THE WARRIOR'S RETURN

THE WARRIOR'S RETURN

EX A1.

Q1.

A1.The Queen is the speaker.In the first three verses the mood is of joy and happiness.The poet paints a scene where the queen is eagerly waiting for the victorious return of the king.She imagines great celebrations in his honour. The sounds of trumpets and shouts of victory fill the air.

Q2.

A2.In the fourth verse the queen is upset and ashamed of her husband's defeat.She refuses to accept her cowardly husband.Instead of trophies and victorious crowds she sees defeated warriors returning. She orders the gates to be closed and not to let the king enter.She wants to be left alone to mourn the defeat and her husband's cowardly behaviour.

Q3.

A3.The queen is in a state of disbelief and refuses to acknowledge her husband.She feels he has dishonoured her love and made it ignoble by fleeing like a coward from the battlefield.

 

Q4.

A4.According to the queen a king should die like a martyr and not live as a coward.He should fight the enemy bravely and meet a glorious death rather than live in shame

Q5.

A5.The king has returned defeated. He has brought shame to his people. He has failed to perform his duty of protecting his kingdom. So the queen refuses to acknowledge him.

EX A2.

1.

a) The speaker is the queen.

b) The queen feels insulted to see the humiliated and defeated army returning from the battlefield.

C) The vision being talked about is that of the king and his army returning victorious with their flags fluttering in the strong wind. However the actual sight is of a defeated army returning in disgrace.

2.

a) The queen is referring to the defeat of her husband.

b)The figure of speech used is a metaphor- the mountain stream(torrent) has been compared to the human soul which once undertakes a journey to glory has to press on and can never return.

c) The stanza here means that a warrior who has gone to the battle should return victorious or die a warrior's death on the battlefield.