1.3 Basketful of Moonlight
Warming Up!
MARGIN QUESTIONS
1) What does the poet wish to get from the moon and why?
Ans: The poet wishes to get a basketful of moonlight from the
moon as he wants to sow seeds of moonlight on the sides of the
path that leads from the city to his village.
2) Why is the road from the city to the village dangerous?
Ans: The road from the city to his village is dangerous because it is
dark and full of snakes and scorpions. Also neither bus nor cart
plies in that path.
3) Why does the poet want his father home early?
Ans: The poet wants his father home early so that he can hear fairy
tales and stories from him.
4) How do you spend your evening time with your family
members?
Ans: I spend my evening time with my family members by playing
various games and watching television together.
ENGLISH WORKSHOP
1) Complete the following sentences with the help of the poem.
a) The child wants to sow small moons of light from the city to
his village.
b) According to the child the route of his village is tough and
full of snakes and scorpions.
c) The child wants a basketful of moonlight on loan.
d) The child wants to light the dark route so that his father
returns early.
2) Write down the describing words used for the following nouns.
* Small moons * Tough route
* Whole village * Early morning
3. The child in the poem wants to solve the problems in his
village. How can the child solve them with the following?
wishes? Answer in your notebook.
(a) Give me moonlight, basketful or two baskets full, with seeds of
moonlight.
Ans – The child really wants to enlighten the roads for the villagers
and his father. The child’s imagination goes everywhere, and he gets to moonlight as his solution with which he can light the road by sowing moonseeds on both the sides of the road.
(b) I want to light the dark route so that my father returns early.
Ans – The child loves and cares his father a lot he longs for his
company but not getting it in the evening, so he wants to light the dark path which is dangerous too, which makes him think about the safety of father as well as other villagers.
4. Pick out and write the lines from the poem that prove the
following.
(a) Father reaches home late, after dark.
I want to light the dark route
so that my father returns early.
(b) Eager to hear fairy tales from his father.
I too want to hear fairy tales
and stories from him.
(c) Remove darkness and bring light among the darker paths.
I want to light the dark route
5.Write as many as words you can using full as a suffix
Ans: basketful, powerful, bucketful, mouthful, handful, helpful, painful, tearful, thoughtful, harmful, shameful, beautiful, useful,
rightful, bountiful, graceful, spoonful, boastful, awful, joyful,
disgraceful, hopeful, careful, grateful, wonderful, cheerful.
6) Pick out the examples of Alliteration and Repetition from the
poem.
Alliteration:
O moon, give me moonlight.
Basketful or two baskets full.
The route is tough and full of snakes and scorpions.
I want to sow seeds of moon on the sides of the path.
Repetition:
Small, small moons of light.
Write an appreciation of the poem:
1) The title of the poem is “Basketful of Moonlight”.
2) The poet’s name is Sunil Sharma.
3) The rhyme scheme is: Free-verse.
4)
Theme/Central Idea:
The central idea of the poem is a child’s desire to spend more time with his father. It is about a child’s imagination where he thinks he can help his father and other villagers return home early by lighting their path back from work with seeds of moonlight.