NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 1 Try Again (Eliza Cook) — Let us discuss
Book page 19 Updated on2026-09-05
Q1.
Complete the summary of the poem by filling in the blanks with suitable words from the text given in the box below. Share your answers with the teacher. An example has been given. Box: tried, mounted, despair, attempts, great, conquered, low, strive. — The poem, written in a narrative style, tells the story of King Bruce of Scotland, who was feeling 1. _____ after failing multiple times to achieve something 2. _____ for his people. In a moment of 3. _____, he observed a spider trying to reach its web high above. The spider 4. _____ every time it fell after getting close to its goal. It made nine 5. _____ and finally succeeded. The king said that the spider had 6. _____ and so would he. Inspired by the spider's determination, King Bruce decided to 7. _____. When he 8. _____ this time, he ultimately succeeded.
Answer
Blank
Word
Line in the poem that supports it
1
low
“He flung himself down in low despair”
2
great
“For he had been trying to do a great deed, / To make his people glad”
3
despair
“…in low despair, / As grieved as man could be”
4
mounted
“Again it fell and swung below, / But again it quickly mounted”
5
attempts
“Nine brave attempts were counted”
6
conquered
“He conquered, and why shouldn't I?”
7
strive
“that foolish thing / Will strive no more to climb”
8
tried
“That he tried once more as he tried before”
The completed summary reads: “…who was feeling low after failing multiple times to achieve something great for his people. In a moment of despair, he observed a spider… The spider mounted every time it fell… It made nine attempts and finally succeeded. The king said that the spider had conquered and so would he. Inspired by the spider's determination, King Bruce decided to strive. When he tried this time, he ultimately succeeded.”
Q2.
Complete the following sentence suitably: We can say that the poet uses the narrative style because ________.
Answer
We can say that the poet uses the narrative style because the poem tells a complete story in verse — it has a character (King Bruce), a setting (a room with a high ceiling dome), a problem (he has failed and wants to give up), a turning point (the spider's ninth climb) and an ending (“he tried once more… and that time did not fail”), and the events are told in the order in which they happened.
Tip: A narrative poem tells; a lyric poem feels. If you can retell a poem as a story with a beginning, middle and end, it is narrative — like Try Again.
Q3.
Complete the following sentence suitably: The central idea of the poem is ________.
Answer
The central idea of the poem is perseverance — that failure is not final, and that anyone who keeps trying after every fall will finally succeed.
The spider falls again and again yet climbs “not a second to stay, / To utter the least complaint”, and its ninth attempt carries it home. King Bruce draws the lesson himself: “All honour to those who try… He conquered, and why shouldn't I?” The title states the idea in two words.
Q4.
Pick three examples from the poem of lines that describe the spider's efforts.
Answer
“It soon began to cling and crawl / Straight up with strong endeavour”
“Up, up it ran, not a second to stay, / To utter the least complaint”
“Again it fell and swung below, / But again it quickly mounted”
A fourth, if you need one: “Steadily, steadily, inch by inch, / Higher and higher he got.”
Why it happens: Every one of these lines pairs a fall with a fresh climb. The poet never lets the spider rest at the bottom of the line — that is how the poem builds its message without stating it.
Q5.
Pick three examples from the poem of alliteration (the repetition of the same consonant sounds at the beginning of closely connected words).
Answer
Line
Repeated sound
“It soon began to cling and crawl”
/k/
“But down it came with a slippery sprawl”
/s/
“And Bruce of Scotland braced his mind”
/b/
Two more you may use: “Straight up with strong endeavour” and “Steadily, steadily”.
Tip: Alliteration is about sound, not spelling. In “cling and crawl” the letters are different from “king”, but the sound /k/ is the same, so it counts.
Q6.
Why does the poet repeat the following words or phrases in the poem? tried and tried; steadily, steadily; up, up
Answer
The repetition makes us feel the effort instead of merely being told about it.
Repetition
Effect
“He had tried and tried”
Shows that Bruce's failure came after many honest attempts — so his despair is understandable, not weakness.
“Steadily, steadily, inch by inch”
Slows the line down to the pace of the spider's last climb, so we climb with it.
“Up, up it ran”
Quickens the line and gives a sense of a sudden, eager rush upward.
Why it happens: Repetition is also the theme of the poem in miniature. A poem about doing the same thing over and over says its key words over and over.
Q7.
Fill in the blank by choosing the correct answer from within the brackets: The rhyme scheme of the poem is ____________. (AABB/ABBA/ABAB)
Answer
ABAB
King Bruce of Scotland flung himself down — A
In a lonely mood to think; — B
'Tis true he was monarch, and wore a crown, — A
But his heart was beginning to sink. — B
Check it in another stanza: glad / succeed / sad rhyme as deed–glad–succeed–sad → ABAB again.
Q8.
Fill in the blank by choosing the correct answer from within the brackets: ‘Bravo' is an example of ____________. (conjunction/interjection/adjective)
Answer
interjection
An interjection is a word thrown into a sentence to express a sudden feeling, and it is usually followed by an exclamation mark: “Bravo, bravo!” the King cried out. It is not joining two clauses (that would be a conjunction) and it is not describing a noun (that would be an adjective).
Tip: The poem has another interjection — “Ah me! 'tis an anxious minute”. Also “Oh say, will he lose or win it?”
Q9.
Fill in the blank by choosing the correct answer from within the brackets: The poet uses ‘twas and ‘tis for the sake of ____________. (rhythm/rhyme/contraction)
Answer
rhythm
Why it happens: ‘Twas' and ‘'tis' are contractions of “it was” and “it is” — but the question asks what the poet gains by using them. Each shortened form removes one syllable, and that keeps the line in its beat: “'Twas a long way up to the ceiling dome” scans correctly, while “It was a long way up to the ceiling dome” has one syllable too many. The reason is therefore rhythm (metre), not rhyme.
Check it yourself: Read aloud “'Twas a delicate thread it had to tread” and then “It was a delicate thread it had to tread”. The second version stumbles.