Chapter 8 – On the Grasshopper and Cricket

Content Structure

1. About the author – (John Keats)
2. Theme of the poem
3. Summary of the poem
4. Stanza wise explanation
- Stanza 1
- Stanza 2
5. Word meanings
6. passage based questions & answers
7. Exercise questions & answers
- Working with the poem
8. Additional questions & answers
- Multiple choice questions & answers (MCQs)
- Fill in the blanks
- True or false
- Match the following
- Short-type questions & answers
- Long-type questions & answers

1. About the author – (John Keats)

John Keats was born in 1795. He was a famous poet from England. He wrote about nature, love, and life. His parents died when he was young, and he trained as a doctor before he started writing poetry. He faced many difficulties in his life. He died in 1821 at only 25 years old because he became very sick with a disease called tuberculosis. Some of his famous poems are Ode to a Nightingale, Ode on a Grecian Urn, and To Autumn.

2. Theme of the poem

Firstly, nature has a sound that cannot be stopped.
Secondly, seasonal changes do not affect the earth and the sounds of nature.

3. Summary of the poem

John Keats, in the poem “On the Grasshopper and Cricket,” shares his feelings. He tells us that nature has a sound that never dies. In the summer, when the sun is very hot, all insects and birds get tired and rest in their shelters, but the grasshopper enjoys the natural beauty. It sings happily in the fields and moves around from one bush to another all day. When it gets tired, it rests for some time under a tree and then starts again when it feels better. In the winter, everything becomes silent, and snow covers all the fields. The cricket sings a song that breaks the winter silence. If someone is sleepy, the cricket’s song reminds them of the grasshopper’s tune from summer. The poem teaches us that nature is full of music that cannot be stopped or affected by seasonal changes.

4. Stanza wise explanation

Stanza 1

The poetry of earth is never dead:
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead,
That is the grasshopper’s — he takes the lead
In summer luxury — he has never done
With his delights, for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.

Explanation:
The author tells us that nature has music that never dies. In summer when birds are tired and resting in the trees the grasshopper happily sings and plays in the warm freshly cut grass. He moves from one bush to another enjoying the summer. When he gets tired he rests under a plant and when he feels better he starts singing again. The grasshopper’s song keeps the music of nature alive when other creatures are silent.

Stanza 2

The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
On a lone winter evening when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from the stone there shrills
The cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever,
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost;
The grasshopper’s among some grassy hills.

Explanation:
In the poem, the author tells us that nature’s music never stops. When the seasons change the sounds of nature continue in different ways. On a cold winter evening when everything is silent and covered in frost the cricket sings from a warm place, breaking the silence. When people feel sleepy the cricket’s song reminds them of the grasshopper’s song from summer. This shows that the poetry of the earth continues in every season.

5. Word meanings

Word	Meaning
Wrought	Created
Shrills	Sharp and loud sound
Faint	Very weak
Hedge to hedge	From one bush to another
New-mown mead	Freshly cut grass field
Pleasant weed	A comfy plant to rest under
Drowsiness	Feeling sleepy
Ease	Feeling comfortable

6. passage based questions & answers

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below.
The poetry of earth is never dead:
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead,
That is the grasshopper’s — he takes the lead
In summer luxury — he has never done
With his delights, for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.

1. What does “The poetry of earth is never dead” mean?
(a) Poems are always written
(b) Nature’s sounds never stop
(c) The earth is quiet
(d) Birds stop singing

Ans: (b) Nature’s sounds never stop

2. Who sings when the birds are quiet?
(a) The cricket
(b) The butterfly
(c) The wind
(d) The grasshopper

Ans: (d) The grasshopper

3. What does “new-mown mead” mean?
(a) A field with fresh-cut grass
(b) A deep forest
(c) A riverbank
(d) A dry desert

Ans: (a) A field with fresh-cut grass

4. Why did the birds rest?
Ans: The birds rested because they were tired from the hot sun. It was too warm to fly or sing, so they stayed quiet and sat in the cool shade of the trees to feel better.

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
On a lone winter evening when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from the stone there shrills
The cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever,
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost;
The grasshopper’s among some grassy hills.

1. Where does the cricket’s song come from?
(a) Trees
(b) Stone
(c) Sky
(d) River

Ans: (b) Stone

2. What does “wrought a silence” mean?
(a) Made everything loud
(b) Made everything quiet
(c) Made birds sing
(d) Made grass grow

Ans: (b) Made everything quiet

3. How do people always remember the music?
Ans: People always remember the music because the sounds of nature never stop. In summer, the grasshopper sings, and in winter, the cricket sings. These sounds help people remember that nature’s music is always there.

