UNIT 15: TALKING ABOUT THE PAST (III): COMPARING PAST AND PRESENT

 SUMMARY

Thomas Hood was a British poet and humorist. I Remember, I Remember which was first published in 1844; is a poem in which Hood reflects his sentiments of life and his childhood. The poet recalls his childhood memories and compares his childhood joy with his gloomy present.

This poem is about the changing nature of time. The speaker recalls his blissful childhood that is still green in his memories. He recalls his bedroom with its little window where the sun used to appear every morning. He also recalls seeing many flowers in the garden around his house and the laburnum tree. The tree was planted by his brother on his birthday, which is still standing at the same place.

The poet recalls how he used to swing and move through the air without any care in the world. He also has the memory of fir trees with their tall branches and summer pools, which refreshed him. Now, as an adult, he misses that carefree time because the real world has stolen his innocence and joy. He feels that he is away from the blessings and real happiness after growing older.

1. Vocabulary in Use:
1. Find the rhyming words for the following words from the poem.
   Example: white - light 
1. Born: morn
2. Sun: <soon>
3. Day: away
4. Set: yet
5. Swing: wing
6. High: sky
7. Joy: boy
2. Fill in the blank spaces with the appropriate form of the words in the boldface from the poem.
1. The tree on which the poet's brother used to set the laburnum is still there.
2. The sun used to peep in the poet's house in the morning through the little window of the house.
3. The poet used to think the air must rush as fresh to swallows on the wings.
4. The poet used to think the slender tops of the trees might touch the sky.
5. The poet said that his spirit used to fly in feathers then but now it's so heavy.
3. Match the words in column A with their meanings in column B.
   
   
   
   
2.  Reading Comprehension 
1. Fill in the gaps with the suitable words or phrases from the box.
   In the poem ‘Past and Present’, the poet initially portrays his childhood and the house where he was born. Those beautiful days when the sun rays came peeping through his window in the morning are still vivid in his memory. In the second stanza, he remembers the days of his childhood where he used to see and feel the beautiful colours of roses and lilies and the lilacs. In the same way, he talks about the tree in which he and his brother used to set the laburnum on his brother’s birthday.
   The third and fourth stanzas show the contrast experience of his past and present. He vividly remembers how he used to swing, enjoy the breeze and wind. In the same way, he was all energetic and high in spirit. But now, he does not have energy to lift his spirit. The water in the pool was cool and pleasant but now it is not cool enough to cool his fever. Finally, he says how he used to think in the wildest manners about fire trees and their slender tops which could touch the sky. Now he misses his joy of his childhood and realises that nothing is attainable. 
   

TIME FOR GRAMMAR

1. Discuss the table below with your friends, and match the activities in column A to the activities in column B.