The School Boy Poem Explanation and Solution - CBSE Class 8 English Honeydew 

"The School Boy" is a poem by William Blake that explores themes of education, freedom, and the conflict between nature and institutionalized learning. It portrays a young boy's longing for freedom from the constraints of formal education. Here's a detailed summary:

Stanza 1:

I love to rise in a summer morn,

When the birds sing on every tree;

The distant huntsman winds his horn,

And the skylark sings with me:

The poem begins with the speaker expressing their love for the freedom and joy of a summer morning.

Nature is depicted as alive and vibrant with birds singing, and the imagery suggests a sense of freedom and harmony.

Stanza 2:

O what sweet company!

But to go to school in a summer morn,

O it drives all joy away!

Under a cruel eye outworn,

The little ones spend the day

Despite the beauty of the summer morning, the prospect of going to school ruins the joy for the boy.

The mention of a "cruel eye outworn" suggests the oppressive nature of the educational system that exhausts and oppresses the children.

Stanza 3:

In sighing and dismay.

Ah then at times I drooping sit,

And spend many an anxious hour;

Nor in my book can I take delight,

Nor sit in learning’s bower,

The boy feels disheartened and weary, spending anxious hours at school instead of finding joy in learning.

His disinterest in studying and inability to find delight in learning's "bower" (a metaphor for the pleasures of learning) highlight his dissatisfaction with formal education.

Stanza 4:

Worn through with the dreary shower.

How can the bird that is born for joy

Sit in a cage and sing?

How can a child, when fears annoy,

But droop his tender wing,

The comparison between the caged bird and the child symbolizes the restriction of natural freedom by institutionalized education.

The poem questions how a child, meant for joy and freedom, can thrive in an environment filled with fear and constraints.

Stanza 5:

And forget his youthful spring!

O father and mother, if buds are nipped,

And blossoms blown away;

And if the tender plants are stripped

Of their joy in the springing day,

The boy appeals to his parents, using the metaphor of plants losing their blossoms in spring to convey the loss of his youthful joy and freedom due to schooling.

Stanza 6:

By sorrow and care’s dismay,

How shall the summer arise in joy,

Or the summer fruits appear?

Or how shall we gather what griefs destroy,

Or bless the mellowing year;

The poem concludes with the speaker questioning how true joy and the fruits of learning can emerge when the natural exuberance of youth is suppressed by sorrow and care brought on by education.

Class 8 English Honeydew Poem Chapter 5 The School Boy Questions From Textbook

WORKING WITH THE POEM

Question 1:

Find three or four words/phrases in stanza 1 that reflect the child’s happiness and joy.

Answer:

The skylark's singing, the sound of the hunter's horn, and the song of the birds are the words or phrases that express the child's enjoyment.

Question 2:

In stanza 2, the mood changes. Which words/phrases reflect the changed mood?

Answer:

The words/phrases reflecting the child’s mood are:

(a) drives all joy away

(b) cruel eye outworn (of the Teacher)

(c) sighing and dismay.

Question 3:

‘A cruel eye outworn (stanza 2)’ refers to

(i) the classroom which is shabby/noisy

(ii) the lessons which are difficult/uninteresting

(iii) The dull/uninspiring life at school with lots of work and no play.

Mark the answer that you consider right.

Answer:

(iii)

Question 4:

“Nor sit in learning’s bower worn thro’ with the dreary shower’

Which of the following is a close paraphrase of the lines above?

(i) Nor can I sit in a roofless classroom when it is raining.

(ii) Nor can I learn anything at school though teachers go on lecturing and explaining.

(iii) Nor can I sit in the school garden for fear of getting wet in the rain.

Answer:

(ii)