Dust of Snow Class 10 Questions and Answers
Textbook Questions
Thinking about the Poem :
Question 1.
What is a ‘dust of snow? What does the poet say has changed his mood ? How has the poet’s mood changed ?
‘डस्ट ऑफ स्नो’ क्या है? कवि क्या कहता है, किससे उसका मूड बदल गया? उसका मूड कैसे बदल गया?
Answer:
‘Dust of Snow’are the small particles of snow that remain on the body/surface after the snowfall. It reminds one of cold. The way a crow shook down the dust of snow on the poet, changed his mood. The poet was in a depressive, sorrowful mood, but when the light shower of snow dust fell on him, his sorrow was washed away, his spirit revived and he got ready to utilise the rest of the day.
Question 2.
How does Frost present nature in this poem? The following questions may help you think of an answer.
कवि फ्रॉस्ट इस कविता में प्रकृति को कैसे प्रस्तुत करता है? निम्नलिखित प्रश्न आपको उत्तर सोचने में सहायता दे सकते हैं।
i. What are the birds that are usually named in poems? Do you think a crow is often mentioned in poems? What images come to your mind when you think of a crow?
प्रायः कविताओं में किन पक्षियों के नामों का प्रयोग होता है? आपके विचार में क्या कौवे का जिक्र कविताओं में काफी बार आता है? जब आप कौवे के बारे में सोचते हैं तो आपके मानस-पटल पर कौन-से चित्र उभरते हैं?
ii. Again, what is ‘a hemlock tree”? Why doesn’t the poet write about a more beautiful tree such as a maple, or an oak or a pine.
और एक धतूरे का पेड़ क्या होता है? कवि और अधिक ‘सुंदर’ पेड़ जैसे कि मेपल (एक छायादार पेड़), बड़ अथवा चीड़ के विषय में क्यों नहीं लिखता?
iii. What do the crow’and hemlock’ representjoy or sorrow? What does the dust of snow that the crow shakes off a hemlock tree stand for?
‘कौवा’ और धतूरे किसके प्रतीक है-खुशी या गम के? बर्फ की धूल जो कौवा धतूरे के पेड़ को हिलाकर फेंकता है, किसकी द्योतक है?
Answer:
The poet seems to be in a depressive and sorrowful mood, that is why in his poem he uses harsh, dark, ugly crow and not sweet singing birds like cuckoo and nightingale. He also uses ‘hemlock’ which is a poisonous tree and not any beautiful or shady trees like maple, oak or pine.
The poet must have had some rough, bitter experiences that had made him sad or must have committed some grave follies which he was repenting at and feeling sad. The dust of snow is also a reminder of dry, cold, gloomy winter. In fact, when you are sad, you can’t think of sweet and beautiful things. The poet describes the dark, depressive, bitter side of nature to reflect his similar mood.
Question 3.
Have there been times when you felt depressed or hopeless? Have you experienced a similar moment that changed your mood that day?
क्या आपके साथ भी ऐसे समय आये हैं जब आप उदास व निराश हुए हों? क्या आपने भी ऐसे क्षण अनुभव किये हैं जिन्होंने उस दिन आपका मूड बदल दिया हो?
Answer:
Yes, many times when I felt sad and hopeless, a small thing happened and changed my mood. Some of the incidents are as follows. It was 15th December. The weather was foggy and chilly. I was all alone at home. My parents had gone to attend a marriage. I was feeling depressed and lonely. The telephone rang. My favourite aunt was on the line.
She told me that they would be coming to Delhi to spend the winter break with us. I was thrilled. My mood became cheerful and I started planning how to make the coming winter break most enjoyable and unforgettable. A simple telephone call had changed my mood.
On 20th September, I was sitting on a chair under the champa tree, sad and dejected for I had prepared hard for my debate competition but got no prize. I was thinking not to take part in the coming recitation competition. All of a sudden, the wind started blowing and two champa flowers fell in my lap. It was auspicious-perhaps I’ll be getting a prize. My mood changed. With new hopes, I got up, brought the poem and started learning it by heart.
Additional Questions
Short answer type questions
Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words.
Question 1.
