Std VIII English

2.3 The Worm

APPRECIATION :
The title of the poem is The Worm written by Thomas Grisborne. The theme of
the poem is that we should respect all forms of life as they too have been created
by God with lot of love. He also gives us a message that since we cannot give life,
we should refrain from taking it.
The tone of the poem is serious and thought provoking as it conveys the message
do not harm any creature as all are God’s creation. The poem has four stanzas of
four lines each. The rhyme scheme of the poem is abab cdcd efef.
Simple language and effective imagery are used to highlight the contrasting
features of the worm and human beings.
The figures of speech used in the poem are apostrophe, inversion, repetition. An
example of apostrophe from the poem is “Turn, turn thy hasty foot aside”
My favourite line from the poem is “Let them enjoy their little day” as it is a
sincere appeal from the poet to the humans to let the worms live. I like the poem
as it states give each creature their freedom, so that they can enjoy their lives the
way we are enjoying ours.

Give the modern words for the archaic words from the poem
 thy - your
 Being- life
 Bestow'd - gifted
 Thee- you
 Thou- you
 cans't- can

Answer the following:

1. Why does the poet appeal to us, to respect the life of worm?
 The poet urges us to remember that every creature on earth is created by God
and we should respect His creation. Besides, we cannot take a life which we
cannot give back.
2. Why do you think God created worms? What is their ecological
importance?
God created worms for maintaining the ecological balance. They loosen and
aerate the mud and bring up fertile, nutrient-rich soil. They turn organic garbage
into organic fertilizers.
3. Live and let live is a famous proverb. Which lines from the poem support
this proverb?
The following lines support the famous proverb:
 Turn, turn thy hasty foot aside,
Nor crush that helpless worm!
 Let them enjoy their little day
 O do not lightly take away
The life thou canst not give!
4. Does the poet urge us to protect only worms? What is the general message
conveyed through this poem?
The poet urges us to protect all the creatures by referring to a small worm
in the poem.
The poem conveys a general message that every creature small or big is
created for a purpose. We have no right to take away a life that we cannot
give.