WO TRAMPS IN MUD TIME

by  Robert Frost  (1874-1963)

Out of the mud two strangers came
And caught me splitting wood in the yard,
And one of them put me off my aim
By hailing cheerily “Hit them hard!”
I knew pretty well why he dropped behind
And let the other go on a way.
I knew pretty well what he had in mind:
He wanted to take my job for pay.

Good blocks of beech it was I split,

As large around as the chopping block;
And every piece I squarely hit
Fell splinterless as a cloven rock.
The blows that a life of self-control
Spares to strike for the common good
That day, giving a loose to my soul,
I spent on the unimportant wood.

The sun was warm but the wind was chill.

You know how it is with an April day
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You’re one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
A wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you’re two months back in the middle of March.

A bluebird comes tenderly up to alight

And fronts the wind to unruffle a plume
His song so pitched as not to excite
A single flower as yet to bloom.
It is snowing a flake: and he half knew
Winter was only playing possum.
Except in color he isn’t blue,
But he wouldn’t advise a thing to blossom.

The water for which we may have to look

In summertime with a witching wand,
In every wheel rut’s now a brook,
In every print of a hoof a pond.
Be glad of water, but don’t forget
The lurking frost in the earth beneath
That will steal forth after the sun is set
And show on the water its crystal teeth.

The time when most I loved my task

These two must make me love it more
By coming with what they came to ask.
You’d think I never had felt before
The weight of an axhead poised aloft,
The grip on earth of outspread feet.
The life of muscles rocking soft
And smooth and moist in vernal heat.

Out of the woods two hulking tramps

(From sleeping God knows where last night,
But not long since in the lumber camps.)
They thought all chopping was theirs of right.
Men of the woods and lumberjacks,
They judged me by their appropriate tool.
Except as a fellow handled an ax,
They had no way of knowing a fool.

Nothing on either side was said.

They knew they had but to stay their stay
And all their logic would fill my head:
As that I had no right to play
With what was another man’s work for gain.
My right might be love but theirs was need.
And where the two exist in twain
Theirs was the better right — agreed.

But yield who will to their separation,

My object in living is to unite
Two Tramps in
Mudtime by Robert
Frost
‘Two Tramps in Mudtime’ by Robert Frost is a poem about work, wealth,
and the purpose of life. It is defined by an interaction between the speaker
and two wanderers.

This poem describes how on a day in April, the poet-speaker was chopping

wood in his dooryard. Two strangers (tramps) arrive there and caught him
engaged in that work. They came from the muddy road. One of them
accosted the speaker and asked him ‘to hit hard’. ‘Two Tramps in
Mudtime‘ goes on to say that he knew why this stranger stayed behind to
talk to him and let his companion go away. The poet understood well what
was in the mind of the man who had stayed behind with him. This man
actually wanted to talk about the poet’s job, and to do it himself ‘for pay’ or
for earning money. The expression ‘caught me splitting the wood’ implies
that the speaker might be regarded as doing the work which ought to have
been assigned to and done by the jobless tramps who had happened to
come there.
SUMMARY: “I HAVE A DREAM”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream'' speech is one of the most celebrated
oratory pieces in American history. King delivered the speech from the steps of the
Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963 as the final speech of
the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. A. Philip Randolph and Bayard
Ruston organized the march to advocate for civil and economic rights for Black
Americans, which was among the largest political rallies for human rights in
history, attracting approximately 250,000 attendants. Following the speech, King
was named Time  magazine’s  1963  Man of the Year. A recording of “I Have a
Dream” has been added to the United States National Recording Registry, and a line
from the speech—“Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope”—is the inscription
on the Martin Luther King, Jr.  Memorial in Washington D.C.

King opens by stating he is happy to join the audience in a demonstration of

B.1. Read the following sentences and write T for true and F for false
statements.
1. The hopes the Negro population were fulfilled by the signing of the
Emancipation Proclamation. T
2. The condition of the negros was appalling. T
3. The ‘bank of justice’ is bankrupt. T
4. The author prefers racial discrimination. F
5. The nation could overlook Negro problems. F
6. The Negros of America has citizenship rights. F
7. The author hates the white Americans. F
8. He advocates non-violent struggle. T
9. 2. Answer the following questions briefly.
10.What is the author trying to achieve through his speech?
Ans. Martin Luther seeks the support of the audience in his struggle for the
rights of the Negros. Even some whites were present there. He expresses his
gratitude to those who came to listen to him and support the Negro’s cause.

2. Do you think Martin Luther is a great orator? What, according to you, are
qualities of a great orator? What does Martin Luther urge his people to
do?
Ans. Yes, I sincerely believe that Martin Luther is a great orator. In my
opinion a great orator is one who can draw the attention of the readers,
spellbinds them and succeeds in conveying his message.

