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We have discussed here about The Garden by Andrew Marvell Question Answer. You can read the article for yourself and get a good deal of knowledge about The Garden by Andrew Marvell and it’s question answer. Read the poem here.
Short Questions from The Garden by Andrew Marvell
1. What does the garden stand for?
Ans. The garden stands not only for a pastoral setting, but also as a background for contemplation. The contemplation is both aesthetic and intellectual. Further, it provides the right setting for spiritual ecstasy. Thus, the garden epitomizes vita contemplative, that is, contemplative life. It is an antithesis to society, that stands for vita active.
2. “The gods, that mortal beauty chase, / Still in a tree did end their race”- Give the names of two such beauties and their race mentioned by Marvell.
Ans. Two beauties, that is, beautiful ladies whom gods chased are Daphne and Syrinx in Marvell’s poem The Garden. The poet here wants to suggest that the physical beauty of the beautiful ladies has no value. In myth and legend if gods have chased any earthly lady, the purpose is not to enjoy that beauty, but to have a part of nature to which they were supposed to be metamorphosed.
3. Who was Daphne?
Ans. Daphne was a nymph of legendary beauty and Apollo chased her and she eluded his grasp only turning herself into a laurel. This myth implies that Daphne finds her fulfillment only in an object of Nature.
4. Who was Syinx?
Ans. According to an ancient myth, Syrix was a nymph. She was persuaded by Pan, the god of flower and she changed herself into a reed, an object of nature. It suggests that not only the human beings but nymphs also find their culmination in Nature and the god also ran after her to have the laurel he was in urgent need for making a pipe.
5. “…the milder sun/ Does through a fragrant zodiac run”. -What is the implication of the underlined phrase? Why is the sun milder?
Ans. Zodiac is a complete circle by which the sky is divided into twelve parts. It covers one complete year. The circle of Zodiac corresponds to the cycle of seasons. Thus, the Zodiac refers to twelve months of a year, which are individually represented by a flower. So the Zodiac is fragrant. It refers to the yearly circle of bloom.
The sun follows the course through the circle of sweet smelling flowers and herbs, and the heat of the rays of the sun is becomes mild by the green leaves of the trees through which they pass.
6. Whose short and narrow-verged shade/Does prudently their toils upbraid; What are the possible meanings of ‘upbraid’ here?
Ans. The word “upbraid” in these lines from Marvell’s The Garden is ambiguous. First, the word means ‘to braid up’, that is, to decorate implying that the ambitious and painstaking endeavour of man culminates in rewards embellished by a single part of plants. Secondly, the word “upbraid” means “to reproach” as the lines mean that the labour of man to get rewards for different achievements get rebuke or mockery by effortless achievements Nature.
7. What do “white” and “red” stand for in the line “No white nor red was ever seen”?
Ans. The colours ‘white’ and ‘red’ in the above expression from Marvell’s The Garden together represent the beauty of an earthly woman which is inferior, as the poet thinks, to the beauty of Nature. Feminine physical beauty, according to the poet, stands for temptation, whereas the beauty of nature implies salvation, peace and repose.
THE GARDEN BY ANDREW MARVELL- SUMMARY