Notes-Bangle Sellers PDF

NOTES-BANGLE SELLERS - Sarojini Naidu Summary The poem revolves around bangles and bangle sellers. It describes the stages in the life of a woman as well as the life of bangle sellers. The speaker of the poem is one of the bangle s...

NOTES-BANGLE SELLERS - Sarojini Naidu Summary The poem revolves around bangles and bangle sellers. It describes the stages in the life of a woman as well as the life of bangle sellers. The speaker of the poem is one of the bangle sellers who are selling bangles at the temple fair. They call out to the people passing by and urge them to buy bangles for their daughters and wives. In the second, third, and fourth stanzas, they describe the bangles of different colors they have to match the woman of different age groups. The different colors meant for different stages of life indicate the importance given to bangles in the life of Indian women in Indian Culture and Tradition. I Answer the following questions 1 Explain these phrases in the context of the poem a. our shining loads-the bright and colourful glass bangles b. Rainbow-tinted circles of light-the different coloured bangles which are sold by the bangle sellers. These are glass bangles, hence reflect light. 2. What are the different stages of a woman’s life that the poem highlights? Pick out words from the poem that suggest these stages. Ans. The poem highlights three stages of a woman’s life. The second stanza talks about maidenhood – the life before a woman gets married. Her life is full of dreams, as she prepares herself for her life as a bride and wife. She chooses to wear bangles that suit a ‘maiden’s wrist’ and are ‘flushed like the buds that dream’. The third stanza elaborates on the woman’s life as a bride. She wears ‘tinkling’ and ‘luminous’ bangles, which are ‘rich with the hue of her heart’s desire’. The final stanza talks about the woman as a mother. She has had a long and fulfilling life, where she ‘cares’ for her ‘sons’, serves the household, and ‘worships the gods at her husband’s side’. 3. The speaker has compared the bangles of the Indian bride to her laughter as well as her tears. Why? Ans. According to the poetess, the bangle seller has bangles for every occasion. So, he has red bangles for the bride, who is getting married. It embodies her happiness and laughter. He also has bangles that are symbolise the tears of anxiety, for the bride is leaving her parents’ house and is starting a new life. 4. How are the descriptions of the bangles linked to nature? Ans. The poetess has used plenty of nature imagery in describing the bangles. For example, the bangles have been called ‘rainbow tinted’, they are ‘silver and blue as the mountain mist’. The bangles have also been compared to the ‘buds’ on a ‘woodland stream’. The glow on the bangles is like the ‘new born leaves’. There are some bangles which look like corn fields. The comparison to the elements of nature has heightened the beauty of the poem. II Read the lines and answer the questions with reference to context 1. Who will buy these delicate, bright Rainbow-tinted circles of light? a. Who are the bangles sellers addressing?  Ans The bangle seller is addressing the women and girls. b. How do the bangle sellers describe the beauty of the ‘shining loads’? Ans. The ‘shining loads’ have been described as delicate, bright, rainbow coloured and round circles that glow in light. 2. Some are meet for a maiden’s wrist, Silver and blue as the mountain mist a. What does the speaker mean by ‘Some are meet for a maiden’s wrist’? Ans ‘Some are meet for a maiden’s wrist’ means the bangle seller has bangles that are suitable for unmarried girls. b. How does the speaker relate the change in the colour of the bangles to the changes in the life of a maiden? Ans The unmarried girls wear bangles that are blue and silver. The brides wear red coloured bangles that are like the flame of her marriage fire and some bangles are golden in colour like the ‘sunlit corn’. The more elderly woman wears purple bangle. Purple is a colour of royalty and authority. She is the queen of her husband’s house. The bangles are gold and grey flecked. Grey shows her age and maturity. 3. Some, like the flame of her marriage fire, Or, rich with the hue of her heart’s desire a. Who is referred to as ‘her’ in the given lines? Ans ‘Her’ refers to the bride who is getting married. b. Identify instances of alliteration in the above extract. Ans Repetition of ‘f’ sound in ‘flame of her marriage fire’ and repetition of ‘h’ sound in hue of her heart’s desire. III Answer the following questions 1. What does the speaker mean by the phrase ‘bridal laughter and bridal tear’? Ans The phrases ‘bridal laughter’ and ‘bridal tear’ suggest the emotional feelings of a bride. The bride is happy because she is getting married and she sheds tears because she has to leave her parents’ house and start a new life elsewhere. 2. How does the poem ‘The Bangle Seller ‘throw light on Sarojini Naidu’s conception of Indian women? Discuss. Ans. In ‘Bangle Sellers’, a woman has been conceptualised as the one who loves to wear bangles. She is an epitome of beauty and elegance. She wears colourful bangles that match with her age and mood. She is a carefree maiden and wears bangles of silver and blue. She becomes a bride and wears red and golden bangles. Finally, she is the mother, who nurtures her sons and family, stands by her husband and is a care giver. She wears purple bangles with gold and grey flecks. 3. The poem ‘Bangle Sellers’ celebrates the beauty and meaning of womanhood. Do you agree? Why? Ans Yes, I agree that the poem ‘Bangle Sellers’ celebrates the beauty and meaning of womanhood. The women have been portrayed as the ones who love to accessorise themselves. They wear colourful bangles. They leave their parental abode and join the husband’s household to nurture it. They are the care givers, nurturers, queen of the household, who shoulder so many responsibilities. 4. Name the different colours mentioned in the poem. What do they represent? Ans Rainbow colours, silver, and blue, sunlit corn colour, purple and gold-flecked grey are the different colours mentioned in the poem. These colours represent the bangles suitable for different age groups of women. 5. Bring out the significance of the last two lines of the stanza. Ans In the last 2 lines of the stanza, the bangles are described with the use of adjectives such as tinkling, luminous, tender and clear and then with the help of a simile they have been compared to the bridal laughter and bridal tear by the poet. The sound and other attributes that the bangles display are quite similar to that of the bride. As she walks the bangles tinkle, and their bright and clear nature is like the two clear but opposite emotions that the bride displays. They are like her bridal laughter. She laughs because she is happy having tied her wedlock and also unhappy and weeping at the separation from her parental abode where she has spent several lovely years of her life.