A Legend of the Northland: Class 9 English Chapter Summary & Notes
ABOUT THE POEM:
"A Legend of the Northland" is a popular ballad written by Phoebe Cary that tells a traditional folktale from the cold north region. The poem revolves around Saint Peter, who visits an old, selfish woman's cottage looking for food after fasting all day. When her greed prevents her from sharing even the smallest piece of cake, the angered saint curses her. As a punishment for her lack of human empathy, she is transformed into a woodpecker, condemned to bore into hard wood for her food. Through this legendary tale, the poet delivers a powerful moral lesson about the importance of generosity and the severe consequences of greed.
ABOUT THE POET:
Birth and Nationality: Phoebe Cary (September 4, 1824 – July 31, 1871) was a well-known American poet, born in Mount Healthy, Ohio, near Cincinnati. Phoebe was highly regarded for her narrative poems, ballads, and religious hymns. Most of her works focus on themes of nature, human emotions, faith, and the social issues of her time, including women's rights. Through "A Legend of the Northland," her ability to weave a strong moral message into an engaging, simple ballad remains widely appreciated by students and poetry lovers today.
BRIEF SUMMARY:
Saint Peter stops by a cottage, tired and hungry, and asks a selfish old woman for a single cake to eat. The woman tries to bake a cake for him multiple times, but keeps making them smaller and smaller because she finds them all too big to give away for free. Furious at her extreme greed, Saint Peter curses her, transforming her into a woodpecker forced to bore into hard wood all day just to find food.
Thinking about the Poem (Questions & Answers)
Question 1: Which country or countries do you think "the Northland" refers to?
Answer: "The Northland" refers to the extremely cold, far-northern regions of the world, such as Greenland, northern parts of Canada, Norway, Sweden, or Siberia. It is a place where the days are exceptionally short and the winter nights are very long.
Question 2: What did Saint Peter ask the old woman for? What was the woman’s reaction?
Answer: Saint Peter asked the old woman for a single cake from her store to satisfy his severe hunger, as he was faint from fasting all day.
The woman’s reaction was incredibly selfish. Instead of giving him an existing cake, she began baking a new, tiny one. However, each time she baked, the cake seemed too large to give away for free. She kept reducing the size but her greed prevented her from parting even with that.
Question 3: How did he punish her?
Answer: Saint Peter punished her by changing her human form into a woodpecker. He declared that she was too selfish to enjoy human privileges like food, a warm shelter, and a fire to keep her warm. As a bird, she was condemned to bore into hard, dry wood all day just to find a tiny bit of food.
Question 4: How does the woodpecker get her food?
Answer: The woodpecker gets her food with great difficulty by boring and drilling holes into the hard, dry trunks of trees all day long to find insects.
Question 5: Do you think that the old woman would have been so ungenerous if she had known who Saint Peter really was? What would she have done instead?
Question 6: Is this a true story? Which part of this poem do you feel is the most important?
Answer: No, this is not a true story; it is a legend (a traditional folktale) passed down through generations to teach a moral lesson.
The most important part of the poem is the transformation of the woman into a woodpecker.
Question 7: What is a legend? Why is this poem called a legend?
Answer: A legend is a traditional, semi-historical story handed down from generation to generation, usually by word of mouth.
This poem is called a legend because it narrates a popular folklore from the Northland about Saint Peter and an old woman. The story itself is mythical—featuring a human turning into a bird.
1-Mark Important Questions & Answers
Q1. Who is the poet of the poem "A Legend of the Northland"?
Ans: The poet of the poem is Phoebe Cary.
Q2. Why are the nights so long in the Northland?
Ans: The nights are long because the region is near the North Pole, where winters bring extremely long nights and very short days.
Q3. What was the little old woman doing when Saint Peter arrived at her door?
Ans: She was baking cakes on the hearth inside her cottage.
Q4. Why did Saint Peter come to the old woman's cottage?
Ans: He came to ask for a single cake because he was faint and hungry after fasting all day.
Q5. How many times did the old woman try to bake a cake for Saint Peter?
Ans: She tried to bake a cake three times, but each time she felt it was too large to give away.
Q6. What was the size of the final cake she baked for the Saint?
Ans: The final cake was as thin as a wafer.
Q7. Why did Saint Peter become angry with the old woman?
Ans: He became angry because her extreme greed and selfishness prevented her from sharing even a tiny wafer of food.
Q8. Into which bird did Saint Peter transform the selfish woman?
Ans: He transformed her into a woodpecker.
Q9. What happened to the woman's clothes when she flew out of the chimney?
Ans: All her clothes were burned completely black like coal, except for her scarlet cap.
Q10. What moral lesson does this poem teach us?
Ans: The poem teaches us that greed is a sin and that true humans should possess charity, compassion, and generosity.
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
Q1. What type of poem is "A Legend of the Northland"? A) Sonnet
B) Ballad
C) Elegy
D) Lyric
Ans: B) Ballad
Q2. Why was Saint Peter faint and tired? A) Because he had been running
B) Because he was fasting all day
C) Because of the extreme cold
D) Because he was carrying heavy bags
Ans: B) Because he was fasting all day
Q3. What did the old woman do with the final, paper-thin wafer she baked? A) She gave it to Saint Peter
B) She ate it herself
C) She put it on the shelf and refused to give it away
D) She threw it away
Ans: C) She put it on the shelf and refused to give it away
Q4. What did Saint Peter say the woman was unfit for? A) To live in a human form
B) To have food and shelter
C) To have a fire to keep her warm
D) All of the above
Ans: D) All of the above
Q5. Into what did Saint Peter transform the selfish old woman? A) A sparrow
B) A crow
C) A woodpecker
D) An eagle
Ans: C) A woodpecker
Q6. Which part of the woman’s clothing was left unburnt when she flew out of the chimney? A) Her black apron
B) Her scarlet cap
C) Her woolen gloves
D) Her shoes
Ans: B) Her scarlet cap
Q7. How does the woodpecker have to search for its food now? A) By hunting other insects on the ground
B) By boring into hard, dry wood
C) By begging from humans
D) By flying from garden to garden
Ans: B) By boring into hard, dry wood
Q8. What is the main message or moral of this poem? A) We should protect birds and nature
B) Winters in the Northland are dangerous
C) Greed is a curse, and we must be generous and compassionate
D) Baking is a difficult task
Ans: C) Greed is a curse, and we must be generous and compassionate
Q9. What is the rhyme scheme followed in each four-line stanza of the poem? A) AABB
B) ABAB
C) ABCB
D) ABCA
Ans: C) ABCB
Q10. "Faint with fasting" is an example of which poetic device? A) Simile
B) Alliteration
C) Metaphor
D) Personification
Ans: B) Alliteration
0 $type={blogger} :
Post a Comment