The Poem “Mercy” is Poem 6 taken from Tulip Series English for students of Class 8 of JKBOSE Board for students of Jammu and Kashmir. The poem is written by William Shakespeare. This particular post is about Mercy Poem 6 Summary and Question Answers. You will find Difficult words and their meanings, a Summary of the poem Mercy and Question Answers to the poem Mercy. In my previous post, I discussed The Brook Poem 5 Summary and Question Answers. So, let’s not waste more time and start today’s post.
Mercy Poem 6 Summary and Question Answers
Introduction
The poem “Mercy” describes the greatness of the act of mercy. The act of mercy includes giving alms, caring for the sick and refraining from harming or punishing enemies. The virtue of mercy is considered great in all religions. The nature and importance of mercy are summed up in the poem extracted from The Merchant of Venice.
Mercy Poem 6 (By William Shakespeare)
The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
‘T is mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power.
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show like God’s
When mercy seasons justice.
Mercy Poem 6 Words Meanings
Word | English Meaning | Hindi Meaning | Urdu Meaning |
---|---|---|---|
Mercy | Kindness | दया | رحم |
Strain’d | Forced | मजबूर करना | زور دینا |
Droppeth | Drops, descends | उतरता है | اترتا ہے |
Beneath | Under | नीचे | نیچے |
Blest | To consecrate or sanctify by a religious rite | पूज्य | احترام |
Mightiest in the mightiest | Mercy is more powerful when shown by most powerful kings | सबसे शक्तिशाली राजाओं द्वारा दिखाए जाने पर दया अधिक शक्तिशाली होती है | رحمت زیادہ طاقتور ہوتی ہے جب سب سے زیادہ طاقتور بادشاہوں کے ذریعہ دکھایا جاتا ہے |
Mightiest | Powerful | अत्यंत बलवान | بہت مضبوط |
Becomes | To suit; To enhance the appearance of someone | हो जाता है | بن جاتا ہے |
Throned | Someone placed on a throne | सिंहासन पर | تخت پر |
Monarch | King | सम्राट | بادشاہ |
Crown | Symbolizes the supreme power of the king | ताज | تاج |
Sceptre | The royal wand, authority | शाही छड़ी | شاہی چھڑی |
Temporal | Of worldly affairs | अस्थायी | دنیاوی |
Attribute | Quality | विशेषता | وصف |
Majesty | Grandeur | गौरव | عظمت |
Dread | Terror | भय | خوف |
Enthroned | Seated (in the heart of kings) | विराजमान | تخت نشینی |
Earthly | Of this world not spiritual | सांसारिक | زمینی |
Summary of Poem Mercy in English
The poem “Mercy” has been written by William Shakespeare. It is an extract from the play “The Merchant of Venice”. The poet in this sonnet explains that the quality of mercy is not forced, it is something that comes naturally with the birth of a human being. The mercy is like a gentle rain falling from heaven to quench the thirst of scorching hot earth. It is a divine quality that blesses both the giver and the receiver.
Mercy is more powerful than the mightiest kings. Mercy is far better than the king’s crown because his crown can entitle him only to temporal authority. The poet explains that people might fear the king who holds the power and rules by force. The quality of Mercy has its place in the heart of a real king who treats his people nicely as well as fairly without forcing them to toil hard.
Mercy is the quality that God poses. When mercy gets mixed along with justice, any earthly power can be considered or seen as a god.
