballad. Robert Southey wrote and published it in 1798. It centers on the most famous battle in the War of the Spanish Succession.He does know that thousands died in it\u2014not only soldiers but also townspeople, including children. In fact, the fields were littered with corpses. But such terrible consequences are part of war, he says. They do not negate the glory of the victory.<\/p>\n

Question 2.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhat happened to Kaspar\u2019s family in the war?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nIn the war ,Kaspar\u2019s house was burnt down and his father had to flee alongwith his wife and children.<\/p>\n

Question 3.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhat does Kasper\u2019s attitude signify?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nOld Kaspar unquestioningly accepts the loss of innocent women and children in the Battle of Blenheim as one of the prices of the glorious victory. His complacent attitude is not unlike that of modern politicians who dismiss the deaths of innocent civilians in arenas of war by referring to them with the impersonal phrase \u201ccollateral damage.”<\/p>\n

Question 4.<\/span><\/strong>
\nExplain the lines:<\/p>\n

“With fire and sword the country round
\nWas wasted far and wide,\u2019<\/p>\n

Answer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nOld Kaspar tells his grandchildren that due to the war the entire countryside was ravaged. Many people were killed by the sword and their houses burnt to the ground.<\/p>\n

Question 5.<\/span><\/strong>
\nKaspar describes the horrors of war but how can his attitude be described?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nKaspar can describe what the war was like at Blenheim, but he cannot explain why the belligerents went to war. Nor does he seem curious about the causes. All that matters to him is that Austria and England won a glorious victory. He seems complacent and uncaring about the inhumanities of war ,all that he is concerned with is that it was a great victory for his country.<\/p>\n

Stanza 9, 10, and 11<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Treasure
\n\"Treasure<\/p>\n

Read the lines given above and answer the questions that follow.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Question 1.<\/span><\/strong>
\nExplain with reference to context.
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThese lines have been taken from the poem \u2018After Blenheim\u2019 which is an antiwar poem in the form of a ballad. Robert Southey wrote and published it in 1798. It centers on the most famous battle in the War of the Spanish Succession.<\/p>\n

Wilhelmine then comments that the battle was “a wicked thing,” but Kaspar tells her she is wrong. \u201cIt was a famous victory,” he says. Peterkin asks what good came of the fighting. Kaspar says he does not know, but adds, ” ’twas a famous victory.” The narrator does not know why the battle was fought, why thousands died, why his father’s cottage was burned or what good came of it but ironically it was a famous victory.<\/p>\n

Question 2.<\/span><\/strong>
\nHow does kasper justify the thousands of death in the war?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nOld Kaspar unquestioningly accepts the loss of innocent women and children in the Battle of Blenheim as one of the prices of the glorious victory. His complacent attitude is not unlike that of modern politicians who dismiss the deaths of innocent civilians in arenas of war by referring to them with the impersonal phrase \u201ccollateral damage.”<\/p>\n

Question 3.<\/span><\/strong>
\nHow does the poet describe the scene on the field after the battle?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe poet poignantly describes the horrible and devastating effects of the war when he write:<\/p>\n

“They say it was a shocking sight After the field was won;<\/strong>
\nFor many thousand bodies here Lay rotting in the sun;<\/strong><\/p>\n

Question 4.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhat is Wilheinien\u2019s reaction to the description of the war?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nWilhelmine is upset by the horrific effects described and comments that the battle was “a wicked thing,” but Kaspar tells her she is wrong. \u201cIt was a famous victory,” he says. Peterkin asks what good came of the fighting. Kaspar says he does not know, but adds, ” ’twas a famous victory.<\/p>\n

Question 5.<\/span><\/strong>
\nHow do the skulls symbolize the theme in “The Battle of Blenheim”?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe skulls show how serious the loss of life was. They are treated without respect, just as the reasons for the war are no longer remembered. They represent the grandfather’s commitment to the cause of freedom.<\/p>\n

Question 6.<\/span><\/strong>
\nIn “The Battle of Blenheim,” why are Wilhelmine’s words “twas a very wicked thing” ironic?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nWilhelmine’s words “twas a very wicked thing” are ironic because although she innocently is telling the truth, but her grandfather says she is wrong. She, a child will never understand issues of war and death but the poet makes her his mouthpiece to comment on war.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 Project<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Question 1.<\/span><\/strong>
\nDefine the following terms from the poem: rivulet, plough share (plowshare), yon, and childing.
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nA rivulet is a small stream suggesting a beautiful and calm environment far removed from
\nthe horrors of war. A plowshare is the main cutting blade of a plough, behind the coulter,<\/p>\n

