The question answers of the poem “You Are Old Father William” discussed in this post is based on the Tulip Series Book V for students of Class 5th of JKBOSE. In my previous post, you have read about the Summary of the poem You Are Old Father William. This particular post is about You Are Old Father William Class 5 Question Answers, Stanza wise explanation of poem, Language Work and Let’s Write. Let’s get started with the post:
You Are Old Father William Class 5 Question Answers
Reading Is Fun
1. What did the young man say to Father William?
Ans. Father William was quite old and yet he stands on his head. The young man asked him if it was right to stand on his head at this age.
2. What was Father William’s reply?
Ans. Father William replied that when he was young, he feared that standing on his head might injure his brain. But now that he was sure it had no brain in his head so he was doing it again and again.
3. What was the funny thing Father William did in his old age?
Ans. The funny thing that Father William did in his old age was that he used to stand on his head. The young found it very dangerous and he suggested him not to attempt such things at this age.
4. How did Father William keep his limbs flexible in his youth?
Ans. When he was young, Father William used to rub an ointment on his limbs to keep them flexible.
5. What advice did the young man give to Father William?
Ans. The young man advised Father William that he should not stand on his head because it is very dangerous as he was old. It might hurt him because he had been getting old and fatty day by day. He should avoid such funny things at this age.
6. The poem is full of humourous expressions like – ‘And yet you incessantly stand on your head.’ Write down the other humourous expressions/lines from the poem.
Ans. These lines from the poem have humourous expressions
1. ‘I’ am perfectly sure I have none.
2. ‘Allow me to sell you a couple’,
3. ‘Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door.
4. ‘Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak.’
5. ‘Argued each case with my wife’,
Language Work
1. ‘Downstairs’ is a compound word used in the last line of the poem which is made up of ‘down’ + ‘stairs’ = ‘downstairs. Now consult a dictionary and find at least ten more words that end or start with ‘stair’ or ‘stairs’. Before consulting the dictionary, you may do this exercise in class with your friends.
Ans. Staircase, 2. Upstairs, 3. Stairwell, 4. Stairway, 5. Stairhead, 6. Stairless, 7. Backstairs, 8. Stairsteps, 9. Belowstairs, 10. Stairmaster 11. Stairfoot
2. In the first four lines of the poem, the last four words, i.e., ‘said’ and ‘head’ and ‘white’ and ‘right’ rhyme with each other alternately (that is, they end in similar sounds). Now find the other rhyming words used in the poem.
Ans. Other rhyming words used in the poem are:
| Said – Head | White – Right |
| Son – None | Brain – Again |
| Supple – Couple | Before – Door |
| Fat – That | Lock – Box |
| Weak – Beak | Law – Jaw |
| Wife – Life | Suppose – Nose |
| Ever – Clever | Enough – Stuff |
Let’s Write
Write a short paragraph on Father William.
Ans. Father William, is a funny character in the poem. He is an old man but still, he does some funny which does not suit his age. His son questioned him about what he does in his old age. He answered all the questions of his son in a funny manner. The old man stands on his head for a long time because he feels he had no brain in his head. He can somersault with help of his flexible limbs. He balances an eel fish on his nose. He also eats up a goose with its bones and beak.
At the end of the poem, the old man got irritated by the questions of the young man and he tells him that he’s had enough of his questions, and it is better to go away or he will kick him downstairs.
Stanza wise Explanation of Poem You Are Old Father William
Stanza 1
“You are old, Father William,” the young man said,
“And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head –
Do you think, at your age, it is right?”
Explanation
In this stanza, the young man told Father William that he is old and his hair has also become white and he asks him if it was right for him to constantly stand on his head
Stanza 2
“In my youth,” Father William replied to his son,
“I feared it might injure the brain;
But, now that I’m perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again.”
Explanation
Father William’s answer to the question in the first stanza is that when he was young, he thought he might injure his brain if he stood on his head, but now he knows he has no brain so he does it repeatedly.
Stanza 3
“You are old,” said the youth, “as I mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back somersault in at the door –
Pray, what is the reason of that?”
Explanation
The son repeats his statement that Father William is old and that he has grown extremely fat, and asks why is he still doing back somersault. He said it is quite dangerous for him.
Stanza 4
“In my youth,” said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
“I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment – one shilling the box –
Allow me to sell you a couple?”
Explanation
The father replies that when he was young, he used to rub a special kind of ointment on his limbs that kept his arms and legs flexible and offers to sell the young man a couple of boxes of the cream.
Stanza 5
“You are old,” said the youth, “and your jaws are too weak
For anything tougher than suet;
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak –
Pray, how did you manage to do it?”
Explanation
The young man repeats that Father William is old and at his age, the teeth and jaws of a person become too weak to eat anything except fat. Then he asks his father how he was able to finish the goose they ate at dinner, including the tough parts which usually are not eaten.
Stanza 6
“In my youth,” said his father, “I took to the law,
And argued each case with my wife;
And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,
Has lasted the rest of my life.”
Explanation
Father William replies to the question that he had been a lawyer and he used to argue every case with his wife before the court’s proceedings. It is the exercise of arguing that has strengthened the muscular strength of jaws.
Stanza 7
“You are old,” said the youth, “one would hardly suppose
That your eye was steady as ever;
Yet, you balanced an eel on the end of your nose –
What made you so awfully clever?”
Explanation
The young man once again said that his father is too old and that at his age his eyesight should be weak by now. He asks his father how he balances an eel on the end of his nose and how he has become so smart.
Stanza 8
“I have answered three questions, and that is enough,”
Said his father. “Don’t give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off, or I’ll kick you downstairs!”
Explanation
Father William got irritated by this and says that three questions are enough for him to answer and criticizes the young man for “giving himself airs,”. He says he doesn’t have time to listen to his son’s nonsense and tells him to leave or he will kick him down the stairs.
That’s it about You Are Old Father William Class 5 Question Answers. Hope it has answered your query. Do share your views in comments:
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