On Children question and answer for second PUC students. On Children poem notes. Important questions and answer from On Children poem.
In this post we explained one marks and two marks questions and answers from the poem On Children for 2nd PUC exam.
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On Children poem important questions
Comprehension I
1. And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, “speak to us of Children.” And
he said: Here ‘he’ refers to:
(a) her child. (b) the Prophet. (c) the poet.
Answer: (b) the Prophet.
2. ‘Your children are not your children’ means
(a) they do not belong to their parents only.
(b) the children should have their own space.
(c) parents should not be possessive of their children.
Answer: (c) parents should not be possessive of their children.
3. ‘They come through you, but are not from you’ means
(a) though parents give birth to their children they do not own them.
(b) children have independent personalities.
(c) parents should be indifferent to their children.
Answer: (b) children have independent personalities.
4. According to the prophet what may be given to the children.
Answer: According to the prophet, only our love may be given to the children.
5. ‘their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow’ means
(a) children belong to the future.
(b) parents cannot shape their children’s future.
(c) children have a different vision of life.
Answer: (a) children belong to the future.
6. ‘The bows’ and ‘living arrows’ refer to _____ and _____ .
Answer: Parents and children.
7. ‘For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.’
Discuss the contrast between the underlined words.
Answer: The Prophet says that the word “flies” signifies ‘future’. He tells parents not to
worry about their children’s future. The word “stable” means the parents who have already achieved their goals by the help of God. In the same way, the children will also in time achieve theirs.
Question and answer from on children
Comprehension II
1. Why does the prophet categorically state ‘Your children are not your children?
Answer: The poet categorically states that the children are not your children because after
coming out of the mother’s womb the child has its own individuality, it never addicts to the
likes of its parents. Though parents only give love and affection it does its profession
according to their own wish.
2. What do the metaphor, bows, and arrows signify with regard to the parent-children
relationship?
Answer: Here “Bow” refers to parents and ‘Arrows” refer to children. God uses parents as
bows to bring children into the world. The arrow does not go according to the force of the
“Bow” but as per the who handles the bow that is God. So, God only directs the “arrow”
(children) according to his wishes.
3. According to the prophet, what attitude should parents have towards their children?
Answer: The Prophet says that the parents are too possessive towards children and he asks
them not to be so possessive in their children’s affairs. They should be left free and
nurtured according to their own dreams and desires. Parents should understand that they
are not the only well-wishers of their children. Almighty God is there who created them.
Comprehension III
1. In this poem, ‘parents’ could stand as a metaphor for?
(a) the older generation. (b) leaders. (c) religious heads. (d) teachers.
Answer: (a) the older generation.
On Children poem notes
2. In light of the poem, think of different levels of freedom children must have in shaping
their lives.
Answer: The future of a child is not in the hands of parents but in the hands of children
themselves. When a child is left free, it makes its own choice and decision and according to
that, it works on and it could create wonders. If the parents force them to go according to
their own choice, children may lag behind and there is a chance of failure. When children
are left free, they think in a creative manner that helps our nation.
3. The poem does not focus merely on the lives of children but also talks about the
responsibility of parents. Discuss?
Answer: God is the original creator of children and parents are mere actors who act on the
wish of God. Parents are the medium to continue the creation on earth.
Though the children are born through their parents, they have their own individualities,
desires, passions, and likings. Though the children live with us they do not belong to us.
Parents can give their love and affection but not their thoughts. Because children would
have their own thoughts and ideas.
Then the Prophet draws the metaphor of “Bows and arrows” to compare parents to Bows
and children to Arrows. God is merely an archer who handles both the Bow and the Arrows.
God never discriminates as he loves Bows that is parents and Arrows that is children equally.
Extra questions from the poem ‘On Children’
1. “The Archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and he bends you with his
might that his arrows may go swift and far” Here archer refers to.
(a) Parents (b) Children (c) God
Answer: (c) God
2. What does the poet mean by “For life goes not backward nor tarries with Yesterday”.
Answer: Here the poet means life never goes back and never stops to think on the past.
3. “For souls dwell in the house of tomorrow” Here the phrase “House of tomorrow“
refers to.
(a) Hell (b) Heaven (c) Future
Answer: (c) Future
4. Who asked the speaker in ‘On Children’ to speak of children?
Answer: A woman holding her child against her bosom.
5. Whose sons and daughters are children according to the speaker in ‘On Children’?
Answer: They are the sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself.
6. According to the speaker in ‘On Children’, what may be given to children?
Answer: According to the speaker love may be given to the children.
7. According to the speaker in ‘On Children’, what may not be given to children?
Answer: According to the speaker, their thoughts may not be given to children.
8. Who according to the speaker in ‘On Children’ have their own thoughts?
Answer: According to the speaker, children’s have their own thoughts.
9. Where do the souls of the children dwell according to the speaker in ‘On Children’?
Answer: According to the speaker the souls of the children dwells in the house of
tomorrow.
10. Who according to the speaker in ‘On Children’ are sent forth as living arrows?
Answer: Children
11. Who does the word ‘bows’ refer to in ‘On Children’?
Answer: Bows refers to Parents.
one marks questions and answers from On Children
12. Who does the phrase ‘living arrows’ refer to in the poem ‘On Children’?
Answer: Living arrows refers to children.
13. Who does the phrase ‘archer’ refer to in ‘On Children’?
Answer: Archer refers to God.
14. Whom does God use as his bow to send living arrows to the earth?
Answer: Parents
15. Who loves both the bow and arrow?
Answer: God, the archer
Watch this video for the explanation of On Children question and answer for second PUC students.