Available Answers

1. 1.

   Compare 'Against Idleness and Mischief' and 'How Doth the Little Crocodile', and fill the table given below.

   	'Against Idleness and Mischief'	'How Doth the Little Crocodile'
   Number of lines
   Rhyme scheme
   Theme
   Tone (serious/funny)

    

2. 2.

   Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow.

   How doth the little busy bee
   Improve each shining hour,
   And gather honey all the day
   From every opening flower!

   1. Which adjectives does the poet use to describe the bee?
   2. In your own words explain 'improve each shining hour'.
   3. What task does the poet describe in this verse? List two other tasks described by the poet.
3. 3.

   Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow.

   How neatly spread his claws,
   And welcome little fishes in

   1. Which words tells us that the crocodile is preparing to attack?
   2. Does the crocodile really 'welcome' little fishes? What does he do?
   3. What expression does the crocodile have while he is doing so?
4. 4.

   How apt do you think is the poet's choice of the bee as the subject of a poem titled 'Against Idleness and Mischief'? What qualities of the bee does the poet admire?

5. 5.

   The crocodile in the first stanza of Carroll's poem is so likeable that we almost forget that it is a wild beast. Pick words from the poem that build this image of the crocodile.

6. 6.

   Why do you think Lewis Carroll chose to draw up a parody of 'Against Idleness and Mischief'? How effective of funny is the parody, according to you?