5th standard, English – POEM 1 – HE DID IT

5th standard, English – POEM – 1
HE DID IT
Glossary:
conquer: overcome, win over
venture: undertaking, risky job
unfurl: spread out
humility: humbleness
rigged: provided
stump (v): to give someone a very difficult problem
foe: enemy
oars: paddle
Understanding the poem

I. Answer the following questions.

1. Why is the sea so confident that the young man will not be able to conquer him?
   Answer: The Sea said that the young man is not a Whale or a Shark and he cannot walk on the waves of the Sea. That is why the sea so confident that the young man will not be able to conquer him.
   The sea had confidence and challenged the young man because in sea there were waves that roll on and tides that flew. So he believed himself and challenged the young man to conquer him.
2. What did the young man do on listening to the challenge of the sea?
   Answer: On listening to the challenge of the sea, the young man made a boat that was able to float.
3. Did the sea think that the young man would be able to make his boat go? How did the young man prove that he could make it go?
   Answer: No, The Sea think that the young man would not be able to make his boat go and said that the boat was watertight. The young man made some oars and learned how to row and proved that he could make it go.
4. What did the sea want to know when the young man was all set to go? [read lines 22-28]
   Answer: The Sea wanted to know that whether the young man would be able to overcome the tides.
5. Why did the young man make the mast?
   Answer: The young man make the mast for his boat. He rigged it with sails to prevent the high winds and weather the gales.
6. Was the sea angry to see ships cross the Atlantic?
   Answer: No, The Sea was not angry. The sea was considerable awe to see ships cross the Atlantic.
7. How did the sea show its greatness of heart?
   Answer: The Sea said with a show humility, “I admit, young man, you have conquered me”. That is how the sea show its greatness of heart.
8. Do you think the poet is telling a story? Or Would you take the poem as a reflection on man’s conquest of the sea?
9. 
   
12. Answer: The poem could explore themes of human ambition, the power of nature, or the limitations of our understanding, viewing the sea as a symbol of something larger than itself. The poem indicates the discoveries of great explorers of the world and how they have discovered new places and sea routes facing a lot of difficulties.
13. What is the attitude of the sea when it says, “I admit, young man, You have conquered me”.
    a. magnanimous
    b. generous
    c. submissive and humble
    d. indifferent
    Answer: c. submissive and humble
14. Who is portrayed as the conqueror – the man or the sea?
    Answer: The man is portrayed as the conqueror.
15. What aspects of man are described in the poem?
    Answer: Qualities that define a man often include traits such as integrity, courage, compassion, and wisdom of man are described in the poem.
16. Explain
    “And when he saw
    With considerable awe
    That Columbus himself
    Was on one of them.”
    Answer: As the sea saw the great fearlessness of Columbus, that the sea started admiring him. Finally the sea said ‘’you conquered me’’.
17. What picture of the sea do you get from the poem?
    Answer: The poem “He Did It” does not directly describe the sea. It focuses on a person’s actions and their consequences, using the sea as a metaphor for a powerful, uncontrollable force or a vast, indifferent entity. The sea is dangerous and formidable; it has a magnanimous heart to admit that man has indeed conquered him.
    
19. II. Match column “A” with column “B”. Column “A” has the challenges given by the sea to man and column “B” has the responses given by man.
    A B
20. You cannot walk a. he made boats
21. You cannot make the b. he made oars
    boats go
22. You cannot venture out c. he made a tall mast
    when I swell

III. He said, with a show Of humility, “I admit, young man, You have conquered me.”
a. Who does the word “you” refer to?
Answer: The word “you” refer to ‘young man’.
b. What aspect of man is described in the poem?
Answer: courageous and adventurous aspects of man is described in the poem.
c. When did the speaker say these words?
Answer: When man conquered the Sea, then the speaker said these words.
Appreciation :

IV. a. Pick out the questions posed by the sea to the man.
Who do you think is mightier, ‘The sea or the man’? Discuss in groups.
Answer: The sea and man are different forces, each with its own unique strengths and weaknesses. This poem indicates the relationship between humans and the natural world is common and the limits of human control over it.
b. Pick out the pairs of rhyming words from the poem.
Answer: shark- walk, boat-float, right- watertight, row-saw, oars-rowers, sails-gales, unfurled-world

Further Reading:
Read about Columbus and his discoveries. Also, find outhow discoveries later led to the Europeans conquering foreign lands and oppressing the people of those lands.