What is the underlying message for us in our hectic life with reference to the poem, ‘Dust of Snow?
Or
What is the central idea of the poem ‘Dust of Snow?
Or
What does the poet want to convey through the poem ‘Dust of Snow?
Answer:
In the poem ‘Dust of Snow’, the poet wants to convey that sometimes certain moments or actions which are simple have larger significance. They can change the mood or life of a person. The way a crow shakes down dust of snow on the poet inspires and gives him the idea to shake off his depressive thoughts, become cheerful and do something useful.
Question 2.
How has the poet observed nature in the poem ‘Dust of Snow’ ?
Answer:
The poet has observed the nature as a positive medium of change for him. The poet had been sorrowful and depressive mood in the poem. But then the way a crow shook snow dust off, it changed his mood. The nature gave him an inspiration to behave in positive manner.
Question 3.
In the poem ‘Dust of Snow’, how does the poet’s mood get changed ?
Or
Justify the role of crow in the poem “Dust of Snow” in changing the poet’s mood.
Answer:
I think, ‘the way snow dust was shaken off changed his mood. Perhaps it gave the poet inspiration/ idea to behave in the same manner shake off his depressive thoughts and revive his cheerful mood.
Question 4.
What mood of the poet is reflected in the poem ? How does it reflect ?
Answer:
The sorrowful and depressive mood of the poet is reflected in the poem. The use of the bird ‘crow, which is ugly and harsh, and hemlock tree, which is a poisonous plants, reflects the poet’s mood.
Question 5.
What side of nature do ‘crow and “hemlock’ represent ?
Answer:
“Crow’ is a black, harsh voiced bird and ‘hen’lock’ is a tree with poisonous bitter fruit. Both are not beautiful. They represent dark, depressive, sorrowful and bitter side of nature.
Question 6.
Why does the poet use such poetically uncommon bird and tree? What does it reflect ?
Answer:
The poet seems to be in a depressive and sorrowful mood. In such a mood, one cannot think of sweet and beautiful side of nature. The harsh, bitter and poisonous images come to his mind. That is why he uses an uncommon, harsh, ugly crow and poisonous tree like hemlock.
Long answer type questions
Answer the following questions in about 100-150 words :
Question 1.
Positive attitude in life can make the world a better place to live in. Do you agree or disagree with reference to the poem ‘Dust of Snow’ ? Express your views bringing out the inherent values.
Answer:
I completely agree with the statement that positive attitude can make the world a better place to live in. Robert Frost, in ‘Dust of Snow’, talks of how an otherwise bad day altered into a not so bad one, due to the action of a crow.
It was a seemingly disconnected occurrence that brought about a change of mood in the poet. One lesson that can be learnt from the poet, is to see the brightness amidst the gloom. The crow, the hemlock and the snow are all dark images, and yet, the poet sees the colour of happiness. Another lesson is that life is made up of small joys. It is through them that one can always manage to see positivity in negativity.
Question 2.
Our attitude towards a situation evokes both negative and positive response.
Analyse this with reference to the poem, ‘Dust of Snow’ to bring out the inherent valuable lessons.
Answer:
Whatever life throws challenges at us, it evokes both positive and negative responses. The poet, in the poem ‘Dust of Snow,’ was in a sorrowful mood. However, when a crow shook down the ‘dust of snow’on him, his bitter mood changed into a more optimistic one.
Now, being in a sorrowfulor bad mood already, the poet could have got angry at the crow also. However, the dust of snow becomes a positive medium of change for him. It made him cheerful to some extent, and helped him forget his sadness, at least for a few moments. Thus, we see that instead of seeing the negative aspect of a happening, one should see the positive aspect, and one’s response may greatly affect the outcome of incidents.
Question 3.
‘Has given my heart
A change of mood’
The poet has succeeded in giving valuable information in a light-hearted manner. What creates the desired effect? Highlight its importance in the present day life.
Answer:
Truly, Frost has used simple language to drive home a very significant message, that little things sometimes, have a big impact.An easy, uncomplicated language, coupled with unusual visual imagery and brevity of words creates the desired effect. The poet’s bitterness finds reflection even in the environment around him.