Question 2.<\/span><\/strong>
\nResearch the Battle of Blenheim. Then write an essay defending Wilhelmine’s position that the battle was a “wicked thing” or Kaspar’s position that it was a “great victory.”
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe battle was fought near the village of Blenheim, in Bavaria, on the left bank of theriver Danube, on August 13, 1704. The French and Bavarians, under Marshall Tallard and Marsin, were defeated by the English and Austrians, under the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene. After thousands of casualties, and vast civilian destruction, the battle ended. It was arguably among the most important battles of the 18th century, and the\u00a0 turning point of the War of the Spanish Succession.<\/p>\n

Southey uses a skull, as it is the most unique part of the human body. This makes;\u00a0 you recognise that the skull was once part of a human body that was ruthlessly killed, and again emphasises the pointlessness of war<\/p>\n

After finding the skull, Peterkin immediately asks what it is. Kaspar tells him that it is part of the remains of a soldier who died at Blenheim. Wilhelmine then asks Kaspar to describe the war and explain its causes. Kaspar can describe what the war was like , at Blenheim, but he cannot explain why the belligerents went to war. Nor does he seem curious about the causes. All that matters to him is that Austria and England won a glorious victory.<\/p>\n

Old Kaspar unquestioningly accepts the loss of innocent women and children in the Battle of Blenheim as one of the prices of the glorious victory. His complacent attitude\u00a0 is not unlike that of modem politicians who dismiss the deaths of innocent civilians in\u00a0 \u00a0arenas of war by referring to them with the impersonal phrase \u201ccollateral damage.”<\/p>\n

Question 3.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhy does the poet use repetition in the poem?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe poet uses repetition as at the end each verse he repeats the ironic saying:\u201cBut \u2018twas a famous victory.\u201d Old Kasper continuously repeats this sentence as this is all he knows about the war. Although it is constantly mentioned that it was a great victory this is not i\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 what the poem is saying. Southey is using this phrase to emphasise the exact opposite, that it wasn\u2019t a great victory. It is one of Southey’s most famous poems. The internal\u00a0repetition of but ’twas a famous victory juxtaposed with the initial five lines of each stanza, establish that the narrator does not know why the battle was fought, why thousands died, why his father’s cottage was burned. The often-quoted closing lines are:<\/p>\n

“But what good came of it at last?”<\/strong>
\nQuoth little Peterkin.<\/strong>
\n“Why that I cannot tell,” said he,<\/strong>
\n“But ’twas a famous victory.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Question 4.<\/span><\/strong>
\nCan it be argued that this is an anti- war poem?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe poet uses imagery to describe the soldiers in war who die fighting for the survival of kingdoms. Is this what human life has come to as a result of war? Worth nothing. The poet\u2019s feelings about war is that they are catastrophically phenomenal, and leave hundreds of people without their homes, and without each other, completely destroyed. Wars affect everyone on a large scale. In ‘After Blenheim’, the poet repeats that the Battle of Blenheim was a huge and great victory for the English. He is saying that he believes that wars always end for one side in a great victory, usually achieved for a good cause but for the other side they are a total failure and the costs are huge. The poet poignantly describes the after effects<\/p>\n

“They say it was a shocking sight <\/strong>
\nAfter the field was won;<\/strong>
\nFor many thousand bodies here<\/strong>
\nLay rotting in the sun;\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>
\nWilhelmine even comments that the battle was “a wicked thing,”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Question 5.<\/span><\/strong>
\nExplain and discuss the themes in the poem.
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe poet has artfully woven in diverse themes into the poem. He speaks of Man’s Inhumanity to Man. War represents the worst form of human behavior and its cruelty to our fellow beings.: The skull Peterkin finds, as well as those that Kaspar regularly unearths while plowing, are mute testimony to the truth of \u201cMan’s inhumanity to man” , a phrase originated by poet Robert Burns. The poem implies that the perpetrators of war cannot or will not suppress wayward ambitions that provoke a violent response. The children\u2014as yet uncorrected by adult thinking\u2014readily perceive war for what it is.<\/p>\n

The poet also hints at Kaspar\u2019s lack of curiosity as opposed to curiosity depicted by the children. After finding the skull, Peterkin immediately asks what it is. Kaspar tells him\u00a0 that it is part of the remains of a soldier who died at Blenheim. Wilhelmine then asks Kaspar to describe the war and explain its causes. Kaspar can describe what the war was like at Blenheim, but he cannot explain why the belligerents went to war. Nor does he seem curious about the causes. All that matters to him is that Austria and England won a glorious victory.<\/p>\n

Kaspar displays a sense of complacency in the face of the horrors of war. He unquestioningly accepts the loss of innocent women and children in the Battle of Blenheim as one of the prices of the glorious victory. His complacent attitude is not unlike that of modem politicians who dismiss the deaths of innocent civilians in arenas of war by referring to them with the impersonal phrase \u201ccollateral damage.”<\/p>\n

