Paper Boats” by Rabindranath Tagore:

 “Paper Boats” by Rabindranath Tagore:

A. Answer the questions

1. What does the speaker load his boats with?

The speaker loads his paper boats with shiuli flowers from his garden.

2. What does he hope will happen to the load he puts on the boats?

He hopes that the flowers will be carried safely to land during the night.

3. What are the clouds compared to?

The clouds are compared to boats with white bulging sails.

4. What does the speaker dream of? How does the load on the boat change from the earlier one?

A- The speaker dreams that his paper boats sail under the night stars, and fairies replace the flowers with baskets full of dreams.

B. Answer with reference to the context

1. “In big black letters I write my name and the name of the village where I live.”

a. What is the speaker playing with?

The speaker is playing with paper boats.

b. What does he write his name on?

He writes his name on the paper boats.

c. Why do you think he writes the name of his village as well?

He writes the name of his village so that whoever finds the boat will know where he comes from.

2. “I know not what playmate of mine in the sky sends them down the air to race with my boats!”

a. How old do you think the speaker is?

The speaker seems to be a young child.

b. What does the playmate send down from the sky?

The playmate sends down the clouds from the sky.

c. Why do you think the speaker imagines a race?

The speaker imagines a race because the clouds seem to move with his paper boats.