The North Ship || Class 9 || Lesson 9 || All Stanza || Text || || Explanations || Summary || Hindi Translation || Word Meaning || Solution || Extra Question ||

Class 9 

Lesson 9

The North Ship

The author and the text:

Philip Larkin

Philip Arther Larkin ( 1922 - 1985) was a renowned English poet and novelist. His first book of poetry was The North Ship, followed by two novels, Jill and A Girl in Winter. He came to prominence in 1955 with the publication of his second collection of poems, The less Deceived, followed by The Whitsun Weddings and High Windows. He was offered the position of poet Laureate in 1984 but he declined. 

This poem describes the journey of three ships that head to different destinations. While two ships return, one presses forward and perils to continue its long onward journey, almost like a symbol of aspiration that overcomes all obstacles. 

(फिलिप आर्थर लार्किन (1922 - 1985) एक प्रसिद्ध अंग्रेजी कवि और उपन्यासकार थे। उनकी कविता की पहली पुस्तक द नॉर्थ शिप थी, उसके बाद दो उपन्यास, जिल और ए गर्ल इन विंटर आए। वह 1955 में अपने दूसरे कविता संग्रह, द लेस डिसीव्ड, उसके बाद द व्हिटसन वेडिंग्स और हाई विंडोज़ के प्रकाशन से प्रसिद्धि में आये। उन्हें 1984 में कवि पुरस्कार विजेता के पद की पेशकश की गई थी लेकिन उन्होंने इसे अस्वीकार कर दिया।

यह कविता तीन जहाजों की यात्रा का वर्णन करती है जो विभिन्न गंतव्यों की ओर जाते हैं। जबकि दो जहाज लौटते हैं, एक आगे बढ़ता है और अपनी लंबी आगे की यात्रा जारी रखने के लिए जोखिम उठाता है, लगभग आकांक्षा के प्रतीक की तरह जो सभी बाधाओं को पार कर जाता है।)

Poem:

Explanation of Stanza One:

I saw three ships go sailing by,

Over the sea, the lifting sea,

And the wind rose in the morning sky,

And one was rigged for a long journey.

In the first stanza of ‘The North Ship,‘ the speaker offers a wealth of imagery to describe a seemingly ordinary moment. It begins with the passage of three ships “over the sea, the lifting sea”, identifying one as being “rigged for a long journey”. Throughout the poem, the speaker’s descriptions of the sea and the wind are constantly shifting. Yet, in this first stanza, conditions appear rather ideal, especially for the three vessels about to begin their respective journeys.

('द नॉर्थ शिप' के पहले छंद में, वक्ता एक सामान्य प्रतीत होने वाले क्षण का वर्णन करने के लिए प्रचुर मात्रा में कल्पना प्रस्तुत करता है। इसकी शुरुआत तीन जहाजों के "समुद्र के ऊपर से गुजरने" से होती है, जिसमें से एक की पहचान "लंबी यात्रा के लिए तैयार" के रूप में की जाती है। पूरी कविता में, वक्ता का समुद्र और हवा का वर्णन लगातार बदल रहा है। फिर भी, इस पहले चरण में स्थितियाँ आदर्श प्रतीत होती हैं, विशेषकर उन तीन जहाजों के लिए जो अपनी-अपनी यात्राएँ शुरू करने वाले हैं।)

Explanation of Stanza Two:

The first ship turned towards the west,

Over the sea, the running sea,

And by the wind was all possessed

And carried to a rich country.

The first ship is described as turning westward, diverging from the other two. The diction of this stanza indicates that the westbound ship fairs the best of the trio. For one, they experience a swift journey thanks to the “running sea” and being “possessed” by the wind. In this way, they are “carried” to their destination, which itself implies the relative ease with which they reach it. On top of that, their destination is revealed to be “a rich country” . So not only is the first ship’s journey relatively easy, but it’s also quite profitable.

