Asleep In The Valley Question And Answer | Asleep In The Valley

|0 |

  "Asleep In The Valley" is a poem  written by French poet Jean - Nicolas-Arthur- Rimbaud  (1854 - 1891) who is famously known as the boy poet. He wrote his best poetry between the ages of sixteen and twenty.


Asleep In The Valley

    "Asleep In The Valley"  is poem about war. Rimbaud had first -hand experience of war and understood the futility of war. He was soldier in the Dutch Colonial Army in 1876 . Rimbaud wrote this poem a year later when France was at war with Russia.

    Form of the poem "Asleep In The Valley" -  Arthur Rimbaud uses the sonnet form. This poem is a perfect lyric. The poem has two stanzas of 4 lines each and two stanzas of three lines.  This sonnet is known as Italian sonnet also known as the Petrarchan sonnet.


Asleep In The Valley Question And Answer

    Here we discuss some important short questions and answers of the "Asleep In The Valley" written by Arthur Rimbaud. Asleep In The Valley Question And Answer. The poet brings out the futility of war in this poem.

Asleep In The Valley Question And Answer
Asleep In The Valley


1." The humming insects don't disturb his rest "-
Who rest and where? (1+2) 
Why is his rest not disturbed by the insects? (3) 


Ans -   "Asleep In The Valley" is a poem  written by French poet Jean - Nicolas-Arthur- Rimbaud  (1854 - 1891) who is famously known as the boy poet. The poet brings out the futility of war in this poem.

    A very young soldier rests in a green Valley where is a silver stream flows and the entire place is quite and green and flooded with light. In this poem , the poet describes how the soldier rests in the sun - warmed grass and how he seems to be smiling quietly as he sleeps in the peaceful place.

    Finally, the poet says that the insects cannot disturb his rest because the soldier is dead.  There was a battle fought there and a soldier had lost his life . So the young dead soldier is the causality of war.  However any people did not honoured  him but  however,  the Nature had worked its healing magic and now the signs of war are not visible anymore and even a violent death can now seem peaceful.


2."His smile 
Is like an infant's ... "
Whose "smile" is being referred here? (1) 
Why is his smile compared to the smile of an infant'? (3) 
How does nature take care of him? (2) 


Ans -    "Asleep In The Valley" is a poem  written by French poet Jean - Nicolas-Arthur- Rimbaud  (1854 - 1891) who is famously known as the boy poet. The poet brings out the futility of war in this poem.

    The "smile" of the dead soldier is being referred here.

         "His smile

          Is like an infant's - gentle, without guile."

    In this poem the poet describes how the soldier is 'sleeping' in a green Valley where a slow stream flows and the entire place is quite and green and flooded with light and how the soldier seems to be smiling quietly as he sleeps in this peaceful place.  Here poet compared his smile of an infant's smile as a infant's smile is gentle and without guile means pure and innocence and also the smile of the young dead soldier is gentle in his eternal sleep.

    The nature takes care of him like a mother who cares her baby -child. Here the young dead soldier is the son of mother- nature. The very young soldier lies open - mouthed and fern acted as the pillow beneath his head. He asleep in green sun- soaked bed and his feet among the flowers. The poet also make an appeal that nature cares him, keep him warm,  he may catch cold, here a gentle irony  is working. And the humming insects do not disturb his rest because he is in his eternal sleep. So he  is in his eternal sleep in sunlight.


3." In his side there are two red holes " - 
who is the person referred to here? 
What do the "two red holes" signify? 
What attitude of the poet to war is reflected here? 

Ans -    "Asleep In The Valley" is a poem  written by French poet Jean - Nicolas-Arthur- Rimbaud  (1854 - 1891) who is famously known as the boy poet. The poet brings out the futility of war in this poem.

    Here the young  dead soldier who is in a blissful sleep is referred.

    The "two red holes" Suggesting bullet wounds marked by blood. Actually the "two red holes " Signified the experience of war and futility of war .

    "Asleep In The Valley " is a about war. Rimbaud had first - hand experience of war and understood the futility of war. He was a soldier in the Dutch Colonial Army in 1876.

    The poet brings out the futility of war in this poem. He brings this out by choosing a contradictory setting to war - the soldier is 'sleeping ' in a green Valley.

                    "A soldier, very young, lies open - mouthed."

    The tragedy of the soldier's death in such a beautiful place gives this poem a haunting quality. There is also irony at work here because even though the pace seems idyllic, not long ago, there was a battle fought there and a man had lost his life.

    However, Nature had worked it's healing magic and now the signs of war are not visible anymore and even a violent death can now seem peaceful.


4." A soldier, very young, lies open - mouthed " -
Who is the " Soldier " refferred to here? 
Narrate in your own words how the soldier lies in the valley? 

Ans-    "Asleep In The Valley" is a poem  written by French poet Jean - Nicolas-Arthur- Rimbaud  (1854 - 1891) who is famously known as the boy poet. The poet brings out the futility of war in this poem.

    He was a soldier in the Dutch colonial Army in 1876 referred to here .

    In this poem we see a picture - perfect setting in which a young soldier blissfully sleeps. The soldier is sleeping in a small green Valley where a slow stream flows and leaves long strands of silver on the bright grass and here in this quite place a very young lies open - mouthed. Fern is acting as a pillow beneath the soldier's head.

    The poet describes how the soldier is sleeping in a sun - soaked bed. His feet among the flowers and how he seems to be smiling quitely as he sleeps in this peaceful place.  Then the poet asks nature to keep him warm.

               "Ah Nature keep him warm ; he may catch cold".

    Finally the humming insects do not disturb his rest as the soldier is in his eternal sleep or dead.  He sleeps in sunlight and one hand on his breast.

5.Justify the title of the poem " Asleep In The Valley " 

      "Asleep In The Valley" is a poem  written by French poet Jean - Nicolas-Arthur- Rimbaud  (1854 - 1891) who is famously known as the boy poet. The poet brings out the futility of war in this poem.

    The word 'Asleep' suggesting eternal sleep which means death.   Generally "Asleep In The Valley" means a eternal sleep in the valley.  

    Actually here in this poem the poet brings out the futility of war. He brings this out by choosing a contradictory setting to war- the soldier is "asleep" in a green Valley.  There is silver stream in the valley where a very young soldier lies open - mouthed . 

                    " A soldier, very young, lies open - mouthed "

    So through this poem reader takes a picture - perfect setting in which a young soldier blissfully sleep. He has a rude shock  , though when he realises that this young soldier is a causality of war. 

    However nature had worked it's healing magic and now the signs of war are not visible anymore and even a violent death can now seem peaceful. So the soldier in his peaceful eternal sleep in a sun- soaked bed in the small valley from where a slow stream flows. 

        "Asleep ; stretched in the valley in the heavy undergrowth, 

           Pale in his warm, green, sun - soaked bed."


More Question:

S-Class-12th