Haunted Houses

HAUNTED HOUSES- ICSE, CLASS-X
RTC’s:
1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
All houses wherein men have lived and died

Are haunted houses. Through the open doors
The harmless phantoms on their errands glide,
With feet that make no sound upon the floors
(i) What does the poet mean by the first sentence of the extract?
Ans. It means that all houses are visited by the ghosts of those who once lived there.
(ii) In what way are all houses ‘haunted’?

Ans. They are haunted because the ghosts of those who lived there visit these houses.
(iii) Why is the phrase ‘harmless phantoms’ unusual?

Ans. The general perception is that ghosts are evil and they harm the living. So this phrase is
unusual.
(iv) What kind of the spirit-world is conceived by the poet later in the context?
Ans. It is present everywhere like the atmosphere.
(v) Where can we, according to the poet, meet ghosts?

Ans. At the doorway, stairs and passages
We meet them at the doorway, on the stair,

Along the passages they come and go,
Impalpable impressions on the air,
A sense of something moving to and fro.
(i) What kind of ghosts are imagined by the poet earlier in the context?
Ans. Harmless
(ii) Where do we ‘meet’ them? Are they visible?

Ans. They can be seen at the doors, stairs, passages. They cannot be seen or heard but the
speaker can do so.
(iii) Explain the last two lines.

Ans. The ghosts cannot be seen physically but their impressions are present in the air. One can
sense their movement.
(iv) The poet says “We meet them at the doorway, on the stair” What does he mean by this?
Ans. He is also a ghost and he comes across other ghosts and sees them.
(v) Where do they ‘throng’, as mentioned later in the context?

Ans. The dinner table is crowded by ghosts.
There are more guests at table than the hosts

Invited ; the illuminated hall
Is thronged with quiet, inoffensive ghosts,
As silent as the pictures on the wall.
(i) Who are the uninvited guests at table?

Ans. The inoffensive ghosts
(ii) Why are they there uninvited?

Ans. They are not a part of the living world, the descendents have forgotten them and so, they are
not invited.
(iii) What is surprising about these uninvited ghosts?

Ans. They are harmless.
(iv) What is meant by “As silent as the pictures on the wall”?

Ans. The ghosts are absolutely silent just like a picture hanging on the wall does not make any
sound.
(v) What can the speaker see and hear which others cannot?
Ans. He can see and hear the ghosts.
The stranger at my fireside cannot see

The forms I see, nor hear the sounds I hear;
He but perceives what is; while unto me
All that has been is visible and clear.
(i) What contrast is made in the first two lines here?

Ans. There is a contrast between the world of the living and the world of the dead.
(ii) What do you think of the extraordinary powers of the speaker?

Ans. He has extraordinary powers to see and hear ghosts because he is one of them.
(iii) What has been told by the speaker about the unseen ‘forms’ earlier in the context?
Ans. They visit the houses where they once lived.
(iv) What does the poet mean by ‘All that has been is visible and clear’?
Ans. He can see all ghosts who lived in the house in the past.
(v) Who is ‘He’ in Line 3? Is he a normal human being?

Ans. He is the present occupant of the house, a normal human being.
We have no title-deeds to house or lands;

Owners and occupants of earlier dates
From graves forgotten stretch their dusty hands,
And hold in mortmain still their old estates.
(i) What idea of ghosts is given earlier in the context?

Ans. They are harmless and they visit the houses where they once lived.
(ii) Where can we ‘meet’ the departed spirits?

Ans. They are in the graves but they come out and go to the houses where they once lived.
(iii) Who do not have title-deeds to their ‘house or lands’?

Ans. The ghosts
(iv) What do the departed spirits claim from their graves?

Ans. The permanent ownership of the houses which they once owned and where they were born,
they lived and they died.
(v) Explain the phrase ‘hold in mortmain’.

Ans. To have intransferable ownership
The spirit-world around this world of sense

Floats like an atmosphere, and everywhere
Wafts through these earthly mists and vapoursdense
A vital breath of more ethereal air.
(i) Why does the poet describe all houses as haunted earlier in the context?
Ans. All houses are visited by the ghosts of those who once lived there and died there.
(ii) How have the ghosts been described by the poet?

Ans. They are harmless, doing their work.
(iii) What can the speaker see or hear?

Ans. He can see and hear the ghosts.
(iv) What kind of the world of spirits is? How does the poet describe the spirit-worlds?
Ans. It is present everywhere and is wrapped around the world of the living. It mingles into the world
of the living through ther mist and vapours of the air.
(v) What crosses through earthy mists and vapours?

Ans. The ghosts
Our little lives are kept in equipoise

By opposite attractions and desires;
The struggle of the instinct that enjoys,
And the more noble instinct that aspires.
(i) Whose lives are being referred to in Line 1?

Ans. They lives of the normal human beings.
(ii) What brings about balance in our short lives?