(पहले जहाज को अन्य दो से अलग होकर पश्चिम की ओर मुड़ते हुए वर्णित किया गया है। इस छंद की शैली इंगित करती है कि पश्चिम की ओर जाने वाला जहाज तीनों में से सर्वश्रेष्ठ है। एक के लिए, वे "बहते समुद्र" और हवा द्वारा "कब्जे में" होने के कारण एक तेज़ यात्रा का अनुभव करते हैं। इस तरह, उन्हें उनके गंतव्य तक "पहुंचाया" जाता है, जिसका तात्पर्य सापेक्ष आसानी से होता है जिसके साथ वे उस तक पहुंचते हैं। इसके अलावा, उनका गंतव्य "एक समृद्ध देश" बताया गया है। इसलिए पहले जहाज की यात्रा न केवल अपेक्षाकृत आसान है, बल्कि काफी लाभदायक भी है।)

Explanation of Stanza Three:

The second ship turned towards the east,

Over the sea, the quaking sea,

And the wind hunted it like a beast

To anchor in captivity.

In the third stanza of ‘The North Ship,‘ the speaker turns their attention to the second ship. This one heads east and immediately sees a change in fortune. Unlike the calm and swift waves that have been described by the speaker up to this point, the second ship encounters a “quaking sea”. In addition to the violent waters, the wind is also rendered virulent and personified as a hunter that hounds the ships across the sea “like a beast”.

     After such a harrowing journey, the ship is greeted not with riches like the first ship but rather a dreadful fate: “To anchor in captivity”. If the first ship was an example of everything going right on a journey, then the second is, without a doubt, the worst-case scenario.

('द नॉर्थ शिप' के तीसरे श्लोक में, वक्ता अपना ध्यान दूसरे जहाज की ओर आकर्षित करता है। यह पूर्व की ओर मुख करता है और तुरंत भाग्य में बदलाव देखता है। इस बिंदु तक वक्ता द्वारा वर्णित शांत और तेज़ लहरों के विपरीत, दूसरा जहाज "कांपते समुद्र" का सामना करता है। हिंसक जल के अलावा, हवा को भी उग्र बना दिया गया है और एक शिकारी के रूप में चित्रित किया गया है जो "एक जानवर की तरह" समुद्र में जहाजों का पीछा करता है।

     इतनी कष्टदायक यात्रा के बाद, जहाज का स्वागत पहले जहाज की तरह धन-संपत्ति से नहीं, बल्कि एक भयानक भाग्य से किया जाता है: "कैद में लंगर डालने के लिए"। यदि पहला जहाज यात्रा में सब कुछ सही होने का उदाहरण था, तो दूसरा, बिना किसी संदेह के, सबसे खराब स्थिति है।)

Explanation of Stanza Four:

The third ship drove towards the north,

Over the sea, the darkening sea,

But no breath of wind came forth,

And the decks shone frostily.

The speaker then focuses on the final ship and its northern course. Here, Larkin uses much more ambiguous diction to describe both the sea and the wind. A “darkening sea” is bleak but not malicious like the one experienced by the second ship, while the absence of wind might mean a long journey, but that’s arguably better than being hunted by a storm.

     The cold weather encountered on its journey into the north is illustrated via imagery — “And the decks shone frostily” — and the sluggish movement that characterizes the stanza.

(इसके बाद वक्ता अंतिम जहाज और उसके उत्तरी मार्ग पर ध्यान केंद्रित करता है। यहां, लार्किन समुद्र और हवा दोनों का वर्णन करने के लिए बहुत अधिक अस्पष्ट शब्दावली का उपयोग करता है। एक "अंधेरा समुद्र" अंधकारमय है, लेकिन दूसरे जहाज द्वारा अनुभव किए गए अनुभव की तरह दुर्भावनापूर्ण नहीं है, जबकि हवा की अनुपस्थिति का मतलब लंबी यात्रा हो सकती है, लेकिन यह तूफान से पीड़ित होने की तुलना में यकीनन बेहतर है।

     उत्तर की ओर अपनी यात्रा के दौरान झेले गए ठंडे मौसम को कल्पना के माध्यम से चित्रित किया गया है - "और डेक ठंढे ढंग से चमक रहे थे" - और सुस्त गति जो छंद की विशेषता है।)

Explanation of Stanza Five:

The northern sky rose high and black

Over the proud unfruitful sea,

East and west the ships came back

Happily or unhappily

The fifth stanza of ‘The North Ship’ narrates the return of the first two ships. The speaker opens the stanza still focused on the “northern sky”, which might indicate they are still looking for the third ship’s return on the horizon. They also describe the sea as “proud unfruitful”, another example of personification that characterizes the expansive waters as tumultuous and futile.

