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Workbook Solutions of Where The Mind is Without Fear by-Rabindranath Tagore
Class - 9&10
Board - ICSE

A Collection of ICSE Poems and Short Stories

I.

(i) The words ‘mind is without fear’ mean that one does not have
any fear of oppression or compulsion. The poet is talking about
the minds of the people of his country. He says so because his
country was under the subjugation of the British, who perpetrated
all sorts of oppression on his countrymen.

(ii) The words ‘the head is held high’ mean to have self respect. The
head is bowed down because of exploitation and oppression of
the Indians by the British. It needs to be held high with pride
and dignity which characterised the Indians before India was
reduced to the status of a subjugated nation.

(iii) By the words ‘Where knowledge is free’, the poet wants to say
that in his country everyone should have the freedom to acquire
knowledge without any restriction. The restrictions imposed on
the spread of knowledge include the prejudices based on wealth,
caste and religion. Further, the British imposed restrictions on
the basis of the ruler (the British) and the ruled (the Indians).
They curbed the freedom of speech and expression by putting
restrictions on the Press.

(iv) Due to the restrictions imposed on the spread of knowledge,
people remained glued to their outdated customs and traditions
and could not think rationally.

(v) A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines divided into an octave (the
first eight lines) and a sestet (the last six lines). The octave
presents an idea, raises an argument, makes a proposition or
poses a problem, whereas the sestet gives a solution to the
problem posed by the octave.
The poem ‘Where the Mind is Without Fear’ comprises an octave, in
which the poet talks about the wonderful qualities his countrymen
must achieve to make their country free and heaven-like. Since
this poem is only a part of the complete song in his Nobel Prize
winning work, Gitanjali, we can say that this poem is a part of
the complete sonnet.


II.

(i) According to the poet, the narrow domestic walls or divisions
based on caste, class, colour, religion, creed, region and
superstitions break up the world into fragments or mutually
exclusive compartments.

(ii) The narrow domestic walls refer to narrow local divisions created

by prejudices like caste, colour, creed, region and religion. They
are called ‘narrow’ by the poet because they are based on ageold
customs and traditions and not on the basis of rational
thinking.

(iii) The narrow domestic walls can harm the nation by creating
divisions among people and thereby, undermining the unity and
integrity of the nation.

(iv) The poet wants to say that his countrymen should be able
to express themselves truthfully without any fear. He feels so
because his countrymen at that time did not have freedom of
expression as various restrictions were imposed on the freedom
of speech and the Press by the British.

(v) Examples of alliteration are:
(a) Where the world
(b) Where words

(vi) The poet shows that he has a religious outlook by praying to
God to let his country awake to a blissful heaven of freedom.




III.

(i) ‘Tireless striving’ means to work hard without getting tired to
achieve perfection. The poet wants his countrymen to achieve
the highest goals, i.e., freedom at all levels — political, religious,
spiritual, moral and intellectual.

(ii) Reasoning allows a person to have clarity of thoughts without
being restricted by narrow domestic walls such as caste, colour,
creed, religion, region and superstitions. That is why it has been
compared to a clear stream which is free of all impurities.

(iii) ‘Dreary desert sand of dead habit’ is a metaphor. Through this
metaphor the poet wants to say that his countrymen should
work for perfection in everything and should not be led astray
from their goal in the dry desert of dead habits, i.e., in a place
where outdated customs and traditions are followed.

(iv) According to the poet, the hurdles in achieving perfection include
the outdated customs and traditions based on irrational thinking
rather than sound reasoning and scientific thought.

(v) The figure of speech in the third line of the given extract is a
‘metaphor’. For explanation refer to answer (iii) above.

(vi) This poem by Rabindranath Tagore is taken from his original
volume called Naibedya, which bears the title ‘Prarthana’, i.e.,
prayer. In this poem, the poet prays to a universal father-figure,
i.e., God to let his country awake to a blissful heaven of freedom.
Thus, the poem is a song of prayer.

IV.

(i) ‘Thee’ refers to God.

(ii) The mind of the poet’s countrymen is to be led forward to the
‘heaven of freedom’, i.e., to an ideal state where there is total
freedom at all levels — political, religious, spiritual, moral and
intellectual.

(iii) The phrase ‘Heaven of freedom’ means an ideal state, where the
poet wants the Almighty to lead his countrymen to. The three
qualities required to be able to attain the heaven of freedom include:-
(a) there is no oppression and people can hold their heads high
in self-respect.
(b) there are no prejudices based on caste, colour, creed, religion,
region and superstitions.
(c) people should work tirelessly to attain perfection in everything
by following scientific thought and rational thinking, without
being led to follow obsolete traditions and customs.

(iv) ‘Father’ in the above extract is a reference for God. He will awake
the country by leading the poet’s countrymen to a heavenly state
where there are all kinds of freedom and where they can hold
their heads high in self-respect, without any fear of oppression
or compulsion.

(v) The poet prays for his country to attain all kinds of freedom —
political, religious, spiritual, moral and intellectual. And only
then it will attain the blissful heaven of freedom, an ideal state
where his countrymen would be able to hold their heads high in
self-respect, will not have a blurred vision based on prejudices
and work tirelessly to attain perfection in every sphere of life.



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