HOOL MUSCAT

CTION

CLASS: VII SUBJECT: ENGLISH

Date: 13/8/2023 TOPIC: THE SEA OF FOLIAGE (By TORU DUTT)

I. Word Meanings
1. Foliage - plants
2. Abound - exist in large numbers or amounts / plentiful
3. Gaze – look steadily / stare
4. startling – unusual / surprising
5. Eden – earthly paradise / a place filled with natural beauty

II. Antonyms:
1. Dull - interesting / bright
2. Quiet – noisy
3. Lean – straighten
4. Abound – scarce
5. Graceful – graceless
III. Frame a meaningful sentence with the word ‘clump’.

IV. Answer the following questions with reference to context:

1. “A sea of foliage girds our garden round,”

a. What does the word ‘girds’ mean here?

Ans: – The above excerpt has been taken from the poem ‘The Sea of Foliage’ by
Toru Dutt. Here, the word ‘girds’ means encircle.

b. The comparison of the garden to the sea is appropriate here. Comment.

Ans: – The poet has compared her garden to a sea because it appears as vast
and endless like a sea. Thus, the comparison is appropriate

c. Which figure of speech has been used in the given line?

Ans: – The figure of speech used in the given line is metaphor.

2. “And o’er the quiet pools the seemuls lean,

Page | 1
Red-red, and startling like a trumpet’s sound.”

a. What kind of trees are seemul trees?

Ans: Seemul trees are silk cotton trees with maroon (red) flowers.

b. Where do these trees stand in the garden?

Ans: The seemul trees are on the eastward side of the garden leaning over the
quiet pool.

c. Explain what the poet means by ‘startling like a trumpet’s sound’.

Ans: The poet contrasts the brightness of the red colored flowers on seemul trees
with the green leaves of palm, tamarind and mango trees. She compares the
startling redness of the seemul tree to the sound of a trumpet.

V. Answer the following questions briefly.

1. Why is foliage compared to the sea?

Ans – The foliage is compared to the sea because it appears as vast and endless
like a sea but unlike a sea which has an unvarying shade of green throughout, the
foliage in her garden has contrasting shades of green. This breaks the dullness in
the sea.

2. Which part of the garden does the poet like the most? Quote a line from
the poem to prove it.
Ans – The poet likes the scene among the bamboos in the eastward side of the
garden because at night the beautiful silver moon peeps through the tall bamboos
and shines dazzlingly on the white lotuses growing on the quiet pool. This sight is
so beautiful that she is reminded of the Garden of Eden.
Eg. “But nothing can be lovelier than the ranges
Of bamboos to the eastward.”

ONLY FOR APPRECIATION

How has the poet described the different colours of the trees?
Ans – The different colours of the trees has been elaborately discussed by the
poet. It is not of a single monotonous green rather comprises a variety of colours
which make the garden look extraordinarily beautiful. The tamarind leaves are light
green, the mango leaves are deep green, the trunk of the palm trees look grey
amid the green and then there is the bright red of the seemul trees.

Page | 2