Think About
What is meant to be will always find its way.
Do you believe in fate? Do you believe that people are lucky or unlucky? Or do you believe that we are all responsible for ourselves and our destinies? Discuss.
Which of the following quotes do you find the most inspiring?
= I think the quote "Never Let Your Fear Decide Your Fate" is the most inspiring.
Often we become scared thinking about the future. We are scared of the unknown and which are yet to come. This fear stop us to proceed or do our job in proper way. As a result of that, we face misery and plight. And we blame our destiny.
The Poem :
"It was foretold by sybils three
that in an air crash he would die.
"I'll fool their prophecy," said he;
"You won't get me to go on high.
Howe're the need for haste and speed,
I'll never, never, never fly."
It's true he travelled everywhere,
A far and near, by land and sea,
Yet he would never go by air
And chance an evil destiny.
Always by ship or rail he went -
For him no sky-plane accident.
Then one day walking on the heath
He watched a pilot chap on high,
And chuckled as he stood beneath
That lad a-looping in the sky.
Feeling so safe and full of glee
Serenely he went home to tea.
With buttered toast he told his wife:
"My dear, you can't say I've been rash;
Three fortune tellers said my life
Would end up in an air-plain crash.
But see! I'm here so safe and sound:
By gad! I'll never leave the ground.
"For me no baptism of air;
It's in my bed I mean to die.
Behold yon crazy fool up there,
A-cutting capers in the sky.
His motor makes a devilish din...
Look! Look! He's gone into a spin.
"He's dashing downward - Oh my God!"...
Alas! he never finished tea.
The motor ploughed the garden sod
And in the crash a corpse was he:
Proving that no man can frustrate
The merciless design of Fate."
Summary of the Poem :
Three fortune tellers predicted the man that he would die in a plane accident. The man was not ready to accept it. He wanted to prove them wrong. He would never travel in a flight in spite of airplanes saves a lot of time.
He travelled both the places near and far by land and sea. He did not travel by plane as there is the chance of crashing. He used only ship and rail to avoid plane accident.
One day he was roaming on the ground and saw a pilot fellow in the sky. As the pilot was forming circle in the sky, the man chuckled standing beneath. He felt safe and pleased. Then he calmly went home to take tea.
His wife served him tea with buttered toast. He opined his wife that she could not consider him reckless as he stopped travelling up in an air-plane. He had decided to do so because of the prediction of those three fortune tellers. He is safe and sound as a result of it. He would never leave the ground.
There would be no rituals for dying in air crash. He would die lying in his bed. Suddenly they found a malfunctioning air plane in the sky. Its motor was creating a prolonged, loud and unpleasant noise. Then it had been spinning. It was clear that the air plane was in fault and it was crashing.
The plane ultimately was dashing downwards and fell upon the man. The motor crashed on the ground right there where the man was sitting. The man could not finish tea. The man died due to that accident. That showed that no man can prevent the destiny.
Savour the Flavour
Comprehension
Answer the following questions.
a. What was predicted? Who had made the prediction?
= It was predicted that the man would die in a plane accident.
Three fortune tellers had made the prediction.
b. Why did the character travel only by ship or rail?
= The character travelled only by ship or rail to avoid any type of plane accident.
c. Where was the pilot? What did the character see him doing at first?
= One day the man was roaming on the ground and he saw the pilot fellow in the sky.
The character saw the pilot forming circle in the sky.
d. Why did the character chuckle on observing the pilot chap?
= The character chuckled on observing the pilot chap because he was safe and secure on the ground. On the other hand, the pilot chap had the tendency to get the plane crashed.
e. What were the last words spoken by the character? Why could he not finish his tea?
= The last words spoken by the character are - "He's dashing downward - Oh my God!"...
He could not finish his tea because the plane crashed on him and he died.
f. What is the theme of the poem? What is the relevance of the title to the theme?
= The theme of the poem is believing the destiny.
The poem is about the man's belief on the prediction of those three fortune tellers. He took them so seriously that he stopped his regular activities to travel on plane. He stopped travelling on air to avoid any kind of accident on air. Eventually he died as a plane crashed on him while he was having tea on his lawn. It is very ironical that he ultimately died of plane crash even after being so careful. The title of the poem is very ironically used and it is suitable enough to serve the purpose of the poet's intension.
g. Which of the following qualities does the man in the poem possess?
