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| After Blenheim - Evergreen Publication |
Comprehension (Unsolved Passages)
Passage 1
(1) The situation presented here is homely and familiar. The old man Kaspar is relaxing after the day's work in the sun. One of his grandchildren is playing on the green grass.
(ii) The serene atmosphere about Kaspar's home is indicated by reference to the beautiful, calm summer evening, the old man's sense of satisfaction as he sits in the sun and the playing of his grandchild Wilhelmine.
(iii) Old Kaspar is a hardworking farmer. He was in a relaxed mood after having done his work.
(iv) Old Kaspar had two grandchildren Peterkin, a boy, and Wilhelmine, a girl. They were quite intelligent and curious children.
(v) Their grandfather's account of the battle fought at Blenheim was quite confusing to them. They were puzzled as to how a war could be destructive and praiseworthy at the same time.
Passage 2
(i) The family of an old man, named Kaspar, has been referred to earlier in the context. Kaspar has two grandchildren - a granddaughter named Wilhelmine and a grandson named Peterkin.
(ii) Wilhelmine was the granddaughter of Kaspar. She was playing on the green grass near her cottage.
(iii) She saw her brother Peterkin rolling something that was large and round.
(iv) He had been playing near a rivulet. While playing he had discovered a thing by the side of a rivulet. The thing was large and round. He did not know what it was. He had brought home that thing by rolling it. He had come home to know what it was.
(v) His grandfather looked at the thing, shook his head in sorrow and sighed. He told him that it was somebody's skull. The person must have died in the battle fought at Blenheim. He called the battle a 'great victory'. He was proud of the victory won by the English over the French
Passage 3
(i) The boy referred to here is Peterkin, the grandson of Kaspar, the old man. He brought home somebody's skull. The person whose skull Peterkin brought home must have died in the battle at Blenheim.
(ii) No, he was not alone with his grandfather. His sister named Wilhelmine was also present there.
(iii) The old man shook his head in sorrow and sighed. He remembered that when he had gone to plough in his field, many skulls had been dug out of the earth. It was because thousands of men had been killed in the battle of Blenheim. So he shook his head in sorrow and sighed at the deaths of so many people.
(iv) A battle was fought between the English and the French at a small village named Blenheim. The English won the battle. Though thousands of men died in the battle, Kaspar, the old man, called it a 'great victory'. The English had won victory over the French. Being a Bavarian, who sided with the English, Kaspar was proud of the victory won by the English and so called it a 'great victory'.
(V) Kaspar, the old man, was proud of the victory won by the English. But it was not something to be proud of, as the war described was very destructive. Thousands of people were killed and wounded.
Passage 4
(i) Kaspar belonged to Bavaria which was on the side of England and Austria against France. He felt proud of the fact that their side had registered a convincing victory over France.
(ii) The old man told him that it was somebody's skull. He must have died in the battle fought at Blenheim.
(ii) The old man told Peterkin that thousands of men were killed in the battle of Blenheim. The English had won victory over the French in the battle. Kaspar who was on the side of the English boasted of the victory. Though thousands of men were killed in the battle, Kaspar called it a 'great victory'. The irony lies in the use of the words 'great victory'.
(iv) The old man told his grandchildren that though thousands of men were killed in the battle of Blenheim, it was a great victory of the English over the French. Wilhelmine, the little girl, disagreed with him and said that the war was nothing but 'a wicked thing', but the old man tried to correct her by saying that it was a 'famous victory'.
(v) The old man's point of view is obsolete, conservative and narrow. He admits that thousands of men were killed in the battle of Blenheim. The war caused ruin and destruction in every part of the country. Still he boasts of the victory of the English over the French and repeatedly calls it a 'great' and 'famous' victory.
Passage 5
(i) Peterkin who had brought home a large round thing that he had found while playing near a rivulet was curious to know what it was.
(ii) The young Peterkin brought home somebody's skull. He was anxious to know all about the incident connected with the skull. Wilhelmine, too, looked at the skull with surprise and wanted to know all about the war. The expression 'wonder-waiting eyes' refers to Wilhelmine's surprise and her eagerness to get a reply from her grandfather.
(iii) The young Peterkin and his little sister are eager to know all about the war and what they (the English and the French) fought for. The children want to know the reason for the war. Kaspar simply says that it was the English who defeated the French and that it was a famous victory, but he does not know what they fought for. He simply boasts of the victory. His point of view is conventional and outdated. What the children asked was a puzzling question at that time. In fact, it is puzzling question in the context of all wars.
