18. Alte HS1stYr- The Divine Image (14)
1. Choose the correct alternative :
What is not God-gifted virtue ?
(i) Love
(ii) Hatred
(iii) Peace
(iv) Humanity
Ans:
(ii) Hatred
2. what do we do when in distress ?
Or
what do we pray for in distress ?
Ans:
Whenever we are in distress, we pray for mercy, pity, peace and love in our life.
3. What are mercy, pity, peace and love ?
Or
How are mercy, pity, peace and love virtues of delight?
Ans:
Mercy, pity, peace and love are the virtues of delight. They bring a positive effect in our life and help us come out of misfortunes.
4. How is God our father ?
Ans:
God is our father because He has mercy, pity and love for us and brings peace in our life.
5. Why should all love the human form ?
Ans:
All should love the human form because it embodies the divine qualities of mercy, pity, peace and love.
6."And Peace, the human dress”. How has peace been compared to human dress ?
Or
Peace has been compared to human dress. How?
Ans:
Human dress makes the body look elegant and attractive. In the same way, peace makes one look elegant, attractive and civilized.
7. “For Mercy has a human heart, Pityahuman face And Love, the human form divine, And Peace, the human dress.”, Explain the above cited lines.
Ans:- The poet says that the virtues of mercy, pity, love and peace find embodiment in human features-heart, face, body and dress. Mercy resides in human heart, pity is reflected from human face, love pervades human body and like dress, peace makes humans look elegant and civilized.
8. Where does God dwell ?
Ans:- The poet, William Blake says that God dwells in the people in whom dwell the virtues of mercy, pity and love. The poet equates these qualities with God as well as with man. He believes that these qualities are the characteristics of God and the man who possesses them is divine.
9. How do mercy, pity, peace and love get distorted in the human brain ?
Ans:-
When many evils like cruelty, selfishness, deceit, revenge etc., take control of human being, man behaves in an abnormal manner. Then he loses his divinity and human virtues like mercy, pity, peace and love get distorted in his brain. The poet explains that every individual should be given freedom of expression. Oppressive tendencies lead to mystery and suspicion in the mind of the concerned individual. In distress, he is unable to find comfort from them. Thus the good qualities of mercy, pity, love and peace get distorted in human brain due to our evil practice.
10. Comment on the rhetorics of the poem.
Ans:- The poem ‘The Divine Image’ is one of William Blake’s rhetorical songs. In this poem, he equates the virtues of mercy, pity, peace and love with God as well as with man asserting a certain identity between the two. The poet calls these the virtues of delight and so they are the object of human prayer in distress and piety in human form. God dwells in men in whom dwell those virtues. The poet propagates the idea that since man is created in the image of God, he embodies God in his best qualities. Thus, the poem adopts a didactic tone.
11. Why does the poet call mercy, pity, peace and love the virtues of delight?
Ans:- Mercy, pity, peace and love are man’s noblest qualities. Man prays to them and seeks their blessings in times of distress. Then, these qualities give him comfort, help him come out of misfortunes, and make him happy in true sense. Therefore, the poet calls them the virtues of delight.
12. How, according to the poet, can man become divine ?
Ans:-
According to the poet, man can become divine by imbibing four qualities which the poet calls the virtues of delight. They are mercy, pity, peace and love. These are the virtues which characterise God. When these are found in a man, he can become divine.
13. What does the poem ‘The Divine Image’ suggest ?
Ans: The poem, ‘The Divine Image’ suggests that the image of God is reflected in human beings. God is characterised by mercy, pity, peace and love. Since God made man in his own image, man also has these virtues. Thus the poem suggests that in his best qualities, man embodies God Himself.
14. What is the poem ‘The Divine Image’ about?
Ans: The poem ‘The Divine Image’ is about four virtues – mercy, pity, peace and love. The poet calls them the virtues of delight. These virtues are charactistics of God. The poet says that these are characteristics of man too. It implies that these are divine as well as human virtues. When a person prays to God, he prays to these virtues. The poet says that all persons of all the regions of the earth must imbibe and love these virtues irrespective of their religion and culture.