* brave or timid.
* optimistic or pessimistic.
* wise or foolish.
* confident or anxious.
* adventurous or fearful.
= The man is timid. He is scared after hearing the prediction from those three fortune tellers.
He is optimistic that he would not die due to plane crash if he stops travelling by plane.
He is foolish because only a fool stops his regular activities only believing on the predictions of the fortune tellers.
He is anxious always thinking about the prediction and about his death and rituals after that.
He is fearful always thinking about the planes and plane accidents.
Refer to the Context
Comprehension
Answer the following questions.
"For me no baptism of air;
It's in my bed I mean to die."
i. Who said this and to whom? When?
= The man said this to his wife while he was having tea sitting on the lawn.
ii. Choose the synonym that's similar to the meaning of the word 'baptism' in the poem.
* ritual.
* christening.
* purification.
* immersion.
= ritual.
iii. Give one piece of evidence to show that the character was arrogant.
= The man was arrogant enough to call the pilot a crazy fool up in the sky. He was having tea sitting on his lawn. The noticed a pilot fellow flying his plane up in the sky. He was so boastful about his safety that he did not hesitate to call the pilot a crazy fool. He was sure that he would not die as he was on the ground. And the pilot had the full possibility to get crashed as he was flying the plane.
iv. What were the words spoken by the character immediately before this quote? What were the events that occurred immediately after this quote? Explain the irony that you find in what he said and what happened.
= His wife served him tea with buttered toast. He opined his wife that she could not consider him reckless as he stopped travelling up in an air-plane. He had decided to do so because of the prediction of those three fortune tellers. He is safe and sound as a result of it. He would never leave the ground.
Immediately after this quote, they found a malfunctioning air plane in the sky. Its motor was creating a prolonged, loud and unpleasant noise. Then it had been spinning. It was clear that the air plane was in fault and it was crashing.
The poem is about the man's belief on the prediction of those three fortune tellers. He took them so seriously that he stopped his regular activities to travel on plane. He stopped travelling on air to avoid any kind of accident on air. Eventually he died as a plane crashed on him while he was having tea on his lawn. It is very ironical that he ultimately died of plane crash even after being so careful.
Think and Discuss
HOTS
1. "A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it." What does this statement mean to you? Use the events in the poem to explain this statement.
= "A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it." I think this statement is true in most of the cases. Man proposes and God disposes. We must have to face the things meant for us. We can not deny our struggle or our course of actions only by choosing another options. We have to do what we have to do in either way.
Three fortune tellers predicted the man that he would die in a plane accident. The man was not ready to accept it. He wanted to prove them wrong. He would never travel in a flight in spite of airplanes saves a lot of time.
He travelled both the places near and far by land and sea. He did not travel by plane as there is the chance of crashing. He used only ship and rail to avoid plane accident.
One day he was roaming on the ground and saw a pilot fellow in the sky. As the pilot was forming circle in the sky, the man chuckled standing beneath. He felt safe and pleased. Then he calmly went home to take tea.
His wife served him tea with buttered toast. He opined his wife that she could not consider him reckless as he stopped travelling up in an air-plane. He had decided to do so because of the prediction of those three fortune tellers. He is safe and sound as a result of it. He would never leave the ground.
There would be no rituals for dying in air crash. He would die lying in his bed. Suddenly they found a malfunctioning air plane in the sky. Its motor was creating a prolonged, loud and unpleasant noise. Then it had been spinning. It was clear that the air plane was in fault and it was crashing.
The plane ultimately was dashing downwards and fell upon the man. The motor crashed on the ground right there where the man was sitting. The man could not finish tea. The man died due to that accident. That showed that no man can prevent the destiny.
2. The character in the poem chose not to travel by air to 'fool' the prophecy made by the three fortune tellers. Yet he did meet his end in a plane crash. Do you think the character allowed his fear to overrule his common sense?
= The character in the poem chose not to travel by air to 'fool' the prophecy made by the three fortune tellers. Yet he did meet his end in a plane crash.
