Std 9 English chapters › Unit 3 · Question Answers ↓ · Take the lesson test ↓
In short: Seeing a butterfly, the poet asks it to stay near him, because it reminds him of his happy childhood when he and his sister Emmeline chased butterflies together.
(एक फुलपाखरू पाहून कवी त्याला जवळ थांबायला सांगतो, कारण ते त्याला त्याच्या आनंदी बालपणाची आठवण करून देते, जेव्हा तो आणि त्याची बहीण एमेलीन फुलपाखरांच्या मागे धावत असत.)
- Type: Poem
- Poet: William Wordsworth
- Speaker: The poet, as a grown-up, talking to a butterfly
- Unit: 3
Summary in English
In the first stanza, the poet begs the butterfly not to fly away but to stay in sight a little longer. He calls it the 'historian of my infancy', because it brings back memories of his early childhood. In it, 'dead times' come alive again, and it brings to his heart a serious picture of his father's family.
In the second stanza, he remembers the pleasant days when he and his sister Emmeline chased butterflies. He rushed at the butterfly like a hunter, leaping and springing from bush to bush. But his sister, gentle and kind, was afraid to touch it, in case she brushed the dust off its wings.
मराठीत सारांश (Summary in Marathi)
पहिल्या कडव्यात कवी फुलपाखराला उडून न जाता थोडा वेळ समोर राहण्याची विनंती करतो. तो त्याला 'माझ्या बालपणाचा इतिहासकार' म्हणतो, कारण ते त्याच्या लहानपणीच्या आठवणी जाग्या करते. त्याच्यामुळे गेलेला काळ पुन्हा जिवंत होतो आणि वडिलांच्या कुटुंबाचे गंभीर चित्र मनात उभे राहते.
दुसऱ्या कडव्यात तो ते आनंदी दिवस आठवतो, जेव्हा तो आणि त्याची बहीण एमेलीन फुलपाखरांचा पाठलाग करत असत. तो शिकाऱ्यासारखा उड्या मारत झुडपांतून त्याच्या मागे धावत असे. पण त्याची कोमल मनाची बहीण त्याला स्पर्श करायला घाबरत असे, कारण पंखांवरची धूळ (पराग) झडेल अशी तिला भीती वाटे.
Theme and Message (मध्यवर्ती कल्पना)
Small things in nature can bring back precious childhood memories; the poem also shows the gentle love for living creatures.
निसर्गातील छोट्या गोष्टी बालपणीच्या मौल्यवान आठवणी जाग्या करू शकतात; ही कविता सजीवांबद्दलचे कोमल प्रेमही दाखवते.
Figures of Speech (अलंकार)
- Apostrophe (संबोधन): the poet speaks directly to the butterfly: 'Stay near me'.
- Inversion (शब्दक्रम बदल): 'A little longer stay in sight' instead of 'Stay in sight a little longer'.
- Metaphor (रूपक): the butterfly is called the 'historian of my infancy'.
- Repetition (पुनरावृत्ती): 'pleasant, pleasant were the days'.
Useful Words (शब्दार्थ)
| Word | मराठी अर्थ | Use it in a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| converse | संवाद, गप्पा | I had a long converse with my old friend. |
| infancy | बालपण | He lived in Pune in his infancy. |
| revive | पुन्हा जिवंत होणे | Old photos revive happy memories. |
| solemn | गंभीर | The prayer was a solemn moment. |
| brake | झुडपांनी भरलेली जागा | The rabbit hid in the brake. |
| prey | भक्ष्य, शिकार | The cat jumped on its prey. |
For the Exam (परीक्षेसाठी)
- According to the textbook, the rhyme scheme of the first stanza is aabbcbccb. Note the eye rhymes rush/bush/brush.
- Old words: thee = you, thou = you, art = are, bring’st = bring.
3.3 To a Butterfly: English Workshop Question Answers
Every English Workshop activity for this poem, as games. Score points, earn stars and challenge a friend on WhatsApp! (खेळा, गुण मिळवा आणि मित्रांना आव्हान द्या!)
🤔 Think as you read
Is the poet a grown-up or a child?
Answer: He calls the butterfly ‘historian of my infancy’: it brings back memories of the past.
Who is Emmeline?
Answer: ‘My sister Emmeline and I together chased the butterfly.’
Q1. The poet pleads with the butterfly
👉 Which line is NOT a request to stay?
Three of these are pleas from stanza 1. Which one is not?
Answer: That line is from stanza 2. The four pleas are: Stay near me; do not take thy flight; A little longer stay in sight; Float near me, do not yet depart.
Q2. Match the lines with their meanings
🧩 Choose the meaning, then tap Check.
Line → meaning
Q3. Say WHO
🧩 Choose the right person or thing.
Who …?
Q4. Inversion: put the words back in normal order
🧱 Tap the words to build the normal sentence.
‘Much converse do I find in thee’ in normal order
- I
- find
- much
- converse
- in
- thee.
Normal order of ‘Oh! pleasant, pleasant were the days’
Answer: Subject (the days) + verb (were) + complement (pleasant).
More examples of inversion
- A little longer stay in sight! → Stay in sight a little longer!
- Dead times revive in thee → In thee, dead times revive.
- A very hunter did I rush upon the prey → I rushed upon the prey like a real hunter.
- She, God love her, feared to brush the dust from off its wings → She feared to brush the dust off its wings.
The inverted lines sound more musical and put emphasis on key words.
Q5. Rhyming words and eye rhyme
🎯 Tap the rhyming pairs from stanza 2.
Rhyming words in stanza 2
Answer key
days – plays | I – butterfly | rush – bush – brush | springs – wings
‘rush’ and ‘bush’ look alike but sound different. This is called ___.
Answer: Eye rhymes look similar in spelling but are pronounced differently: love/move, cough/bough, food/good.
Warm-up activity: write a short poem
✍️ Use the pattern noun / noun + verb / noun + verb + adverb. Try, then compare
Butterfly
Butterfly flutters
Butterfly flutters gently
A butterfly flutters gently away
Oh!
Think and Write (विचार करा, लिहा)
- Which object or creature reminds you of your childhood? Write about it.
- How are the poet and his sister different in the way they treat the butterfly?
- Rewrite two inverted lines of the poem in normal word order.
Online test · 15 questions
3.3 To a Butterfly: Lesson Test
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शिक्षकांसाठी: धडा शिकवून झाल्यावर ही test वर्गाला पाठवा. प्रत्येक विद्यार्थ्याचे गुण तुम्हाला आपोआप मिळतील.
These are original study notes by englishresources.in to help you revise. Read the lesson in your Balbharati textbook first: these notes do not replace it and do not reproduce its text.