ICSE Students can refer to After Blenheim Summary ICSE below which has been prepared by expert English teachers of ICSE as per that latest syllabus and guidelines issued by ICSE. These Chapter summaries have been prepared to help students to understand the entire chapter easily. You can also refer to more study material for ICSE Class 10 on our website
ICSE Class 10 English After Blenheim Summary
We have provided below a summary of Chapter After Blenheim. This is an important chapter in Standard 10th ICSE English. The summary provided below has been prepared by expert English faculty for ICSE based on the latest ICSE books. You should refer to all Chapter Summaries ICSE Class 10 English which will help you to understand all chapters and to get more marks in exams.
After Blenheim ICSE Class 10 English
About the Poet
Robert Southey (12 August, 1774 – 21 March, 1843) was a prolific writer of verse and histories and an accomplished biographer. After meeting Samuel Taylor Coleridge, he published his first collection of poems in 1794.
Though contemporar
y with Coleridge and Wordsworth, he is one of the less celebrated poets, and he wrote one of the first anti-war poems, ‘After Blenheim’. His other famous work being ‘The Inchcape Rock.’
Summary
Robert Southey’s poem ‘After Blenheim’ illustrates the theme that war, though being pointless and brutal, affects everyone. The poem is set at the site of the ‘Battle of Blenheim (1704)’. It is narrated in the form of questions of small children and about a skull one of them has found. An old man tells his grandchildren about the burnt homes, civil causalities and rotting corpses, while repeatedly referring to the poem as a ‘famous victory.’
Explanation of the Poem
Stanza 1 & 2
“It was a summer evening,
Old Kaspar’s work was done,
And he before is cottage door
Was sitting in the sun,
And by him sported on the green
His little grandchild Wilhelmine.
She saw her brother Peterkin
Roll something large and round,
Which he beside the rivulet
In playing there had found;
He came to ask what he had found,
That was so large, and smooth, and round.”
Explanation: Old Kaspar has finished his work and was sitting in the sun in front of the cottage, watching his little granddaughter play. Peterkin, his grandson, has been rolling a large round object he found near the stream. Out of curiosity he brings it to the old man.
Word Meanings :
Stanza 3 & 4
“Old Kaspar took it from the boy,
Who stood expectant by?
And then the old man shook his head,
And, with a natural sigh,
“T is some poor fellow’s skull,’ said he,
‘Who fell in the great victory?
‘I find them in the garden,
For there’s many here about;
And often when I go to plough,
The ploughshare turns them out!
For many thousand men,’ said he
‘Were slain in that great victory.”
Explanation: Kaspar took the object from the boy – who waited anxiously. The old man examines it and tells that he has found many such objects while ploughing the fields or in their garden, and it is the skull of a soldier who died in the Battle of Blenheim, which was a ‘great victory,’ as many men were killed in that battle and were not given a decent burial.
Word Meanings :
Stanza 5 & 6
“Now tell us what ‘twas all about,’
Young peterkin, he cries;
And little wilhelmine looks up
With wonder-waiting eyes;
‘Now tell us about the war,
And what they fought each other for.’
‘It was the English,’ Kaspar cried,
‘Who put the French to rout?
But what they fought each other for,
I could not well make out;
But everybody said,’ guoth he,
‘That ‘twas a famous victory.”
Explanation: Peterkin and Wilhenmine are interested to know more about it and urge their grandfather to tell them about the war and why it was fought. They anticipated a thrilling and exciting story which they waited to hear with a gleam in their eyes.
Old Kaspar recollects that, in this ‘famous battle’, as what people called it, the English defeated the French. But he himself had no clue of the reason behind the war. It shows a common man’s ignorance about the cause and purpose of war.
Word Meanings :
Stanza 7, 8 & 9
“My father lived at Blenheim then,
Yon little steam hard by;
They burnt his dwelling to the ground,
And he was forced to fly;
So with his wife and child he fled,
Nor had he where to rest his head.
‘With fire and sword the country round
Was wasted far and wide,
And many a chiding mother then,
And new-born baby died;
But things like that, you know, must be
At every famous victory.”
Explanation: The old grandfather tells the children that, during the war his father lived by a stream at Blenheim. As a consequence of the war, his father’s house was burnt down and he was forced to flee with his wife and child, Kaspar. They were, thus, rendered homeless.
In this stanza, the poet highlights the fact that, wars and battles are a massive source of misery and pain. It shows the destruction caused by them. Kaspar tells that, when the war was over, it was a shocking sight to see. Houses were burnt, innocent people were killed, many pregnant women and new-born babies lost their lives. There was death and horror everywhere. Thousands of dead bodies of soldiers lay rotting in the field. But Kaspar talks about those killings casually and thinks that such terrible consequences are part of such a famous war.
Word Meanings :
Stanza 10 & 11
“Great praise the Duke of Marlbro’s won
And our good Prince Eugene.’
‘Why, ‘twas a very wicked thing!’
Said little Wilhelmine.
‘Nay …. nay….. my little girl,’ quoth he,
‘It was a famous victory.
‘And everybody praised the Duke
Who this great fight did win.’
‘But what good came of it at last?’
Quoth little Peterkin.
‘Why that I cannot tell,’ said he,
‘But‘t was a famous victory”
Explanation: An English General, Duke of Marlborough along with Prince Eugene, an Austrian General, led the war against the French and defeated them in the famous ‘Battle of Blenheim’ and thus, brought glory to their country.
Little Wilhenmine was confused and asks her grandfather, how could he praise such a bloody affair. She terms the killing of innocent people as wicked. But he contradicts her. According to him, it was a great victory. Peterkin raises an important question about what good came out of the fighting. To this Kaspar replies that, he had no reply but he just knows that it was a famous victory.