Extra Questions<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Question 1.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhat tells the reader the serene atmosphere about old Caspar\u2019s home.
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe seremne atmosphere about Kaspar\u2019s home is conveyed by the fact that he was sitting relaxing in the sun and his grandchild was playing on the grass nearby.<\/p>\n

And he before his cottage door\u00a0<\/strong>
\n Was sitting in the sun,<\/strong>
\nAnd by him sported on the green<\/strong>
\n His little grandchild Wilhelmine.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Question 2.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhy were the children confused about their grandfather\u2019s claims about the war?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe children were confused becuse he could not explain to them whwhy the war took place and what good resulted from it. All he could say to them was that it was a great victory<\/p>\n

Question 3.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhose family has been referred to earlier in the context?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nOld Kaspar\u2019s family has been referred to. His house was burnt down in the war and his family had to flee.<\/p>\n

Question 4.<\/span><\/strong>
\nName Kaspar\u2019s grandchildren? Why did the boy come home?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nWilhelmine and Peterkin were the grandchildren. Peterkin came home as he had found a skull while playing.<\/p>\n

Question 5.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhat made the old man shake his head and sigh?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe old man shook his head in sadness for the people who had died in the war.<\/p>\n

Question 6.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhat was the great victory? Who had won the victory?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe Battle of Blenheim was a great victory and it was won by Austria and England.<\/p>\n

Question 7.<\/span><\/strong>
\nLater, too, the old man uses the expression famous victory? Why?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nOld Kasper continuously repeats this sentence as this is all he knows about the war. Although it is constantly mentioned that it was a great victory this is not what the poem is saying. Southey is using this phrase to emphasise the exact opposite, that it wasn\u2019t a great victory.<\/p>\n

Question 8.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhat do you think of the old man\u2019s point of view?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nKaspar can describe what the war was like at Blenheim, but he cannot explain why the belligerents went to war. Nor does he seem curious about the causes. All that matters to him is that Austria and England won a glorious victory. Old Kaspar unquestioningly accepts the loss of innocent women and children in the Battle of Blenheim as one of the prices of the glorious victory. His complacent attitude is not unlike that of modem politicians who dismiss the deaths of innocent civilians in arenas of war by referring to them with the impersonal phrase \u201ccollateral damage.”<\/p>\n

Question 9.<\/span><\/strong>
\nExplain the expression, \u2018wonder-waiting eyes.\u2019
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe expression, \u2018wonder-waiting eyes.\u2019 refers to the surprised and questioning attitude of the grandchildren who wanted their grandfather to explain to them the reasons for the war and what good was achieved by it.<\/p>\n

Question 10.<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhy is the word \u2018 cried\u2019 used by the poet in the line, \u2018It was the English, Kaspar cried\u2019?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe word cried is used ironically to tell the reader that although Kaspar keeps repeating that it was a famous victory won by the English yet he in his heart was sad at the futility and destruction of the war.<\/p>\n

Question 11.<\/span><\/strong>
\nHow was the great victory a personal tragedy for Kaspar?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nKaspar\u2019s house was burnt down and his father had to flee with his wife and children.<\/p>\n

Question 12.<\/span><\/strong>
\nHow was the country affected by the war?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nIn the war not only did the soldiers die but many innocents, children and pregnant woman were also killed. Houses and fields of crops were burnt and people had to flee their homes to save themselves.<\/p>\n

Question 13.<\/span><\/strong>
\nDo you agree with his justification of the war? Why\/ why not?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nNo I do not agree. War is a curse. War represents the worst form of human behavior and its cruelty to our fellow beings.: The skull Peterkin finds, as well as those that Kaspar regularly unearths while plowing, are mute testimony to the truth of \u201cMan’s inhumanity to man”, a phrase originated by poet Robert Bums. The poem implies that the perpetrators of war cannot or will not suppress wayward ambitions that provoke a violent response. The children\u2014as yet uncorrupted by adult thinking\u2014readily perceive war for what it is.<\/p>\n

Question 14.<\/span><\/strong>
\nThere are two pauses when Kaspar tells Wilhelmine in the last stanza that it was a famous victory. Nay … nay…my little girl, quoth he.What do these pauses show?
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThese pauses show that Kaspar was doubtful about the greatness of the war and the victory . But he was so used to believing blindly the popular belief that it was a great victory that he did not refute it although in his heart he did not believe his own words.<\/p>\n

Question 15.<\/span><\/strong>
\nComment on the contrasted viewpoints in the poem.
\nAnswer:<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe poet makes the children oppose Kaspar\u2019s viewpoint that it was a great victory. Wilhelmine says the it was a very wicked thing and Kaspar refutes it. Dialogue is used to bring out the clash in the two viewpoints. The writer keeps it impersonal and like in any ballad the suspense is maintained in the tale. The open-ending makes it truly objective\u00a0 and powerful simultaneously in its ant-war stance.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>For More Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n

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