AMITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, NOIDA (2023)

CLASS VI
SUBJECT: ENGLISH
CH 3- THE SELFISH GOBLIN by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

Read and follow the instructions given below:

 The handout is a task to be done in fair English Literature notebook as assignment.
 Draw ending line after the complete work is done.
 Mention the chapter name, date and home assignment on the page to make your work more
organized.
ABOUT THE POET
Robert Louis Stevenson (13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist and travel writer,
most noted for Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde , and A Child's Garden of
Verses.
POEM AT A GLANCE
 The poem is about the selfishness of a goblin.
 It was raining heavily when the goblin was going somewhere through the moorland with his green
umbrella. His eyes were small and cunning and his hair was red.
 On his way, he met a fairy who was struggling her way back home. She asked the goblin for help, if
he could share his umbrella with her, as she was wet.
 Goblin being selfish refused to help the fairy and left her alone in the rain.
 When he crossed the moorland, the wind blew so fiercely that it turned the goblin’s umbrella
outside-in.
 There was a spiny mammal named Hedgehog, who was extremely happy when the goblin got
punished by the wind as he had witnessed the goblin being mean to the fairy.
 Hedgehog was angry at how the goblin treated the fairy so he rolled the goblin over and left him all
alone in the rain to repair his broken umbrella.
 After this, hedgehog went ahead and helped the fairy to guide her way back home. The goblin paid
the price of not sharing his umbrella with the fairy.
Moral: Be careful of how you treat others. What you do to others comes back to you.
“When you are kind to others, it not only changes you, it changes the world.” – Harold S. Kushner
FLOW MAP ACTIVITY: Mention the important events/happenings in the poem, in the correct order.
 POETIC DEVICES

POETIC DEVICES EXAMPLES FROM THE POEM

1. Rhyme Scheme: abcb, defe
A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at
the end of each line of a poem.
2. Personification: ‘The wind with angry din’ (stanza 4)
Personification is a poetic device in which a
thing – an idea or an animal – is given human
attributes.
3. Alliteration:  ‘falling fast’ (stanza 1)
Alliteration is the occurrence of the same ‘his hair’ (stanza 1)
letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent
 ‘He had’ (stanza 1)
or closely connected words.  ‘He held above his head’ (stanza 1)
 ‘were very wet’ (stanza 2)
 ‘clothes completely’ (stanza 3)
 ‘under my umbrella’ (stanza 3)
 ‘left the little’ (stanza 3)
 ‘wind with’ (stanza 4)
 ‘hold of his’ (stanza 4)
 ‘me mad’ (stanza 4)
 ‘he hurried’ (stanza 5)
 ‘her homeward’ (stanza 5)
 ‘to try’ (stanza 5)
Answer the following questions: (TO BE DONE IN ENGLISH LITERATURE NOTEBOOK)
Q1. Who asked the goblin for help and why?
Value points: weary fairy- raining heavily--- completely drenched in rain-requested the goblin-to
share his umbrella
Q2. How did the hedgehog punish the goblin?
Value points: rolled the goblin over-left him all alone in the rain- repair his broken umbrella.

REFERENCE TO CONTEXT (TO BE DONE IN ENGLISH LITERATURE NOTEBOOK)

I. “Can you not plainly see,
That underneath my umbrella,
Is only room for me? “

1. Identify the speaker and the person being spoken to.

2. Why did the speaker refuse to help?
3. Identify the poetic device used in line 2.

II. ‘“Hurrah!" exclaimed the hedgehog,

I am extremely glad.
I saw your mean behaviour.
It nearly drove me mad.”

1. Name the poem and the poet.

2. Identify the rhyme scheme of the above stanza.
3. Why did the speaker say so?
 ANSWERS
RTC-I
1. The goblin is speaking to the fairy.
2. The goblin refused to help the fairy, mocked at her and did not allow her to share his
umbrella as there was room for only one under his umbrella. He showed his selfish nature
by doing so.
3. The poetic device used in the 2nd line is alliteration in the phrase ‘underneath my
umbrella’.

RTC-II
1. The above extract has been taken from the poem ‘The Selfish Goblin’ written by Robert
Louis Stevenson.
2. The hedgehog is speaking to the goblin.
3. The rhyme scheme of the above stanza is abcb.
4. The hedgehog (the speaker) said so because he had witnessed the goblin being mean to
the fairy as he refused to share his umbrella. He felt extremely happy when the angry
wind turned the goblin’s umbrella outside-in.

 SPELL TIME: Learn the spellings

moorland heather weary labour

vain dripping cunning mean