ICSC SYLLABUS-ABOU BEN ADHEM WRITTEN BY LEIGH HUNT

Abou Ben Adhem

Leigh Hunt

1.       Abou Ben Adhem………………………………….of gold.

Reference to the context:

These lines showing an incident that took place in the life of holy and virtuous man named Abou Ben Adhem who gave up physical world for serving mankind and living a spiritual life, have been extracted from the poem entitled Abou Ben Adhem, written by Leigh Hunt.

Here the poet narrates an incident taking place in life of Abou Ben Adhem who was not only a holy and virtuous man but also kind hearted, sympathetic and compassionate for his fellow beings. Abou lived a spiritual life of a holy saint and served the distressed humanity.

 

Explanation:

Once there lived a holy and religious man. He was a true believer. He was noble, kind hearted and sympathetic. He was the lover of human race. He loved his fellow all the prejudices and evils and did noble deeds, he felt great peace of mind. At night, he would enjoy a sound and peaceful sleep. One night, when he was sleeping peaceful in his room, a sparking or dazzling light woke him up. On waking up, he found out the bright light was spreading in his room due to presence of an angel. The light was like a lily that was going to blossom. (In fact, it was a spiritual light. It was a kind of aura around the angel. Abou saw that the angel was writing something in the heavenly book.

2.       Exceeding peace …………………………the Lord.

Reference to the context:

These lines showing how spirituality, nobility and goodness make a man bold and courageous enough to face any situation, have been extracted from the poem entitled Abou Ben Adhem, written by Leigh Hunt.

Here the poet tells us that those who follow the path of morally and nobility and always remain far from the prejudices and evils, are ever ready to face any situation with boldness and courage. The same thing seems to be true in  the case of Abou. The presence of the angel in his room does not move him.

 

Explanation:

As Abou was a noble and holy soul and lived a virtuous life, he was bold and courageous enough to face any circumstances. Next because of being a peace-loving person, he was fully contented with his present life. A kind of peace always pervaded his room. This also helped him in being fearless. Hence, he was not least afraid of the heavenly presence in his room. As a man of pure conscience, he mustered up courage to speak to the angel. He asked him what he was writing. The angel raised his head to look at him. Abou found that there was great serenity and calmness at the face of the angel. His face had a soothing in a very sweet and gentle tone that he was writing the names of those who love God sincerely and truly.

3.       And is mine …………………………………..fellow men.

 

Reference to the context:

These lines showing Abou’s curiosity to know his name in the list as he was also true believer and had been loving and serving humanity, have been extracted from the poem entitled Abou Ben Adhem, written by Leigh hunt.

Here the poet tells us that as Abou was sacred and religious and was also a firm believer, he becomes curious to know about his name in the list and after knowing that he had not been included in the list, he remains calm and satisfied with his parent.

Explanation:

Abou’s pure conscience and nobility encouraged him to ask about his name in the list.  He also seemed to be very curious to know about his name in the list as he lived a life of morality and nobility. Hence he asked the angel if his name had been included in the list of those who love God truly and sincerely. The angel replied in negative. On hearing this Abou was little bit sad, but he was not disappointment and disheartened. The next moment, he cheerfully requested the angel to write his name as the one who loved, served and cared for his fellow beings. Abou seemed to be satisfied with this.

 

4.       The angel wrote………………………….all my rest.

Reference to the context:

These lines giving more importance to loving , serving and caring the humanity than worshipping God, have been extracted from the poem entitled Abou Ben Adhem, written by Leigh Hunt.

Here, the poet through the example of Abou Ben Adhem moralises that serving and caring humanity to worship God. God is always pleased with those who serve their fellow beings selflessly.

Explanation:

Abou requested politely to the angel to write his name in the list of those who love and serve their fellow beings. The angel, without paying any heed to Abou, wrote something in his heavenly book and disappeared from there. This incident did not affect Abou and he remained calm and satisfied as usual. He did not bother about the next happening. He was wholly unaware of the reward which he was going to receive. The next night, the angel appeared again in Abou’s room with the same aura and dazzling light which distracted Abou and he woke up. The angel exhibited the names of those who were blessed by God. Abou saw that his name was on the top of the list and it led all the rest. Indeed it was selfless love of Abou for his fellow beings that he had become the most favourite and the dearest to God. He received God’s blessings and his love as his true and sincere devotee.

THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL

1. It was bitterly........................had children of his own.
(a) What kind of weather was there in the evening? What was the special about the particular evening?
Ans. It was terribly cold and the snow was falling fast. It was the last evening of the old year i.e., it was New year's eve and the people were making preparations to celebrate this occasion.

(b) who was wandering through the streets and in what state?
Ans. A poor little girl who was  bareheaded and naked feet was roamimg through the streets. She seemed to be shivering with cold and also felt extremely hungry. Her naked feet had grown red and blue with the cold.

(c) Why were the slippers of the girl of no use?
Ans. The girl had a pair of slippers on when she left home. but they were not of much use. They were very large indeed, for they belonged to her mother.

(d) What happened to the girl's slippers?
Ans. The poor little girl had lost the slippers while running across the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling as a terrible rate. One of the slippers she could not find and other was seized by a boy.

(e) What  did the boy say to the little girl while running with one of her slippers? What was the state of girl's feet without slippers?
Ans. While running with one of the slippers of the little girl, he told the girl that he would use it as a cradle when he had children of his own. So, the little girl went on with her naked feet which were quite red and blue with the cold.

(f) Why was the girl out in the bitter and freezing cold? Why didn't she dare to go home?

The little match girl
2. So the little girl.....think of anything else.
(a) In what miserable condition was the girl when she set out to sell the matches?
(b) What did the girl carry in her apron? Why could she not earn anything?
(c) What show that the girl's father was totally unconcerned towards her daughter or the child?
(d) How do we come to know that the little girl was victim of girl abuse?
(e) To which thing did she not give more importance and why?
(f) Why could she not stop thinking about the New Year's Eve?
3. She huddled down.....warm her fingers.
(a) Why is the poverty regarded as the greatest of the human frailty? What forces the little girl to sell the matches in freezing cold?
(b) Where should beautiful little girl like her be?
(c) What was the little girl doing when the whole world was celebrating the New year's eve?