The Last Bargain Poem Important Questions Class 8 Honeydew English
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. “The king, sword in hand” suggests
(i) wealth
(ii) power
(iii) more power than wealth
Mark the appropriate item in the context of stanza 1.
Answer
(ii) power
Question 2. What did the old man want? Was he successful in his bargain?
Answer
The old man wanted to hire the speaker with his money. No, he was not successful in his bargain.
Question 3. Why speaker deny the king proposal?
Answer
The speaker stated the king power as nothing so he denied the proposal of king.
Question 4. Explain, “I hire you with nothing”?
Answer
The child has no material thing so he used the word nothing here. He has only goodwill and cheer to hire to speaker.
Question 5. How did the speaker feel after talking to the child on the beach?
Answer
After talking to the child on the beach, the speaker felt extremely happy.
Question 6. Who is the speaker in the poem?
Answer
The Poet “Rabindranath Tagore” is the speaker of this poem.
Long Answer Type Questions
The old man offered the speaker a lot of money. Why did he turn down the offer?
Answer: The old man offered the speaker a lot of money. But the speaker refused to take. Because the poet realised that money cannot give him happiness. When the old man was counting the gold coins, the speaker realised that once the money would be finished. He would again be out of work. Hence he turned away the bargain.
Find the poem, lines that match the following. Read both one after another.
(i) I have nothing to give you except goodwill and cheer.
(ii) Her happiness was no more than sorrow in disguise.
(iii) the king’s might was not worth much.
Answer:
(i) ‘I hire you with nothing.
(ii) ‘Her smile paled and melted into tears
(iii) ‘But his power counted for naught’.
Context Based Questions
Stanza 1
"Come and hire me,” I cried, while in the morning
I was walking on the stone-paved road.
Sword in hand the king came in his chariot.
He held my hand and said, “I will hire you with my power,”
But his power counted for naught, and he went away in his chariot.
Explanation
One morning, speaker walking on the stone paved road and asking out to hire him. Firstly, a king came near him and told that he would hire with his power but his power counted for nothing so he disliked his agreement.
Questions
(i) Where was the poet walking?
(ii) How did the king come to him?
(iii) Why did he go away?
(iv) How did the king will hire him?
(v) Explain ‘Caught for naught.
Answer
(i) The poet was walking on the stone paved road.
(ii) The king chine in his chariot with Sword in his hand.
(iii) The king went away because his power counted for nothing.
(iv) The king wanted to hire him with his power.
(v) It means no value at all. The poet was ready to serve before a genuine owner, so he refused to serve the power of the king.
Stanza 2
In the heat of the mid-day the houses stood with shut doors.
I wandered along the crooked lane.
An old man came out with his nag of gold.
He pondered and said, “I will hire you with my money.”
He weighed his coins one by one, but I turned away.
Explanation
During mid-day, an old man came with gold coins and said that he would hire with money but the speaker rejects all his money because money will soon be spent and money cannot buy us everlasting happiness.
Questions
(i) Where was the man heading to?
(ii) Who came to him and what did he offer?
(iii) Why did he ‘turned away’?
(iv) Explain – ‘weighed his coins one by one’?
Answer
(i) The man was wandering along the crooked lane on a hot day.
(ii) An old man came to him with a bag of gold to offer.
(iii) The poet turned away because he knew that money cannot buy everlasting happiness.
(iv) The poet wanted to feel the worth of the memory. He decided not to gave his freedom and services for money.
Stanza 3
It was evening. The garden hedge was all a flower.
The fair maid came out sand said, “I will hire you with a smile.”
Her smile paled and melted into tears, and she went back alone into the dark.
Explanation
In the evening, the garden fences were full of flowers. A fair lady came out from garden and said that he would hire him with a smile but her smile faded away and she melted into tears and returned into the dark leaving the speaker alone.
Questions
(i) Where did the poet go in the evening?
(ii) Who said ‘I will hire you’?
(iii) What did she offer to pay?
(iv) Why had her ‘smile pale’?
Answer
(i) The poet went across a garden full of beautiful flowers.
(ii) A beautiful maid was standing there to hire for his service.
(iii) The old man offered to pay with smile in return of his services.
(iv) Her smile paled because the poet disagreed to bestow his services in exchange of smile.
Stanza 4
The sun glistened on the sand, and the sea waves broke waywardly.
A child sat playing with shells.
He raised his head and seemed to know me and said,
“I hire you with nothing.”
From hence forward that bargain struck in child’s play made me a free man.
Explanation
At last a child playing with shells and said that he would hire him with nothing and poet accepted his agreement but speaker was attracted by the flawless character of the child so he accepted the agreement of child. The bargain of the child makes the speaker a free man.
Questions
(i) Where was the child playing?
(ii) What was the child doing?
(iii) What did he tell the speaker?
(iv) How did the poet become a ‘free man’?
Answer
(i) The child was playing near the sea – beach.
(ii) The child was playing with sea-shells.
(iii) The child told the speaker that he would hire him for nothing.
(iv) The poet become a free man in the bargain for nothing for serving the child.