Ans. The desire to enjoy life and the instinct of achieving our ambitions are two opposite wishes
which create a balance.
(iii) Explain the last two lines of the extract.

Ans. There is a constant struggle between our desire to relax and enjoy life and our ambition to work
hard and achieve.
(iv) State what fills our life with anxieties and fears, later in the poem.
Ans. The constant dilemma of whether to enjoy or work creates anxiety and fear.
(v) Which ‘bridge of light’ connects our world to the heavenly world?
Ans. The moonlight
These perturbations, this perpetual jar

Of earthly wants and aspirations high,
Come from the influence of an unseen star
An undiscovered planet in our sky.
(i) What brings about balance in our lives, as mentioned earlier in the context?
Ans. The desire to enjoy life and the instinct of achieving our ambitions are two opposite wishes
which create a balance.
(ii) Explain the metaphor used by the poet in the first two lines.
Ans. The perpetual jar refers to the immortal soul. Our soul is ridden by the constant dilemma to
decide whether to enjoy life and relax or to work hard and achieve.
(iii) What do you mean by ‘earthly wants and aspirations high’?

Ans. The needs of man which make him ambitious
(iv) What are ‘perturbations’?

Ans. Mental disturbance
(v) What is determined by an unseen, undiscovered planet in our sky?

Ans. It gives us ideas and imagination which trigger our actions – either towards enjoyment or
towards achievement.
And as the moon from some dark gate of cloud

Throws o’er the sea floating bridge of light,
Across whose trembling planks our fancies crowd
Into the realm of mystery and night,-
(i) When and how is a ‘bridge of light’ formed?

Ans. The moonlight travels from the sky, over the sea and reaches the living world. Thus a bridge is
formed.
(ii) What is the function of this bridge?

Ans. It connects the two worlds – of the dead and the living.
(iii) Which figure of speech is used in the first two lines here?
Ans. Personification
(iv) Where does our fancy take us?

Ans. Fancy takes us into a mysterious region through our dreams and imaginations.
(v) Which realm is the poet talking about in this extract?
Ans. Realm of imaginations.
So from the world of spirits there descends

A bridge of light, connecting it with this,
O’er whose unsteady floor, that sways and bends,
Wander our thoughts above the dark abyss.
(i) What has the poet told us about the world of spirits?
Ans. It is harmless, present everywhere.
(ii) Where can we ‘meet’ the departed spirits?

Ans. The departed spirits visit the houses where they once lived
(iii) What is the significance of ‘So’ in Line 1?

Ans. It concludes the previous ideas.
(iv) Which bridge descends from the world of spirits? What has it been compared to?
Ans. A bridge of light comes down from the world of the dead. It is compared to the moonlight.
(v) What do we often think of?

Ans. We think of enjoying life and of achieving our ambitions.

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HAUNTED HOUSES- ICSE, CLASS-X

All houses wherein men have lived and died

(ii) In what way are all houses ‘haunted’?

(iii) Why is the phrase ‘harmless phantoms’ unusual?

(v) Where can we, according to the poet, meet ghosts?

We meet them at the doorway, on the stair,

(ii) Where do we ‘meet’ them? Are they visible?

(iii) Explain the last two lines.

(v) Where do they ‘throng’, as mentioned later in the context?

There are more guests at table than the hosts

(i) Who are the uninvited guests at table?

(ii) Why are they there uninvited?

(iii) What is surprising about these uninvited ghosts?

(iv) What is meant by “As silent as the pictures on the wall”?

The stranger at my fireside cannot see

(i) What contrast is made in the first two lines here?

(ii) What do you think of the extraordinary powers of the speaker?

(v) Who is ‘He’ in Line 3? Is he a normal human being?

We have no title-deeds to house or lands;

(i) What idea of ghosts is given earlier in the context?

(ii) Where can we ‘meet’ the departed spirits?

(iii) Who do not have title-deeds to their ‘house or lands’?

(iv) What do the departed spirits claim from their graves?

(v) Explain the phrase ‘hold in mortmain’.

The spirit-world around this world of sense

(ii) How have the ghosts been described by the poet?

(iii) What can the speaker see or hear?

(v) What crosses through earthy mists and vapours?

Our little lives are kept in equipoise

(i) Whose lives are being referred to in Line 1?

(ii) What brings about balance in our short lives?

(iii) Explain the last two lines of the extract.

These perturbations, this perpetual jar

(iii) What do you mean by ‘earthly wants and aspirations high’?

(iv) What are ‘perturbations’?

(v) What is determined by an unseen, undiscovered planet in our sky?

And as the moon from some dark gate of cloud

(i) When and how is a ‘bridge of light’ formed?

(ii) What is the function of this bridge?

(iv) Where does our fancy take us?

So from the world of spirits there descends

(ii) Where can we ‘meet’ the departed spirits?

(iii) What is the significance of ‘So’ in Line 1?

(v) What do we often think of?

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