Summary of Poem Mercy in Hindi
“मर्सी” कविता विलियम शेक्सपियर द्वारा लिखी गई है। यह नाटक “द मर्चेंट ऑफ वेनिस” का एक अंश है। इस सॉनेट में कवि बताते हैं कि दया का गुण मजबूर नहीं है, यह कुछ ऐसा है जो मनुष्य के जन्म के साथ स्वाभाविक रूप से आता है। तपती तपती धरती की प्यास बुझाने के लिए दया स्वर्ग से गिरने वाली हल्की बारिश की तरह है। यह एक दिव्य गुण है जो देने वाले और लेने वाले दोनों को आशीर्वाद देता है।
दया सबसे शक्तिशाली राजाओं की तुलना में अधिक शक्तिशाली है। दया राजा के मुकुट से कहीं बेहतर है क्योंकि उसका मुकुट उसे केवल लौकिक अधिकार का ही हकदार बना सकता है। कवि समझाता है कि लोग उस राजा से डर सकते हैं जो शक्ति धारण करता है और बल से शासन करता है। दया का गुण एक वास्तविक राजा के दिल में अपना स्थान रखता है जो अपने लोगों को कड़ी मेहनत करने के लिए मजबूर किए बिना उनके साथ अच्छा और उचित व्यवहार करता है।
दया वह गुण है जो ईश्वर प्रदान करता है। जब दया न्याय के साथ मिल जाती है, तो किसी भी सांसारिक शक्ति को देवता माना या देखा जा सकता है।
Theme of poem Mercy
In this poem, the poet explains the divine quality of mercy. The post says that it is inborn quality and cannot be forced. The quality of mercy soothes someone like drizzle in the hot summers. He says that mercy is more powerful than the power of a king. Mercy is a godly quality. It blesses both the giver and receiver. Even an earthly king becomes godlike when he blends mercy with his justice.
Rhyme Scheme of Poem Mercy
The poem Mercy is a sonnet having three quatrains and one couplet. There is no particular rhyme scheme in the sonnet.
Thinking About the Poem
1. Where does the quality of the mercy come from? Who is blessed by it?
Ans. The quality of mercy cannot be forced or compelled. It is natural and it comes from heaven (the heart of a merciful person). It is a double blessing in itself and blesses both the giver and the receiver.
2. How is mercy better than the crown of the king?
Ans. The mercy is better than the crown of a king because the crown symbolizes his supreme worldly powers but the quality of mercy is divine. It has a place in the heart of human beings and is a Godly attribute.
3. What does the sceptre stand for? How does it affect the kings?
Ans. ‘Sceptre’ stands for a royal wand or authority of a king. It is a symbol of his fear and royal power. The fear of the king is only due to his power and authority.
4. When does the earthly power look like God’s power?
Ans. The earthly power looks like God’s power when the quality of mercy is enthroned in the hearts of the king and people. When the king blends his justice with mercy the earthly powers appear like God’s power.
5. How is mercy above the “sceptred sway”?
Ans. Mercy is above the sceptred sway because the sceptre is a sign of the king’s earthly power but mercy is a quality of God himself and it resides in the heart of people and kings. Mercy is a godly quality never diminishes.
6. What happens when mercy seasons justice?
Ans. When mercy seasons justice that is when a king seasons justice with mercy he becomes like a God.
Language Work
- a) “It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven”
Mercy has been compared to gentle rain using the word “as”. A comparison using the words “as” and “like” (i.e. an indirect comparison) is called a simile while a comparison not using these words (i.e. a direct comparison) is called a metaphor.
Find out the similes and/or metaphors in the poem.
Ans. The similes used in the poem are:
- It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.
- And earthly power doth then show like God’s.
The metaphor used in the poem are:
- It is the mightiest in the mightiest.
- It becomes the throned monarch.
- When mercy seasons justice.
- His sceptre shows the force of temporal power.
- b) The poet in the second line of the poem has used the word ‘droppeth’ which in poetical languages means ‘drops’.
Find out similar words in the poem and also write their meanings used in the poem.
Ans. 1. Strain’d mean forced.
- Blest means blessed.
- Blesseth means bless.
- Tis means this.
- Doth means does.
Let’s Write
Write a paragraph of 100-150 om ‘Being merciful means being wealthy’
Ans. A person, who has a merciful heart, is wealthier than the materialistically wealthiest person in the world. With this wealth of mercy, we can maintain good relations with others. The quality of mercy showers on us the love and respect of others that can hardly be bought with any amount of wealth. So, it can rightly be said that being merciful means being wealthy. It is wealth not in terms of material things, but terms of God’s blessings. The love of man is the love of God. One who loves mankind and has a merciful heart is nearest to God.
That’s all about Mercy Poem 6 Summary and Question Answers. Hope you have got your answers. Do share your views about this post in the comment section below.
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