(iv) When Peterkin and Wilhelmine wanted to know all about the war and asked the old man what they (the English and the French) fought for, he had no cogent answer. He boasted of the victory of the English over the French and repeatedly said that it was a 'famous' and 'great' victory. He only repeated what people generally said.
(V) The old man's reply failed to satisfy the young children because their response to war was natural and instinctive whereas the old man's response to war was conventional and outdated. Thus the old man's conventional point of view failed to satisfy the young children.
Passage 6
(i) Peterkin and Wilhelmine are being addressed to by their grandfather, Kaspar. They are addressed in an irritated, protesting tone.
(ii) The young Peterkin asked his grandfather to tell him what they (the English and the French) had fought for in the battle of Blenheim. The old man simply repeated what people generally said that it was a 'famous victory of the English over the French.
(iii) The word 'crieď is used because Kaspar wants to shout loudly in order to emphasize that the English had defeated the French badly and that it was a famous victory.
(iv) Kaspar told his grandchildren that the English defeated the French in the battle of Blenheim and that though thousands of men were killed in war, it was a famous victory. It was 'famous' because people praised the Duke of Marlbrough and the Prince Eugene and the English commanders for having won a grand victory.
(v) Kaspar's response to war was conventional and not his own. Thousands of men were killed, women became widows and children became orphans in the battle of Blenheim. Like other people, Kaspar too boasted of this grand victory. He could not make out that war that caused deaths, destruction and ruin could never be great or famous.
Passage 7
(i) A great battle was fought at Blenheim in Bavaria in 1704 between the English backed by Bavaria and Austria on one side and France on the other.
(ii) 'They referred to here are the French. As they got defeated, they became angry and revengeful and did a lot of harm to the innocent people of Bavaria.
(iii) The 'great victory of the English over the French in the battle of Blenheim was a personal tragedy for Kaspar family because the house of Kaspar's father was burnt down. He had to flee with his family. They had no place to take shelter.
(iv) The battle of Blenheim between the English and the French was a horrible incident because thousands of men, women and children were killed. People praised the Duke of Marlbrough, the Prince Eugene and the English military commanders for having won a grand victory. So Kaspar also boasted of the grand victory and repeated what people generally said.
(v) Kaspar boasted of the victory of the English over French in the battle of Blenheim and called it a famous victory. The children failed to understand the old man's viewpoint because their response to war was natural and instinctive whereas the old man's response was conventional and outdated.
Passage 8
(i) The speaker is the old man named Kaspar. His grandchildren want to know about the battle fought at Blenheim, which to him is a 'grand victory'. So he gives a detailed account of the battle.
(ii) The 'great fight' referred to here is the Battle of Blenheim fought between the English and the French. The English, along with the Austrians and the Bavarians, won the battle.
(iii) Peterkin wanted to know what good came out of the war at last. The question cropped up in his mind when his grandfather Kaspar continued to praise the war despite its widespread ruin and destruction and mass casualties.
(iv) During the war thousands of people were killed and wounded. Houses of common people were burnt down.
(v) The old man fails to satisfy his grandchildren as to why the war was fought and what good came of it. This stark failure on his part brings about the horrors of war, and strengthens the poet's anti-war stance felt throughout the poem.
Passage 9
(i) 'They' refers to common people here. They being the victorious side only praise the war and call it a 'grand victory'. Actually, they fail to understand how a dreadful war could be something good to be praised of.
(ii) The speaker calls the sight of battlefield 'shocking'. Thousands of dead bodies lay rotting in the sun. Ironically, he terms it a 'famous victory'.
(iii) It means the battle was won. The battle was won by the English and their associates. (iv) There are two opposite viewpoints in the poem that of old Kaspar and that of his grandchildren. The viewpoint of Kaspar about war is illogical and conventional. The viewpoint of his grandchildren is instinctive and original.
(v) The poem is a ballad as it tells a story in verse. It has well defined situation and characters.
Passage 10
(i) Kaspar praised the Duke of Marlbrough and Prince Eugene because they won the battle and defeated France. In his eyes, they were heroes.
(ii) 'The wicked thing' referred to here is the war between England and France. It was 'wicked in the sense that it took a heavy toll of precious human lives.
(iii) Wilhelmine was a little girl, the granddaughter of old Kaspar. She was horrified on listening to the trail of destruction left by the war.
(iv) These pauses are significant. They suggest that old Kaspar was no longer sure and confident of what he was saying.
(v) The message of the poem is that we should not try to justify war which is undoubtedly ruinous and destructive.