     Given how the first ship experienced a fair journey through apparent chance and the second suffered — this is a pretty apt description. As a result, the ships return either “happily or unhappily”, but they do return eventually.

('द नॉर्थ शिप' का पाँचवाँ श्लोक पहले दो जहाजों की वापसी का वर्णन करता है। वक्ता अभी भी "उत्तरी आकाश" पर केंद्रित छंद खोलता है, जो यह संकेत दे सकता है कि वे अभी भी क्षितिज पर तीसरे जहाज की वापसी की तलाश कर रहे हैं। वे समुद्र को "अभिमानी निष्फल" के रूप में भी वर्णित करते हैं, मानवीकरण का एक और उदाहरण जो विशाल जल को उथल-पुथल और व्यर्थ के रूप में चित्रित करता है।

     यह देखते हुए कि कैसे पहले जहाज ने स्पष्ट संयोग के माध्यम से एक निष्पक्ष यात्रा का अनुभव किया और दूसरे को नुकसान उठाना पड़ा - यह एक बहुत ही उपयुक्त वर्णन है। परिणामस्वरूप, जहाज या तो "खुशी से या नाखुश" लौटते हैं, लेकिन वे अंततः लौटते हैं।)

Explanation of Stanza Six:

But the third went wide and far

Into an unforgiving sea

Under a fire-spilling star,

And it was rigged for a long journey.

The final stanza reveals that the third ship has not yet returned, as its journey, compared to the other two ships, is far longer. Once again, the speaker mingles a certain longing bittersweetness with their choice of diction: the sea the ship travels on is “unforgiving”, but the majestic beauty of it sailing beneath a “fire-spilling star” alludes to more romantic sentiments.

There is even a sense of optimism that’s quietly implied by the way the third ship has surpassed the obstacles it encounters in stanza four. Although it hasn’t reached its destination yet, it continues to sail “wide and far”, undeterred by the sea and more than prepared for what lies ahead.

     The fact that the poem ends by repeating the last line of the fourth stanza punctuates the idea that the third ship’s endurance is crucial to the poem’s theme. One could even read the final line as a sort of cyclical allusion that the ship has actually made it to another port and is being once again made ready for another long journey.

(अंतिम छंद से पता चलता है कि तीसरा जहाज अभी तक वापस नहीं आया है, क्योंकि अन्य दो जहाजों की तुलना में इसकी यात्रा बहुत लंबी है। एक बार फिर, वक्ता ने अपनी भाषा की पसंद के साथ एक खास तरह की लालसा भरी कड़वाहट को मिला दिया है: जिस समुद्र पर जहाज यात्रा करता है वह "अक्षम्य" है, लेकिन "आग फैलाने वाले तारे" के नीचे नौकायन करने वाली इसकी राजसी सुंदरता अधिक रोमांटिक भावनाओं की ओर इशारा करती है।

यहाँ तक कि आशावाद की भावना भी है जो चुपचाप इस बात से झलकती है कि जिस तरह से तीसरे जहाज ने श्लोक चार में आने वाली बाधाओं को पार कर लिया है। हालाँकि यह अभी तक अपने गंतव्य तक नहीं पहुँचा है, फिर भी यह समुद्र की परवाह किए बिना और आगे जो होने वाला है उसके लिए पूरी तरह से तैयार होकर, "दूर और दूर" तक यात्रा करना जारी रखता है।

     यह तथ्य कि कविता चौथे श्लोक की अंतिम पंक्ति को दोहराकर समाप्त होती है, इस विचार को विरामित करती है कि तीसरे जहाज का धैर्य कविता के विषय के लिए महत्वपूर्ण है। कोई अंतिम पंक्ति को एक प्रकार के चक्रीय संकेत के रूप में भी पढ़ सकता है कि जहाज वास्तव में दूसरे बंदरगाह पर पहुंच गया है और एक बार फिर उसे एक और लंबी यात्रा के लिए तैयार किया जा रहा है।)

Textual Questions: 

Exercise 1

Tick the correct from the given alternatives:

(1) The number of ships sailing by were —

(a) three ✔

(b) two

(c) five

(d) four

(2) The wind carried the first ship to a —

(a) big country

(b) small country

(c) rich country ✔

(d) distant country

(3) The second ship turned towards the —

(a) west

(b) north

(c) south

(d) east ✔

(4) The decks of the third ship shone —

(a) brightly

(b) frostily ✔

(c) clearly

(d) dimly

(5) The northern sky rose over the —

(a) unfruitful sea ✔

(b) kind sea

(c) stormy sea

(d) calm sea

(6) The third ship was rigged —

(a) long journey ✔

(b) short journey

(c) slow journey

(d) quick journey

Exercise 2

Answer the following questions within twenty-five words:

(a) What did wind do to the second ship?