7. Exercise questions & answers

Working with the poem

1. Discuss with your partner the following definition of a poem. A poem is made of words arranged in a beautiful order. These words, when read aloud with feeling, have a music and meaning of their own.
Ans: A poem uses words in a special way to create beauty in both sound and meaning. In the poem, the words express feelings and sounds, helping us understand emotions better.

2. ‘The poetry of earth’ is not made of words. What is it made of, as suggested in the poem?
Ans: The poetry of earth is expressed through the sounds of nature, like the grasshopper’s song in summer and the cricket’s song in winter. These sounds never stop but change with the seasons.

3. Find in the poem lines that match the following.
(i) The grasshopper’s happiness never comes to an end.
(ii) The cricket’s song has a warmth that never decreases.
Ans:
(i) “He has never done with his delights.”
(ii) “The cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever.”

4. Which word in stanza 2 is opposite in meaning to ‘the frost’?
Ans: In stanza 2, the word “warmth” is the opposite meaning of “frost.”

5. The poetry of earth continues round the year through a cycle of two seasons. Mention each with its representative voice.
Ans: In summer, the grasshopper sings happily and in winter, the cricket sings in the cold. These two sounds show that the poetry of earth continues throughout the year.

8. Additional questions & answers

Multiple choice questions & answers (MCQs)

1. What happens to the birds in the hot sun?
(a) They sing loudly
(b) They hide in trees
(c) They fly away
(d) They sleep

Ans: (b) They hide in trees

2. What does the grasshopper do in the summer?
(a) Sing and play
(b) Hides in the trees
(c) Sleeps all day
(d) Only sing all day

Ans: (a) Sing and play

3. Why do birds stop singing in the summer?
(a) They are scared
(b) They are too tired
(c) They are looking for food
(d) They are sleeping

Ans: (b) They are too tired

4. What is the poetry of earth?
(a) A song
(b) Sounds of nature
(c) A book
(d) A school

Ans: (b) Sounds of nature

5. Where does the grasshopper rest when he is tired?
(a) On a tree
(b) Under a plant
(c) In the river
(d) In the sky

Ans: (b) Under a plant

6. When does the cricket sing?
(a) In summer
(b) In winter
(c) In the morning
(d) During the day

Ans: (b) In winter

7. What feeling does the cricket’s song bring in winter?
(a) Warmth and peace
(b) Cold and sadness
(c) Loud noise
(d) Fear

Ans: (a) Warmth and peace

8. In which season does the grasshopper sing?
(a) Summer
(b) Winter
(c) Spring
(d) Rainy season

Ans: (a) Summer

Fill in the blanks

1. The grasshopper sings from ___________ to __________. (Hedge to hedge)
2. In winter, the grasshopper is silent, but the _______________ starts to sing. (Cricket)
3. The poet tells us earth music never ____________. (Stop)
4. The grasshopper sings in ______________ season. (Summer)
5. In winter __________ continues the nature music. (Cricket)

True or false

1. The poet told nature music depends on the season. (False)

2. The birds do not chirp in summer because they were too tired. (True)

3. The grasshopper and cricket both sang all summer and winter. (False)

4. Frost makes the winter silent. (True)

5. In summer, Cricket sang the grasshopper’s song. (False)

Match the following

Column A	Column B
(i) Ease	a) Happiness
(ii) Delights	b) Weak
(iii) Faint	c) Made everything quiet
(iv) Wrought a silence	d) Sharp sound
(v) Shrills	e) Comfort and relaxation

Ans:

Column A	Column B
(i) Ease	e) Comfort and relaxation
(ii) Delights	a) Happiness
(iii) Faint	b) Weak
(iv) Wrought a silence	c) Made everything quiet
(v) Shrills	d) Sharp sound

Short-type questions & answers

1. Who was singing in summer?
Ans: The grasshopper was singing happily in summer and moving from one bush to another.

2. Who broke the winter silence?
Ans: The cricket broke the silence in winter by singing.

3. What was the music of nature?
Ans: The poem shows that the sounds of the grasshopper in summer and the cricket in winter are the music of nature.

4. Where was the cricket singing?
Ans: The cricket was singing near a warm stone during the winter season.

Long-type questions & answers

1. “The poetry of earth is never dead” – described the line.
Ans: John Keats describes in “On the Grasshopper and Cricket” his feelings about nature. He tells us that nature has music that never stops and is not affected by seasonal changes. In summer, on the freshly cut grass field the grasshopper sings and moves around from one bush to another while the birds rest because they are tired from the hot sun. The poet also explains that when the season changes nature’s sounds do not stop. In winter when everything is silent the cricket sings near the stone. The cricket’s song reminds us of the grasshopper’s summer music. So, the poet tells us that from summer to winter nature always has music and it never dies.