The Merchant Questions & Answers

Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Merchant Questions & Answers.

This poem is written by Rabindranath Tagore. It is from the point of view of a child with a vivid imagination. It brings forth to life the fantasy word of the child. The poem also beautifully evokes the picture of a loving family.

In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of Happy Endings, Breaking Barriers and The Memory of a Lion so, you can check these posts as well.

The Merchant Questions & Answers

Word Galaxy

  • Landing – a place where people can get into or out of a boat
  • Laden – heavily loaded with something
  • Heaps – untidy collections of things that are placed one on top of each other
  • Golden harvest – grain and other crops that are ripe and ready to be cut – some grains turn yellow when they are ripe
  • Meadow – a large field with grass and wild flowers growing in it
  • Write of itself – it will write by itself, without the father holding it
  • Casket – a small box, usually used to store jewellery

Question 1: What is the speaker asking his mother to do?

Answer: The speaker is asking his mother to imagine that while she is staying at home, he is going to travel into strange lands and his boat is waiting at the landing to sail.

Question 2: Why is the speaker talking about champa flowers and harvests when he is talking about gold?

Answer: He is talking about champa flowers and harvests because champa flowers are bright yellow and most grains that are ripe turn into golden colour. They are so beautiful to look at that he thinks they are just like gold.

Question 3: Where does he plan to get the pearls? Describe the places where he can find them.

Answer: He plans to get the pearls from the pearl island shore. He thinks that he can find the pearls on the meadow flowers, the grass and on the sand.

Question 4: What is special about the pen the speaker will bring back for his father?

Answer: The pen is a magical pen that will write by itself without the speaker’s father’s knowledge.

Question 5: What is the gift that the speaker wants to give his brother? Why do you think there are two of them?

Answer: The speaker wants to give his brother two winged horses because he hopes that his brother will invite him to fly with him in the sky amongst the white clouds.

Question 6: Read the lines and answer the questions:

1. There, by the banks of golden streams, fields are full of golden harvest.
And in the shade of the forest path the golden champa flowers drop on the ground.

(a) What does the speaker focus on in these lines?

Answer: The speaker focuses on the marvellous gifts of nature and compares the value of all natural and beautiful things with gold.

(b) Do you think that the speaker considers these gifts to be as valuable as gold?

Answer: Yes, the speaker thinks that these aspects of nature are as beautiful and valuable as a gold.

(c) What do these descriptions tell you about the speaker’s opinion of nature?

Answer: The speaker seems to be a nature lover and a great admirer of the gifts of the nature.

2. My brother shall have a pair of horses with wings to fly among the clouds.
For you, mother, I must have a casket and jewel that cost seven kings their kingdom.

(a) What kind of person do you think the speaker’s brother is?

Answer: The speaker’s brother seems to a very adventurous person who enjoys physical activity. He would also have to be very daring to enjoy riding a flying horse.

b. What do the words ‘For you, mother’ tell you about the relationship between the speaker and his mother?

Answer: The speaker has a very loving relationship with his mother.

So, these were The Merchant Questions & Answers.

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