Q1.
Intonation is the rise and fall of the pitch of tone while speaking. The ‘falling’ tone is the fall in the pitch of the voice from a high level to a low level. It is marked [ ]. The falling tone is generally used in imperative sentences. Such sentences are used in speech for different communicative purposes— to express a command or an instruction, to ask for a favour or to give a warning. Read the following sentences from the text with the falling tone. • Come here! • Seize this magic brush… • Paint my fortress tall! • Go and fetch some rice.
Answer
In a falling tone the voice starts high on the stressed word and drops away to a low note at the end. It signals that the speaker has finished and expects no argument — which is why commands, instructions and warnings all take it.
| Sentence | Say it with the fall on… | Purpose in the poem | Who says it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Come here! | HERE ↘ | A summons — but whispered, so the fall is quiet and urgent | The old man with the brush |
| Seize this magic brush… | SEIZE ↘ … BRUSH ↘ | A command to his men, shouted in anger | The Zamindar |
| Paint my fortress tall! | TALL ↘ | An order, thundered “through the door” | The Zamindar |
| Go and fetch some rice. | RICE ↘ | An everyday instruction at home — calm, not angry | Gopi's mother |
The tone carries meaning that the words do not. All four sentences are imperatives with the same falling pattern, yet they sound completely different because of how far and how fast the voice falls and how loud the start is. “Go and fetch some rice” falls gently. “Paint my fortress tall!” starts much higher and drops hard — that is what makes it a threat. Read the two aloud one after the other and you will hear the whole difference between the household and the palace.
Compare with a rising tone: say “Come here?” with the voice going up at the end and it stops being a command and becomes an uncertain question. Same three letters, opposite meaning — that is what intonation does.