Solved Contextual Questions
Extract: Here feel we but the penalty of Adam,
The seasons’ difference, as, the icy fang
And churlish chiding of the winter’s wind;
Which, when it bites and blows upon my body,
Even till I shrink with cold, I smile and say
‘This is no flattery: these are counsellors
That feelingly persuade me what I am.’
Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which like a toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;
i) Where does this scene take place? Who are present at the scene? What has made them to come to the place?
The scene takes place in the Forest of Arden.
The Duke senior, Amiens and other Lords, dressed like Foresters, are present at the scene.
The usurping Duke Frederick, who has banished the Duke senior, forces him to take refuge here. Amiens and the other Lords, who are all loyal to the Duke senior, have followed him to Arden as they immensely dislike the vile and wicked Frederick.
ii) Give the meaning of:
a) The seasons’ difference: punishment consisted in the change of seasons on the earth.
b) That feelingly persuade me: teach me through my senses.
c) And churlish chiding of the winter’s wind: the icy sting and the severe buffeting of the winter wind.
iii) Who was Adam? What is referred to as the penalty of Adam?
Adam was the first human male created by God.
The penalty of Adam consists of the hardships suffered by him due to the change of seasons. Having disobeyed God’s command, Adam and Eve (his female companion) were expelled from the Garden of Eden, his original home. According to the Bible, only one season, namely the balmy spring, prevailed on earth before the fall of the first two human beings whom God had created after His image.
iv) What inconvenience is caused to the Duke by the harsh weather? Why does he call such inconveniences as counsellors?
The severe buffeting of the winter wind makes the Duke shiver with cold. It seems to pierce his flesh and bones when his old limbs begin to shrink with cold.
Such inconveniences appear to him as counsellors because the severity of the elements here does not hide itself under any false show of warmth following the example of the courtiers who falsely flatter their sovereign. On the contrary, these cold winds are the wise advisors who make him realize how frail he is.
v) By referring to the extract, compare the Duke’s life in the court with his life in the forest.
Whereas the Duke’s life in the court was constrained, calculated and full of rivalry and hypocrisy, his life in the forest is free from the political intrigues (manoeuvrings), and perils of the court life. The Duke feels that even the hardships of nature in the forest are kinder than flatterers and false counsellors of the court.
vi) Give two traits of the Duke’s character as highlighted in the extract.
The two traits that the Duke demonstrates in the extract are his philosophical attitude toward life’s reversals and a sense of adaptability which makes it possible for him to live contentedly in the Forest of Arden in spite of all the inconveniences that he has to suffer there.
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