Yes, I think the character totally allowed his fear to overrule his common sense. The poem is about the man's belief on the prediction of those three fortune tellers. He took them so seriously that he stopped his regular activities to travel on plane. He stopped travelling on air to avoid any kind of accident on air. Eventually he died as a plane crashed on him while he was having tea on his lawn.
Appreciate Poetry
Poetic Devices
1. Tick the correct answer.
a. This is to a poem what a paragraph is to prose.
i. rhythm. [ ]
ii. rhyme. [ ]
iii. stanza. [✓]
iv. meter. [ ]
b. How many lines are there in each stanza of the poem Tea on the Lawn?
i. 6. [✓]
ii. 5. [ ]
iii. 3. [ ]
iv. 2. [ ]
c. What are the words that create a pattern of end rhymes in the first stanza of Tea on the Lawn?
i. three - die; he - high; speed - fly. [ ]
ii. three - high; he - die; speed - fly. [ ]
iii. three - he - speed; die - high - fly. [ ]
iv. three - he; die - high - fly. [✓]
d. What is the rhyme scheme of the second stanza of Tea on the Lawn?
i. ababcc. [✓]
ii. dadaee. [ ]
iii. abacdd. [ ]
iv. abcdee. [ ]
e. What are the end words that rhyme with the word 'there' in the poem?
i. frustrate - fate. [ ]
ii. howe're - never. [ ]
iii. everywhere - frustrate. [ ]
iv. air - everywhere. [✓]
f. A syllable is a single unit of unbroken sound in a written or spoken word. The line 'It was foretold by sybils three' has 8 syllables. How many syllables are there in each line of the first stanza?
i. 8-9-9-8-8 [ ]
ii. 8-10-8-9-6 [ ]
iii. 8-10-9-8-6 [ ]
iv. 8-8-8-8-8 [✓]
g. What is common about the pattern of lines in all the stanzas of the poem?
i. In lines 1 & 3 and 2 & 4 the final syllables in the end words rhyme. [✓]
ii. The final syllables in the end words of the last two lines of each stanza rhyme. [ ]
iii. The end words in all the lines rhyme. [ ]
iv. The last lines in each stanza end with a quotation. [ ]
h. What is the literary technique used in this line: The merciless design of Fate?
i. metaphor. [ ]
ii. personification. [✓]
iii. idiom. [ ]
iv. inversion. [ ]
i. What is the literary technique used in this line: And in the crash a corpse was he:?
i. inversion. [✓]
ii. idiom. [ ]
iii. hyperbole. [ ]
iv. flashback. [ ]
2. Answer the following..
a. The repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of a series of words is alliteration. Underline the examples of alliteration in these lines.
i. It's true he travelled everywhere. [ ]
ii. But see! I'm here so safe and sound. [✓]
iii. By gad! I'll never leave the ground. [ ]
iv. And in crash a corpse was he. [ ]
b. The repetition of similar vowel sounds within phrases or sentences is assonance. Underline the examples of assonance in these lines.
i. With buttered toast he told his wife: [✓]
ii. Howe're the need for haste and speed, [✓]
iii. And chuckled as he stood beneath [ ]
iv. By gad! I'll never leave the ground. [ ]
c. Alliteration and assonance do not have to have the same letter; just the same sound. Underline the words that assonate with the same vowel sounds in each of the following lines.
i. Three fortune tellers said my life [ ]
ii. He watched a pilot chap on high, [✓]
iii. Alas! he never finished tea [✓]
iv. Always by ship or rail he went [ ]
d. Consonance is the repetition of sound that occurs at the end of words within phrases or sentences; it may also be found within a word or at the beginning. Underline examples of consonance in these lines.
i. I'll fool prophecy [✓]
ii. And chuckled as he stood beneath [✓]
iii. Feeling so safe and full on glee [ ]
iv. Would end up in an air-plane crash. [ ]
About the Poet :
Robert William Service (1874-1958) was a British-Canadian poet and writer who was born in England as the first of the ten children of his parents. After completing school in Glasgow he worked as a bank clerk and at the same time wrote and sold his poetry. He travelled extensively around North America using all the experiences and developments as the fodder for his poems. He is best known for his poems The Shooting of Dan McGrew and The Cremation of Sam McGee. Service was criticized for his humorous way of writing about serious matter but remained popular till his last.