3. What is their pledge?

The pledge is to move ahead and continue their struggle for freedom and
rights.

4. What are the ‘trials and tribulations’ the author talks about?
Martin Luther talks about the trials and tribulation face by the Negros in
jails where they had to face creative sufferings. He talks about the suffering
caused by their segregation.

3. 3. Answer the following questions briefly.

4. ‘This is our hope’ (paragraph 19). What is the hope?
Ans. Martin Luther king hopes that freedom will ring from every corner of
the country. He has a hope that Negros will get the right to live with the
whites. He has a hope to see the children former slaves and former slave
owners will walk together as brother and sisters.

2. If America is to be a great nation what must become true?

Ans. If America is to be a great nation, the Negros should be given their
rights. It will create harmony inside the country. America will be a stronger
country in this way.

3. Why and when will they thank the Almighty?

Ans. They will thank the Almighty when they get their rights and freedom
rings from every corner of the country.

C.1. LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. 1 The life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation
and the chains of discrimination. Elaborate.
Ans. Martin Luther King Jr. claims that the life of the Negro is still sadly
crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.
He believes that Negroes are thought to be inferior to the whites and are
not given the proper rights of a citizen but are tormented by whites
everywhere. In a way Negros have been degraded into a kind of handicap
who can’t do anything. They are racially discriminated and are fettered.
they are tribulated tortured and tormented. They are not given the right to
vote. They are not allowed to go freely and are separated from the society.
the injustice against negroes makes them cripple and manacles in the
society. This is in just against humanity.

Q.2. What would be total for nation? Why? Explain.

Ans. Martin Luther King Jr. states clearly that it will not be proper to
underestimate the determination of Negroes. It could be fatal for the nation
because sweltering summer of Negroes’ legitimate discontent will not pass
until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom. Negro is grated his
citizenship. They will begin a revolt for their rights and justice the
whirlwinds of this revolt will continue to shake the foundation of nation
until the bright day of justice emerges. If nation does not understand the
problem of Negro, Negroes will revolt seriously. So it will be fatal for the
nation.

Q.2. What was the dream? How many times ‘I have a dream’ appear in the
lesson? Discuss the importance of this repetition?
Ans. In his famous speech Martin Luther King Jr  express his dreams and
desires. His dream was that one day this nation will rise up and live out the
free meaning of its creed. One day, the red hill Georgia, the son the former
slave and the Sons of former slave owners will able to sit down together of a
table f brotherhood. Freedom rings from the snow- capped of Colorado
Rockies and peaks of California. freedom rings from every village and every
Hamlet. He dreams to speed up the day when all children of god will able to
join the hands. Phrase ‘I have a dream’ is repeated seven times here. The
repetition of this phrase reveals the intention of the speaker for the
upliftment of his community.

Q.4. What is the pledge? When will it be fulfilled?

Ans. The speaker takes the pledge of marching ahead and not to turn back.
It will be fulfilled when the Negros get their rights and freedom. They get
justice. They should not be tortured, segregated, and tormental
discriminated and isolated from the society. It will be full-filled when
Negros comes out from the hell of slavery and get complete freedom and
emancipation.

Q.5. Do you have a dream for your state? Narrate your dream in your own
words.
Ans. Yes; I have a dream for my state. I want to see my state progressing in
the field of science and technology. The people of my state get employment.
They get proper education. The roads are smooth like foreign roads. The
government is notcorrupt. It rules in right order. There is no discrimination
on the basis of caste, colour and communy. All are equal and think for the
prosperity and good governing of the state. Justice in our state should
pious. No innocent is oppressed. In short I want my state to be a model
state.

Q.6.Narrate in brief ‘I have a dream ‘ in your words.

Ans.’I have a dream is a wonderful speech of M L King Jr. Here he
expresses his great ideas on civil rights. He talks here about the rights of the
Negros. He said that Negroes in Alabama and other states of America were
living in an appalling conditions. There was discrimination on the basis of
colour. Negroes was segregate from society. They had no rights for votes.
Struggle for Negroes freedom was started by M L King Jr in non-violence
way. He affirmed to change the fate of Negroes living in Alabama, Georgia,
Louisiana, Mississippi and Ghettos. All the whites and black boys and girls
will live together as brothers and sisters. He dream that freedom rings from
everywhere for the negroes; He prays at last when the song of freedom
emerges out from every part of America and all live and dream together.

