For Anne Gregory NCERT Solutions Class 10 English

This post ‘For Anne Gregory NCERT Solutions Class 10 English’ provides NCERT solutions for Class 10th English First Flight poem For Anne Gregory by William Butler Yeats. I recommend first read the summary of For Anne Gregory to understand the Thinking about the Poem For Anne Gregory questions better.

For Anne Gregory Thinking about the Poem

Q.1. What does the young man mean by “great honey-coloured / Ramparts at your ear”? Why does he say that young men are “thrown into despair” by them?
Ans. The phrase refers to the young woman’s thick, golden-yellow hair falling beside her ears like the high walls of a fort. The poet calls it “ramparts” because her hair guards her face like a protective wall. Young men are “thrown into despair” because they are so charmed by her beautiful hair that they fall in love with her outward beauty alone, and can never love her for her inner self.

Q.2. What colour is the young woman’s hair? What does she say she can change it to? Why would she want to do so?
Ans. Her hair is yellow (golden). She says she can dye it brown, black or carrot-coloured. She wants to do so because she wishes to be loved for her true self, not for her beautiful hair. By changing its colour she hopes to test whether young men love her for herself alone.

Q.3. Objects have qualities which make them desirable to others…
Ans. Yes. The qualities that make an object desirable are its appearance, usefulness, quality, price and brand name. For example, a car is desirable for its looks, mileage and safety features; a phone for its camera, speed and battery life; a dress for its colour, fabric and design. If I were selling an object, I would emphasise its usefulness, durability, attractive appearance and reasonable price.

Q.4. Do we love others because we like their qualities, or is it possible to love someone “for themselves alone”?
Ans. Usually we are first attracted to people by their qualities: beauty, intelligence, talent or kindness. But true love goes beyond these.

• A parent’s love for a child is selfless and is given equally to a clever child and a challenged one.
• The public’s love for a film star, sportsperson or politician depends mostly on their success and fame, and often fades when they fail.
• Love for a friend or a brother or sister grows out of understanding, trust and shared life, not appearance.
• A pet loves its owner without any conditions. So love for oneself alone is possible, but it is found mainly in selfless relationships such as those of parents, true friends and pets. According to the poem, only God can love a person truly for herself alone.

Q.5. Is it possible to separate ‘the person himself or herself’ from how the person looks, sounds, walks, and so on?
Ans. It is very difficult to separate the two. A person’s looks, voice and manners are a part of his or her personality, just as the dance cannot be separated from the dancer. People change greatly over the years in appearance, habits and thinking. Relationships also change with them; some become deeper as understanding grows, while others weaken. But where love is genuine, it survives these outward changes, which shows that the real person is more than his or her appearance.

Word Meanings (Quick Revision)