This MCQ module is based on: Words — Charles Swain (Poem)
Words — Charles Swain (Poem)
This assessment will be based on: Words — Charles Swain (Poem)
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Reflect and Respond — Before You Read
Section theme: How much of what we say truly reaches another heart?
1. Why are words important? Can we communicate without words? How? Share your ideas with classmates and teacher.
2. Word grid puzzle. Use the clues to find words from the grid (an example is done for you).
Clue 0: "My mother summoned me to introduce her friends." → summoned
| Clue | Word |
|---|---|
| 1. We eat food to ___ our hunger. | satisfy |
| 2. The train will ___ from the station at 5 p.m. | depart |
| 3. The gardener was removing the ___ to clean the flower beds. | weeds |
| 4. The view from the top of the hill was ___ the difficult climb. | worth |
| 5. The herbs and spices ___ flavour to food. | impart |
| 6. Flowers ___ in spring. | blossom |
| 7. We enjoyed a delicious ___ after the ceremony. | feast |
Notice how every word in this puzzle returns inside Charles Swain's poem.
Theme Web — "Words"
Click any sub-theme node to read how it appears in the poem.
Reading for Appreciation — "Words" by Charles Swain
Six stanzas of four lines each. Click highlighted words for meanings. Literary device tags appear in line.
Stanza-by-Stanza Explanation
Stanza 1 — Words depart, leaving air
If words alone could comfort the heart, then the heart would carry less worry. But words are like summer birds — bright, fleeting, and gone with the season. They leave behind only "empty air" — sound that has nothing in it.
Stanza 2 — The pilgrim heart finds words like weeds
The heart is shown as a pilgrim — a traveller looking for something sacred. When it most needs comfort, it discovers that words are often as worthless as weeds — abundant, easy, but adding nothing of value to the soul.
Stanza 3 — A little, truly said
One short, sincere remark can give deeper joy than a flood of words that touch only the brain. The poet sets up the central contrast: hosts of words → the head; a few true ones → the heart.
Stanza 4 — The dear few
The voice that brightens a lonely home with its "sunny way" usually has the fewest words. But those few are precious. The exclamation "But, oh! those few, how dear!" shows the poet's strong emotion.
Stanza 5 — A world-sized feast that never comes
The poet uses cosmic hyperbole — if words really filled the chest, the entire world would celebrate. But when tested, words usually satisfy the least. The mismatch between abundance and impact is the poem's quiet ache.
Stanza 6 — Showy plants without fruit
Empty speech is compared to a plant covered in showy blossoms whose roots cannot produce a single fruit. Outward bloom does not guarantee inner yield. The image is the poem's final, lasting picture.
Check Your Understanding
Fill the Blanks (using one word from the poem)
In this poem, the poet reflects that words fail to truly satisfy what the heart wants to convey. Words are compared to summer birds who (1) __________, leaving nothing behind. The heart is equated to a (2) __________ who finds that words are as worthless as (3) __________ when needed. He feels that a few sincere words can bring more (4) __________ than many meaningless ones. He adds that a voice that brings happiness to a (5) __________ place does not say much, but the few words it does, are very precious. Moreover, if words could satisfy us, the (6) __________ would celebrate but words often fail to do that. The poem ends on the note that empty words may look impressive with lots of flowers, but they cannot produce anything valuable, like a (7) __________.
Let Us Appreciate the Poem
1.
Find any four sets of rhyming words and write the rhyme scheme.
• Stanza 1 — heart / depart care / air
• Stanza 2 — earth / worth needs / weeds
• Stanza 3 — said / head impart / heart
• Stanza 4 — way / say cheer / dear
2.
Identify the poetic device in each line and explain what the poet wants to communicate.
(ii) "heart, a pilgrim upon earth" — Metaphor. The heart is shown as a wanderer in search of sacred meaning, suggesting how seriously it takes the words it hears.
(iii) "words are of as little worth / As just so many weeds" — Simile. Empty words are equated with weeds — common, useless, and crowding out the truly nourishing.
(iv) "If words could satisfy the chest … Oft satisfy the least!" — Hyperbole + Antithesis. The cosmic exaggeration ("the world might hold a feast") sets up the sharp contrast with how little words actually deliver.
(v) "the world might hold a feast" — Hyperbole + Personification. The whole world is given the human ability to celebrate, magnifying what would happen if words could comfort the chest.
(vi) "Like plants that make a gaudy show / All blossom to the root" — Simile + Symbolism. Empty speech is like a plant that flowers spectacularly without bearing fruit — show without substance.
(vii) "But whose poor nature cannot grow / One particle of fruit!" — Symbolism. "Fruit" symbolises the lasting result of true words — kindness, comfort, change.
3.
Which words are repeated in the poem? Why does the poet use repetition?
4.
Stanzas 4, 5 and 6 end with exclamation marks. Choose the option that captures the emotions expressed.
Identify and Practise Hyperbole
Complete each sentence with a hyperbole using the hint in brackets.
- 1. I have __________ things to do this weekend. (lots of / tonnes of)
- 2. The player missed the basket by __________. (a mile / an inch)
- 3. My mother is so tired that she can sleep for a __________. (night / decade)
- 4. I will be back in __________. (five minutes / two seconds)
Rhythm and Metre
A metre is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line. The first four lines of "Words" follow alternating iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter (a stress on every second syllable). Stressed syllables are underlined.
The heart might find less care;
But words, like sum·mer birds, de·part,
And leave but emp·ty air.
Listen to the poem read aloud and underline the stressed syllables in the remaining stanzas. Compare your answer with the teacher.
Critical Reflection — Poem Extracts
Extract 1 — The Pilgrim Heart
(i) Why has the poet referred to the heart as 'a pilgrim'?
