CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Animals Poem Summary and Notes

According to the CBSE Syllabus 2023-24, this chapter has been removed from NCERT Class 10 English (First Flight) textbook.

The poem Animals is written by Walt Whitman and is taken from one of his literary writings, ‘Song of Myself’ in Leaves of Grass. Here, we have provided the Summary and notes of the CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Animals Poem to help students in their exam preparation. In these English Notes, we have explained each and every line of the poem in detail for students’ easy understanding.

Students can also go through CBSE Essays to improve their writing section of the English paper.

CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Animals Poem Summary

In the poem “Animals”, the poet says that animals are far better than human beings. The poet feels more comfortable with animals and wants to live with them instead of humans. In the entire poem, he draws a comparison between animals and humans. He has pointed out the evil and negative side of human beings, which he feels that animals do not possess. That’s why the poet feels more at home with animals.

CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Animals Poem Summary and Explanation Notes

Students can have a look at the “Animals” poem and its detailed explanation below. The explanation will help students to understand the meaning of the poem in a better way.

Animals Poem Explanation Notes

I think I could turn and live with animals, they are

so placid and self-contain’d,

I stand and look at them long and long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,

They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,

Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with

the mania of owning things,

Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that

lived thousands of years ago,

Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.

So they show their relations to me and I accept them,

They bring me tokens of myself, they evince

them plainly in their possession

I wonder where they get those tokens,

Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?

By WALT WHITMAN

The poet says that he is desirous of living with animals as they are calm and self-contained. He appreciates the numerous qualities of animals. The self-contained nature of animals explains that they are happy in their own lives and do not interfere in others’ lives. They are satisfied with what they have and do not have the greed to earn more than others. Moreover, animals’ calm nature shows that they do not run after materialistic things like humans. They are at peace in all situations. The ups and downs in their life do not bother them. They know how to deal with such situations.

In the second stanza, the poet says that animals do not complain about their life. Whatever the conditions are, they never sweat and cry. Neither do they stay awake till late at night, nor do they cry for their wrongdoings. They are very truthful and do their duties toward God. They are not like humans who do things just to showcase their duties in the name of God. Animals are satisfied with themselves. They do not behave crazily and madly to own things. They are free from their desires and longings.

In the third stanza, the poet says that animals do not bend down on their knees in front of others. He has never seen any animals doing so to show their devotion to others. They have not done this for their ancestors who lived thousands of years ago. Further, the poet says that animals do not show respect to others the way humans do. They are not double-faced, showing themselves well in front of others and having evil thoughts running in their minds. They never feel unhappy and live their life with joy on Earth. Here, the poet conveys that one animal eats another animal as food, but they never hide this. They exhibit their behaviour in front of others as they are. There are no hidden or fake things among animals like humans. That’s why the poet accepts them the way they are. He further says that animals bring happiness to his life and make him feel the way he is. Animals do not hide anything and show their possessions.

In the end, the poet says that he wonders where animals got these good qualities from. He further asks himself, did he lose his good qualities, or has he left them somewhere carelessly a long time back? He feels that humans lost their good qualities and passed them on to the animals.

We hope the explanation and summary of the CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Animal poem must have helped students to understand the context in a better way. To help students prepare well for the English subject, we have provided essays on some familiar topics. By going through the Essay on Independence Day and Essay on Women Empowerment, students will know how to express their thoughts while writing an essay on any topic.