Ans:- When the second ship started its journey the wind hunted it like a wild beast. It kept the ship in captivity and could not continue with its long onward journey.

(b) Give any two points difference between the  journey of the third ship and the other two ships.

Ans:- Firstly, the first two ships were attacked and held captive by the wind while the third one was not attacked by wind and it moved freely. Secondly, the first two ships return back while the third one continues with his long journey overcoming obstacles in its way. 

Grammar in use:

Exercise 3

Replace the underlined words with suitable phrasal given in the list below. Change the form if necessary. There are two extra phrasal verbs.

(a) The child resembles his grandfather. 

Ans:- The child takes after his grandfather.

(b) They published a magazine recently.

Ans:- They brought out a magazine recently.

(c) My mother taught me not to disrespect anyone.

Ans:- My mother taught me not to look down upon anyone.

(d) We should abolish bad habits.

Ans:- We should give up bad habits.

(e) A new university was built at Coochbehar.

Ans:- A new university was set up at Coochbehar.

[Phrasal verbs: bring out, set up, put up, run after, give up, look down upon, take after] 

Exercise 4

Do as directed:

(a) The man was so weak that he could not walk. ( rewrite using ‘too’)

Ans:- The man was too weak to walk.

(b) Titir is one of the most intelligent girls in the class. (rewrite using the positive degree of the underlined adjective)

Ans:- Very few girls are as intelligent as Titir in the class.

(c) As soon as he reached home, it started raining heavily. (Change into a negative sentence)

Ans:- No sooner had he reached home than it started raining heavily.

 (d) Why cry over spilt milk? ( Change into an assertive sentences)

Ans:- It is useless to cry over spilt milk.

 (e) Blood is thicker than water. (Change into an interrogative sentence)

Ans:- Is not blood thicker than water?

(f) He told a lie intentionally. (Rewrite using the noun form of ‘intentionally’)

Ans:- He told a lie with intention.

(g) Run fast or you will be late. ( Change into a complex sentence)

Ans:- If you don’t run fast, you will be late.

(h) The reporter made the news public. (Rewrite using the verb form of ‘public’)

Ans:- The reporter publicized the news.

Composition:

Exercise 5

Write a newspaper report within 100 words on the effect of a devastating flood in your district based on the following hints:

[Midnapore district-month of July – heavy rainfall – rivers overflowing-trees uprooted, many villages flooded- loss of human and animal life-rescue operations-steps taken by the government]

Ans:-

A Devastating Flood Causes Havoc In Midnapore

Midnapore, 20 July 2022: Due to heavy rainfall in the month of July, Midnapore district has been affected. Rivers were overflowing due to heavy rainfall. Also it took a toll on the lives of the people. Trees were uprooted causing much trouble. Many villages also got flooded. As a result of this, there was heavy loss of human lives. Not only human lives but it affected animals and birds too. It caused much loss to the environment. Government took steps and immediately carried out the rescue operation. The operation was carried out successfully and people were moved to safe places. Government has promised to help the affected people.

Exercise 6

Imagine that you and your friend are sailors of two ships that have recently returned from their voyages. Write a dialogue within 100 words on the different experiences of your voyages.

Ans:-

Mausumi : Hello Purba, how are you?

Purba : Hello Mausumi I’m good. I heard that you recently went on a voyage. How was it?

Mausumi : Yes, it was wonderful. I have been to the Netherlands.

Purba: Wow, that is amazing. I too had been to America recently. Our ship’s name was ‘Little Titanic.’

Mausumi : Sounds interesting. We had a great time with other sailors who were much experienced and guided us throughout the journey.

Purba : Even though I had a good time and not only that but I learnt many things from other team mates.

Mausumi : We are lucky to have experienced such beautiful journeys.

Purba : Absolutely. We should go together some day.

Mausumi : This is an awesome idea. We should definitely go.

Purba : I have to leave now. I will see you later.

Mausumi : Sure. Good day.