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Haunted Houses Revised

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59 views2 pages

Haunted Houses Revised

Uploaded by

pawarujjwal79
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Haunted Houses

By- H. W Longfellow

1. Which houses are ‘haunted’? Who haunts them?


All houses where people have lived and died are haunted houses. They are haunted by
the phantoms of those who lived here. These phantoms may be spirits of the departed. They
may also be the memories of those who lived and died in those houses. These houses retain
the essence of those who lived and died here.

2. What kind of a spirit-world is imagined by the poet?


The phantoms or spirits are harmless and benign. They go about their errands quietly
without making any sound upon the floors.

3. Where do the present occupants of the house meet them? How do they know that the
phantoms are there?
The presents occupants of the house meet them at the door-way, on the stairs or along
the passages as they come and go.
The phantoms cannot be seen or touched. They are intangible (impalpable- cannot be
seen or touched). One can only get a sense of something moving to and fro.
Metaphorical meaning: The presence of the spirits is due to memories and emotions
associated with them.

4. Who are the uninvited guests at the table? How are these uninvited guests described?
The uninvited guests are the spirits of people who lived and died in the house.
These spirits are quiet and inoffensive. They are as silent as pictures on the wall. (simile)

5. Why are they uninvited?


They are uninvited because they are the former dwellers of the house who are dead now.
Metaphorical meaning: Their presence is a result of memories and emotions associated with
them.

6. Explain the simile.


The uninvited guests at the table are the spirits of people who lived and died in the same
house. They crowd the illuminated hall. They are silent and benign. They are compared to
pictures on the wall because they are as silent as the pictures. Their presence is not malignant
or scary in any way. They are quiet and inoffensive.

7. What can the speaker see that others do not?


The stranger or the outsider cannot see nor hear the phantoms who live in the house.
Only the present dwellers can see and hear them.
The outsider can only see the present physical world, ‘he perceives what is’. The speaker
can see all those phantoms from the past. They are clear and visible to him.

8. ‘We have no title-deeds’. Who are the speakers here?


• The present occupants of the house are the speakers here.
• The previous occupants stretch out their dead hands from their graves to hold on to their
estates.

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Metaphorical meaning: There is a connection between the world of the living and the world of
the dead. The dead exert their impact on the present. Their influence continues after their
deaths.

9. Describe the spirit-world.


• The spirit world surrounds the physical world.
• It floats like an atmosphere. The spirit-world is delicate like atmosphere.
• It floats though the mists and vapours of the earth and is everywhere.
• It is described as ethereal air or light and unearthly air.
• Metaphorical meaning: The spirit world that surrounds us refers to memories of people
who are dead but still exert influence over us.

10. What brings balance in our lives?


• Opposite attractions and desires bring balance in our lives.
• We have instincts that urge us to seek pleasure and enjoy life.
• We also have noble emotions that aspire us to perform noble deeds.

11. What is the meaning of ‘perturbations’?


Perturbations refer to strife or internal conflicts.

12. What is in the ‘perpetual jar’?


• Perpetual refers to something that never ends or changes. Perpetual jar is a metaphor for
the human soul.
• The earthly wants, desires and aspirations are caused by the influence of an unseen star
or an undiscovered planet in the sky.
• Unseen star and undiscovered planet refer to unknown forces that influence us.

13. How is the bridge of light formed?


• The bridge of light is formed when the moon shines from behind a dark cloud. The rays of
the moon fall upon the sea and form a bridge of light.

14. What is the function of the bridge?


• Our thoughts and fancies (our imagination) travel across this bridge into the realm of
mystery and night.

15. What is the purpose of the bridge of light that descends from the world of spirits?
• Just as the light from the moon forms a bridge between the sea and the sky, there is a
bridge that connects the world of spirits with the physical world.
• This bridge is unsteady and it bends and sways. This bridge helps us in travelling above this
dark abyss, which is this material world, and connect with the spirits from the past.
• The bridge symbolizes the connection between the real earthy world and the spiritual
world.
• The bridge also, symbolically connects the past with the present.

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