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Introduction
            George Bernard Shaw is a well-known writer. He prepared and spoke on the topic
‘Spoken English and Broken English’ on a gramophone recording for the Lingua-phone
institute. In his speech the provocative ideas are couched in a simple but sparkling rhetorical
style.

Advantages in learning to speak well

            Bernard Shaw says that when we travel in the British Commonwealth or in America
or when we meet a native of these countries, we have to speak English well for enough
understanding. If we speak in a provincial or cockney dialect it may prevents us from
obtaining some employment which is open to those only speak what is ‘correct English’.

No such thing ideally correct English

            No two British subjects speak exactly alike. Even educated persons, the Poet Laureate
and trained speakers do not pronounce of some of the simplest commonest words in the
English language exactly alike. Members of the committee who are selected as models of
correct speech speak differently. They differ according to the country in which they were
born.

Confession of Bernard Shaw 

            Bernard Shaw confesses that he himself does not speak English in the same way.
When he speaks to audience, he speaks carefully. If he were to speak carefully to his wife at
home, she would think he was going mad. As a public speaker he has to take care that every
word he says is heard distinctly at far end of large halls containing thousands of people. At
home he speaks to his wife like mumbling. His wife also a little careless and so he sometimes
has to say “What?”

Advice to foreign students of English

             Do not try to speak English perfectly because native speakers of English won’t
understand. In London nine hundred and ninety-nine out of thousand people not only speak
bad English but speak even that very badly. No foreigner can ever stress the syllables and
make the voice rise and fall in questions and answer, assertion and denial, in refusal and
consent, in enquiry or information, exactly as a native does. Therefore, the first thing they
have to do is to speak with a strong foreign accent, and speak broken English.

Conclusion
            Bernard Shaw criticizes that it is an insult to the native speaker of English who cannot
understand his own language when it is too well spoken.
freedom. Standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, King notes the Emancipation
Proclamation was signed 100 years ago but today, Black people are still not truly
free as they lack the same material benefits afforded other Americans. The march
is designed to draw attention to that fact.

The marchers are there to redeem a promise, to “cash a check” written to Black
people by the US government and the Founding Fathers who promised all men
were created equal in both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
“All men” includes African Americans, yet America failed to deliver on its promise.
Instead, it has passed a check that cannot be cashed by Black people. King and the
marchers, however, refuse to accept that condition and demand the rights
promised them.

The marchers are also there to remind the nation that the present is the time to act.
Americans should not fall for the trap of making slow and steady progress. Instead,
America must today fulfill the full promise of democracy and racial justice. The
summer has been one of discontent, but 1963 is a beginning—not an end. The road
ahead will lead to an autumn marked with equality for all people so long as the
summer’s protests do not result in a return to the complacency of years past.

King interrupts to warn the audience that the road to freedom must not be laid by
bitterness, hatred, or bad behavior—especially violence. Instead, those seeking
freedom must hold themselves to a higher moral standard and meet acts of
violence with acts of love and faith. It is a good thing Black people are now militant
about their freedoms, but they must recognize that there are White people in the
crowd who have joined the march and who see their struggle for freedom linked to
that of Black Americans. Black people must walk with White people as no one can
march alone.

As they march, all must promise to continue marching forward. Many will ask if the
marchers will ever be satisfied. The answer is no: They will not be satisfied as long
as Black men are victims of police violence, segregation endures, Black people
have no upward economic mobility and are disenfranchised. The marchers will not
be satisfied until justice and righteousness pour through the nation. 

King turns from the general group (who he has been referring to as “we”) to
individual groups (who he refers to as “some of you”). Some present have come
from worse struggles than others, some from jails, some from areas in which they
have suffered police violence and persecution. But to each of them, King asks them
to continue to creatively suffer but to ensure the suffering begets change. He asks
them to take that faith back to their home states.
He returns to the group as a whole announcing he still has a dream about the
nation. His dream is that America will finally live up to the words of the Founders:
“that all men are created equal.” He also dreams White people and Black people
will be able to sit down together as equals and Mississippi will be turned from a
hotbed of injustice to a land of freedom. He dreams that in the future, people will
not be judged by the color of their skin but by who they are as individuals, and that
Alabama will be a place where White and Black children can join hands together.
With this dream, King will return to the South. And with this dream and this faith,
everyone present can transform the nation into one of brotherhood—as long as
everyone works together.

One day American children will be able to sing “America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee)”
with new meaning, for its lyrics will actually reflect the truth. As a prerequisite for
America to become a great nation, freedom must ring across all the majestic
landscapes of the United States from New Hampshire to California to Colorado to
Tennessee and everywhere in between. And when that happens, “all of God’s
children” of all races and faiths will be able to sing the old African American
spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”