The noisy, dark crow, the poisonous hemlock and the icy snow around-all are essentially depressing images. However, despite the negativity, when the crow shakes down the dust of snow onto the poet, it also shakes off some of the author’s regretful thoughts. Today, when all of us live in stressful atmospheres, the poem teaches us to gain happiness from little things.
Question 4.
‘And saved some part
of a day I had rued.’
Simple moment proves to be very significant and saves rest of the day of poet from being wasted. Explain on the basis of the poem ‘Dust of Snow’.
Answer:
The poet was in a depressive mood. He was sitting under a Hemlock tree. When a crow sitting on the tree shook off the ‘Dust of Snow’ on the poet his mood suddenly got changed from sad to happy. The poet was sitting helpless soaked in despondence, thinking about his problems and wasting away his crucial time and energy in unnecessary and futile thinking.
The crow’s gesture bestowed upon him optimism, he decided to shake off his problems and think of devising a solution instead of lamenting and regretting. The poet sends out the message, through the poem, that there is nothing good or bad in life.
Our pessimistic thinking is solely responsible for our sorrows. Life is full of problems but every problem has a solution. Instead of grieving on our situations we should strive to look for ways to combat the problems successfully. The crow taught the poet a lesson now to take adverse circumstances in stride and work for a better life.
Summary :
Dust of Snow’ is a short poem describing a simple moment which has a larger significance. A crow sitting on a hemlock tree shakes off the dust of snow on the poet. This simple action changes the depressive mood of the poet. Lost in sorrow, he has wasted a part of his day repenting but now with the change of mood, he wants to utilise the rest of the day in some useful activity.
‘Dust of Snow’ एक छोटी-सी कविता है जो एक साधारण क्षण का वर्णन करती है जिसका अर्थ गहरा है। एक कौवा धतूरे के पेड़ पर बैठा बर्फ की धूल कवि पर झाड़ता है। कवि ने दुःख और पछतावे में खोकर दिन का कुछ भाग व्यर्थ गँवा दिया है परंतु अब मूड बदलने से वह दिन का शेष भाग किसी उपयोगी कार्य में लगाना चाहता है।
Complete text with hindi translation and extract based Short answer type questions
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.
Vocabulary :
- dust of snow (डस्ट ऑफ़ स्नो) – (बर्फ की धूल)
- hemlock tree (हमलॉक ट्री) – akind of poisonous plant (धतूरे का पेड़)
- rued (र्यूड) – held in regret or repentence (शोक पछतावे में गँवाया)
हिन्दी अनुवाद-जिस तरीके से एक कौवे ने धतूरे के पेड़ पर बैठकर मेरे ऊपर बर्फ की धूल झाड़ी, उसने मेरे दिल का मूड ही बदल दिया; और मेरे दिन का कुछ भाग बचा दिया जो मैं पछताये में गवा रहा था।
Question i.
Where was the poet sitting and what did the crow do to him?
Answer:
The poet was sitting under a hemlock tree. The crow that was on the top of the tree shook some dust of snow on him.
Question ii.
What change did the snow dust bring on the poet? How?
Answer:
The snow dust brought about a change of heart in the poet. It changed his mood from sad to happy. It thus saved a part of his day from being gloomy.
Question iii.
What has given a change in the poet’s heart? How?
Answer:
The poet had a bad mood. With that he went and sat under a hemlock tree. Just then a crow came and sat on it and shook some snow dust on the poet. That gave a change in him.
Question iv.
How did the poet’s changed mood help him?
Answer:
The crow on the tree top shook some snow dust on the poet who had a bad mood. That fought a change in the poet’s heart by making him cool and happy. That indeed saved a part of his day from gloom.
Question v.
Where was the crow and what did it do?
Answer:
The crow was sitting on the hemlock tree. The poet was sitting under the tree. The crow shook the branches and thus sone dust of snow fell upon the poet.
Question vi.
What was the impact of the crow’s action on the poet?
Answer:
As the crow shook the tree, some snow dust fell upon the poet who was sitting under the tree. That brought a change of mood in him. He had come there heavt hearted, but the crow’s action changed his heart and saved the rest of his day from gloom.