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    10. A Legend of the Northland - Class 9 - Beehive



    Poet: Phoebe Cary

    Textbook: Beehive (Class IX)

    Genre: Narrative Poem / Ballad / Folk Legend


    📝 Summary

    “A Legend of the Northland” is a narrative poem that retells a folk tale from the Northland (a cold northern region) where St. Peter, in disguise, visits a selfish woman. Hungry after preaching all day, he asks her for a piece of cake. She keeps baking smaller and smaller cakes, but cannot part with any.


    Angered by her greed and lack of generosity, St. Peter curses her to become a woodpecker, doomed to live in the woods and earn her food by boring into trees. The poem explains why woodpeckers have red caps and live in the forest — blending moral lesson with myth.


    👤 About the Poet: Phoebe Cary

    • An American poet (1824–1871)

    • Known for poems with religious, moral, and humanitarian themes

    • This poem reflects her interest in folktales and ethical storytelling


    📚 Themes

    Theme

    Description

    Greed and Selfishness

    The woman refuses to share even a small cake

    Kindness and Generosity

    St. Peter expects basic hospitality from humans

    Punishment and Justice

    Selfishness leads to transformation as a lesson

    Folklore and Myth

    The poem uses a legendary style to explain nature

    Spiritual Consequences

    Morality tied to divine justice through St. Peter


    ✨ Literary Devices

    Device

    Example / Function

    Alliteration

    “Faint and fasting” – creates musical rhythm

    Rhyme Scheme

    Regular abab pattern – ballad form

    Personification

    Cake described as “too large to give away” – adds humour

    Repetition

    “She looked at the cake and thought it small” – emphasizes selfishness

    Imagery

    “Too large to give away” – vividly shows her greed

    Symbolism

    The woodpecker symbolizes consequences of selfishness

    Narrative Voice

    Folkloric tone makes it feel like a moral fable


    📖 Title Justification

    The title “A Legend of the Northland” suits the poem perfectly as it introduces a folk tale from a northern land, blending myth, moral, and nature. It evokes a timeless story with a moral lesson, told in the style of traditional legends, explaining the origin of the woodpecker through a blend of fantasy and ethics.


    ✅ One-Mark Questions (One-Sentence Answers)

    Q1. Who visits the woman in the poem?

    👉 Saint Peter, disguised as a traveller, visits the woman.


    Q2. What does the saint ask for?

    👉 He asks for a piece of cake as he is faint with hunger.


    Q3. Why does the woman not give the cake?

    👉 She keeps thinking every cake is too large to give away.


    Q4. What does St. Peter turn the woman into?

    👉 He turns her into a woodpecker as punishment.


    Q5. What lesson does the poem convey?

    👉 The poem teaches that greed leads to consequences and we should be generous.


    ✅ Three-Mark Questions

    Q1. Describe the woman’s behavior in the poem.

    👉 The woman is greedy and selfish. Though she appears to help, she cannot part with any cake. She even bakes smaller cakes but still refuses to give them, showing that her heart lacks kindness.


    Q2. How does the poem use fantasy to convey a moral?

    👉 The poem uses the myth of a saint and a transformation curse to teach a moral about generosity. The transformation of the woman into a bird makes the lesson memorable through fantasy.


    Q3. Why does St. Peter curse the woman?

    👉 St. Peter curses her because, despite being blessed with enough to eat, she refuses to share with someone hungry. Her lack of empathy and generosity angers him.


    🧠 Value-Based Question

    Q. What values does “A Legend of the Northland” promote?

    👉 The poem promotes values of kindness, generosity, and selflessness. It reminds us that even small acts of giving matter and that greed can lead to undesirable outcomes. True spirituality lies in compassion.



    END


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