All textual activities are taken from https://www.hsslive.guru/kerala-syllabus-8th-standard-english-solutions-unit-1-chapter-3/
Click on the video
You knew, Emperor of India, Shah Jahan,
That life, youth, wealth, renown
All float away down the stream of time.
Your only dream
Was to preserve forever your heart's pain.
The harsh thunder of imperial power
Would fade into sleep
Like a sunset's crimson splendour,
But it was your hope
That at least a single, eternally-heaved sigh would stay
To grieve the sky.
Though emeralds, rubies, pearls are all
But as the glitter of a rainbow tricking out empty air
And must pass away,
Yet still one solitary tear
Would hang on the cheek of time
In the form
Of this white and gleaming Taj Mahal.
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| Emerald |
 |
| Pearls |
 |
| Ruby |
Click On the words to know their meanings
1) What, in the poet’s view, are the things that would float away down the stream of time?
Life, youth, wealth and renown – all float away down the stream of time.
2) What do you think was Shah Jahan’s ‘heart’s pain’?
The memories of his beloved wife, Mumtaz. He wanted to preserve it by building a monument.
3) Why is ‘imperial power’ compared to the splendor of sunset?
Like the sunset, imperial power also diminishes/fades.
4)Pick out the lines which mean emeralds, rubies and pearls are transient.
“Though emerald, rubies, pearls are all But as the glitter of a rainbow trick¬ing out empty air And must pass away”
5)All float away down the stream of time’. What image do you get from this line?
The visual image of things floating down the stream of time gives us the idea that whatever is worldly will perish one day.
6) Pick out two instances of simile from the poem.
I The harsh thunder of imperial power Would fade into sleep Like a sunset’s crimson splendor.
ii. Though emeralds, rubies, pearls are all But as the glitter of a rainbow tricking out empty air And must pass away.
Activity 1.
In this poem, the poet uses similes and metaphors. A simile is a
figure of speech that draws comparison between two things using the
words ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Pick out instances of similes from the poem.
……………………………………
……………………………………
Answer:
Instance of similes from the poem
- Like a sunset’s crimson splendor
- As the glitter of rainbow tricking out empty air.
Activity 2.
Poets use various images to lead the readers to a sensory experience. Images often give us mental pictures that appeal to our senses of sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. Pick out instances of visual and auditory (sound) images from the poem. One is done for you
Answer
| Visual | Auditory |
| 1. Crimson | Harsh thunder |
| 2. splendor | |
| 3. Rainbow sign |