Thus, the poet ironically states the fact that, the wars are seen as a glorifying act and the war-heroes are held in high esteem, without understanding what good they have brought to mankind and why such victory becomes great or famous.
Word Meaning :
Duke — A man of very high rank in the British nobility
After Blenheim Important Questions and Answers
Read the stanza and answer the questions:
She saw her brother peterkin
Roll something large and round
Which he beside the rivulet in playing there had found;
He came to ask what he had found,
That was so large , and smooth and round.
Question. Whose family has been referred to earlier in the context?
Ans. The family of Old Kaspar has been referred to in the extract. His granddaughter Wilhelmine and grandson Peterkin.
Question. Who was Wilhelmine? What was she doing?
Ans. Wilhelmine was Old Kaspar’s granddaughter. She was playing on the grass.
Question. What did she see Peterkin doing?
Ans. The little girl Wilhelmine saw her brother Peterkin rolling something that was large and round. Peterkin had found the thing by the side of a stream while playing.
Question. Why did Peterkin come home?
Ans. Peterkin, while playing had found something which he had brought home to ask his grandfather what it was.
Question. What did his grandfather tell him?
Ans. The old man Kaspar took it from Peterkin who stood expectantly for an answer. Kaspar looked at it, shook his head in sorrow and sighed. He said that it was somebody’s skull.
Read the stanza and answer the questions:
“Now tell us what ’twas all about.’
Young peterkin, he cries;
And little While line looks up
With wonder-waiting eyes;
‘Now tell us about the war,
And what they fought each other for.’
Question. What was the curiosity in young Peterkin’s mind?
Ans. Peterkin was curious to know why the war was fought. He was anxious to know everything about the war. He could not comprehend the validity of war and considered it futile.
Question. Explain the expression, ‘wonder- waiting eyes’.
Ans. Wonder-waiting eyes is used for Wilhelmine who was eagerly waiting for an answer from her grandfather. It is an alliteration. It means surprised, waiting for a reply.
Question. “What they fought each other for”? This is the most puzzling question in the context of all wars. How?
Ans. The children wanted to know the outcome of war from their grandfather, Old Kaspar. They failed to understand why the war was fought. There can never be a valid reason for war as it leads to death and destruction.
Question. What answer did the old man provide?
Ans. The response of Old Kaspar was that he did not know what good came out of the war, but he still felt it was ‘a famous victory’. His response is conventional.
Question. Why did the old man’s reply fail to satisfy the young children?
Ans. The children did not understand how their grandfather could praise the war which was totally purposeless and destructive. Old Kaspar’s reply is conventional and undaring, guided by blind patriotism. The poem projects the difference between the viewpoints of the old and new generations.
Read the stanza and answer the questions:
“My father lived at Blenheim then,
You little stream hard by;
They burnt his dwelling to the ground,
And he was forced to fly;
So with his wife and child he field,
Nor had he where to rest his head.’
Question. What happened at Blenheim?
Ans. A battle known as the battle of Blenheim was fought in 1704 in the village of Blenheim between the English and the Austrians on the one side and the French on the other side. The battle resulted in a grand victory of the English under the Duke of Marlborough. In this battle, thousands of men were killed, women became widows and children became orphans. The battle caused widespread death and destruction.
Question. Who were ‘they’ referred to in line 3 of this stanza?
Ans. ‘They’ is referred to the soldiers of the French army.
Question. How was ‘the great victory’ a personal tragedy for Kaspar’s family?
Ans. Old Kaspar’s father lived at Blenheim during the war. His own house was burnt down, and he had to flee with his family. He had no place to take shelter.
Question. What made Kaspar praise a horrible incident?
Ans. Kaspar was of the old conventional view that war should be praised and victory hailed. Therefore even though it was a horrible incident he praised it.
Question. Why did his grandchildren fail to understand his viewpoint?
Ans. The children did not understand how their grandfather could praise the war which was totally purposeless and destructive. Old Kaspar’s reply is conventional and guided by blind patriotism. The poem projects the difference between the viewpoints of the old and new generations.
Read the stanza and answer the questions:
“Great praise the duke of marlbro’ won,
And our good prince eugene.’
‘Why, ’twas a very wicked thing!
Said little whihelmine.
“Nay…..nay…..my little girl,“ quoth he,
‘it was a famous victory.
Question. Why did Kaspar praise the Duke of Marlbrough and Prince Eugene?
Ans. Old Kaspar praised the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene because under their rule the English were able to defeat the French in the battle of Blenheim. According to Old Kaspar, it was a grand and a famous victory worthy of praise.
Question. What was the ‘wicked thing’? Why was it wicked?
Ans. According to Wilhelmine war was ‘wicked’. It was wicked because she could not understand and tolerate the old man’s point of view and praise of war when it had caused such great misery.
Question. Who was Wilhelmine? Why was she horrified by the account of war given by her grandfather?
Ans. Wilhelmine was Old Kaspar’s granddaughter. She was horrified by her grandfather’s praise of war and has a natural and instinctive response to war. She calls it a ‘wicked thing’ and does not agree with her grandfather’s conventional views.
Question. There are two pauses in the line – “Nay…nay…my little girl,” quoth he. What do these pauses show?
Ans. The pauses show that Old Kaspar is also confused when Wilhelmine calls war wicked. He has no justification for it and only repeats what has been told to him by people that the battle of Blenheim was a famous victory.
Question. What is the message of the poem?
Ans. After Blenheim is an anti – war poem that uses an ironic structure to give the message that war is futile and it should not be praised. Thousands of soldiers and ordinary people are killed, wounded or maimed. Houses are burnt, people become homeless and suffer physical and mental anguish. The difference in viewpoints of the old and new generation is brought forth to highlight the horrible consequences of war.
