Maps
Written by Dorothy Brown Thompson, an
American writer
Word Meanings
|
Exotic – originating or
characteristic of a particular foreign country |
Poem Meaning
High adventure and bright dream
maps are mightier than they seem
Here the poet signifies the great deal of
information that is there on the maps, which are very important, but they seem
to have a lot of more exciting adventures inside them.
Ships that follow cleaning stars
red and gold of strange bazaars
In this paragraph, the poet says that maps
help the ships to far off places, which were guided by the Stars leading them
to the land that sell exotic things.
Ice floes hid beyond all knowing
planes that ride where winds are blowing
In this paragraph the poet is sharing with
us two uses of maps. Firstly, they direct the ship away from dangerous ice
bergs, which result in collision in the polar region. Secondly, they also
enable the flights through areas where strong winds blow which cause
turbulence.
Green maps, maps of wind and weather,
roadmaps - taken altogether
In these lines, the poet is mentioning the
different kinds of maps – train maps that provide information to the train
travelers and roadmaps that are used by the riders to move from one place to
another. Some maps also tell us about the changing of weather conditions of any
region.
Maps are really magic wands
for home staying Vagabonds!
In this last stanza, the poet compares
maps to the magical wizards because of their power to transport the imagination
of a person to the strange and fascinating lands, which he has never visited,
even though he is sitting at home.
Answer these:
1.
Read the first stanza.
How are high adventure and pride dream related to maps?
Maps are a storehouse of knowledge they
may look like small pieces of paper but contain a great deal of information for
people who dream of scaling the mountains or exploring the world.
2.
What are some of the
things That maps bring to the speaker’s mind?
Some of the things that maps bring to the
speaker’s mind are ships, strange bazaars, floating chunks of ice, breezy
lands, etc.
3.
What are the different
kinds of maps that the speaker mentions?
The different kinds of maps mentioned by
the speaker are train maps, wind and weather maps and the road maps.
4.
Maps are really magic
bands for home staying Vega Bonds!
a.
Why have maps been
called magic wands?
Maps have been called Magic wands because
they act like magic wands, which help to transport our imagination to any place
of our choice, instantly.
b.
How can someone be
home staying and a Vagabond at the same time?
Vagabond is a person who moves from one
place to another without any preparation. A person staying at home, who is
thinking of imaginary places, can go there instantly in his imagination, thus
he becomes Vagabond.
5.
“Maps are mightier
than they seem”
a.
This line suggests
that maps do not seem very mighty at first. Why should that be?
This line tells us that maps may look like
pieces of paper but in reality, they are a bulk of knowledge.
b.
How does the entire
poem argue that maps are in fact not only important but also magical?
The poem argues that maps are important as
they give us information about trains, roads winds and weather. Without this
information, we would not be able to know. Maps are also magical because they
help us imagine things that are not mentioned in the maps themselves, but can
be found in the places that the maps mention, such as ships, strange markets
and ice floes.
6.
Ships, markets, ice
and airplanes - the poem mentions these things in such a way that all of them
sound attractive how does it do that?
The line “ships that follow leaning stars”
draws a picture of sheep sailing under a night sky full of stars, as if the
stars are showing way to the ships. This acts as an element of mystery and
adventure to the ships. The line “red and gold of strange bazaars” uses three
words to make market word sound attractive – strange, red and gold. It also
uses the word bazaar rather than market to make it sound a bit more unfamiliar
and curious. “Ice floes hit beyond all knowing” makes us imagine a strange
windy land where many big things are hidden by sight and are waiting to be
discovered by us. Finally, “planes that ride where winds are blowing” reminds
us that airplanes travel to many different places as if carried there by wind just
like paper planes and there will always be new places to discover.
7.
Think of another thing
that looks simple and humble on the surface but which can be powerful and
exciting. What is it? Write a short paragraph about how it helps to fuel your
imagination.
A book of paintings may look simple and
humble on the surface, but it can fire our imagination by showing a strange,
wonderful or even imaginary places, people and things.
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