Poem 19- A Man of Words And Not Of Deeds : Book 3

 

Poem 19- A Man of Words And Not Of Deeds

Word	Meaning	Synonym
1.      Deed	an action that is performed intentionally	Act, achievement, action
2.      Weed	a wild plant	Unwanted plant, herb, bush
3.      Roar	cry uttered by a lion	Thunder, loud sound, howl
4.      Crack	break or cause to break	Break, fracture, decompose
5.      Penknife	a small knife with a blade that folds into the handle	Small pocket knife
6.      Bleed	lose blood from the body	In truth, in fact

 

Reference:

These lines have been taken from “A Man of Words and Not of Deeds” written by “Charles Perrault”

Context:

In this poem “A man of words and not of deeds” the poet throws light on the life of an impractical man. He is a man of words not of deeds. A man who just talks and does nothing is like a wild weed that is useless and fruitless.

Explanation:

In the given lines, the poet says that a person who does nothing and remains idle all his life is useless for his fellow being. He can be compared with the forest full of weeds that never bore fruit. In the same way, his life is not beneficial for his society. The idea is that man should lead a purposeful life. And the purpose of his life should be to serve humanity.

 

Short Questions

Q1. How does the life of a person pass through different phases?

A talkative person who does not believe in action suffers a lot. His life is like a garden full of weeds and snow.

Q2. What happens when a life is not of deeds but woods?

When life is not of deeds but words, it results in destruction. All the abilities of idle person rust. He becomes inactive, idle, and useless.

Q3.What is the condition of the garden when the weeds start growing?

When the weeds start growing the condition of the garden gets worse. It becomes a garden full of snow. It becomes useless for everything.

Q4. What is the moral lesson of the poem?

Not words but actions make life beautiful. Heaven never helps the men who do not work. So, actions should speak louder than words.

Q5. What is meant by “ like a bird upon the wall”?

Like a bird upon the wall” means that the worse circumstances do not let the idle person work and he sits like a bird on the wall to wait for the favorable circumstances.

Q6. What is meant by ‘ like a stick across your back?

Like a stick across your back, means the punishment of the circumstances that an idle person had to dace. The cold attitude of the people hurts the idle person.