(ii) When would a heart 'need' words?
(iii) Complete: The words are like weeds because ____________.
(iv) Mention two emotions the heart might be experiencing when it finds words to be of 'little worth'.
(v) What do these lines suggest about the nature of communication?
Extract 2 — The Test of Words
(i) How can words 'satisfy the chest'?
(ii) How can words be 'summoned to the test'?
(iii) What does 'the world' holding 'a feast' imply?
(iv) Complete: The poet mentions that words satisfy the least because ____________.
(v) Select the word that does not mean the same as 'oft'.
Long Answer — Themes & Tone
1.
What is the comparison the poet draws between words and 'empty air'?
2.
According to the poet, meaningful words are more precious than a lot of them. Explain.
3.
Do you agree that the poet presents contrasting ideas related to 'words' in the poem?
4.
The theme of loneliness hovers over the poem. Support this with examples.
5.
How does the poet convey the superficial nature of words? What ought to be done to address this?
Vocabulary in Context
I. Match the Figurative Phrases
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1. satisfy the heart | (iv) makes one happy |
| 2. depart and leave but empty air | (iii) there is no outcome |
| 3. hosts of words | (i) many words |
| 4. never touch the heart | (v) does not appeal to our emotions |
| 5. wins its sunny way | (ii) cheers up a person |
| 6. plants that cannot grow fruit | (vi) makes no impact |
• His promises always depart and leave but empty air.
• She replied to the question with hosts of words but said nothing.
• Empty praise never touches the heart.
• The teacher's encouragement wins its sunny way through every classroom.
• A speech with no facts is like a plant that cannot grow fruit.
II. Word Map — From the Poem
For each word, complete a word map (one example is done for you). Include meaning, synonym, antonym, a sentence, and a sketch idea.
Listen and Respond
Body Language and the Declamation Contest
Listen to a conversation between a girl and a boy. Mark the four statements that are true. (Transcript with the teacher.)
Speaking Activity — Choose a Quotation
Eight Quotations on Words and Silence
Read the quotations and select the one you like the most. Explain it and share the reason for your choice — you may also link it to a personal experience.
Cues you may use to begin: "I chose ___ because…", "I selected ___ since…", "I decided on ___ due to…", "I picked ___ as…", "I settled for ___ because…".
Writing Task — Essay on a Quotation
Essay Format Guide
Choose any one quotation from the speaking activity and write an essay of about 200–250 words.
| Paragraph | Content |
|---|---|
| 1. Introduction | Mention the quotation and the speaker; briefly mention why it appealed to you; state the purpose of the essay. |
| 2 & 3. Body | Explain a specific point related to the quotation. Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence. Provide evidence, examples, narratives. Use transitions: In addition, For instance, However, Consequently, Finally. |
| 4. Counter-argument | Think about possible criticism of the quotation; give a reason why that criticism is baseless. |
| 5. Conclusion | Summarise the main points; end with a concluding statement that leaves a lasting impression. |
Sample Essay (~220 words) — On Gandhi's "A heart without words"
In addition to Gandhi's spiritual insight, ordinary experience supports him. A child saying "sorry" with tears in her eyes carries more meaning than a long apology read from a card. For instance, when a friend has lost a parent, our most useful gift is presence — a hand held — not a paragraph of comfort. However, some may say that words are necessary because the heart cannot always be read in silence. This is true in formal contexts, but even there a single sincere line outshines a paragraph of polished phrases. Consequently, what matters is alignment between word and feeling. Finally, Gandhi's truth is simple: empty words are the smallest gift, and a full heart is the largest.
Learning Beyond the Text
Non-Verbal Game & Sign Language
In groups of six, write expressions and gestures on slips of paper, jumble them, and act them out without speaking — like Dumb Charades. The first to identify the expression or gesture earns ten points. Two rounds decide the Non-Verbal Champion.
Did you know? The French priest Charles-Michel de l'Épée (1712–1789) is recognised as "The Father of Sign Language and Deaf Education". He founded the world's first free school for the deaf in Paris, where he developed methodical signs that became the foundation of modern sign languages.
Bonus Poem — "Weigh Your Words" by E. F. Hayward
A short poem in the same spirit as Charles Swain's Words. Read it aloud and feel how its message echoes the lesson of this unit.
Quick Reflection on "Weigh Your Words"
Q.
How does this poem reinforce the central idea of Charles Swain's Words?
Unit 7 Complete — Carrier of Words
Khetaram's footsteps and Charles Swain's stanzas meet at the same idea: words travel only as far as the sincerity that carries them.
Frequently Asked Questions — Words — Charles Swain (Poem)
What is the poem Words by Charles Swain about in NCERT Class 9 Kaveri?
Words by Charles Swain is a six-stanza poem in NCERT Class 9 English Kaveri Unit 7. It explores the gap between the abundance of spoken words and the depth of true feeling, arguing that a few sincere words “impart deeper joy” than crowds of empty speech. The lesson covers the full poem, stanza-by-stanza explanation, literary devices and CBSE-aligned exercises.
Who was Charles Swain and what is his poem Words about?
Charles Swain (1801–1874) was an English poet from Manchester, sometimes called the “Manchester Poet”, admired by Robert Southey and William Wordsworth. His poem Words contrasts hollow chatter with sincere speech — using similes (words like “summer birds”), metaphors (“the heart, a pilgrim upon earth”) and hyperbole to make the case that honesty in speech is rarer and more precious than abundance.
What literary devices are used in Words by Charles Swain?
Words uses simile (“like summer birds”, “as just so many weeds”), metaphor (“the heart, a pilgrim upon earth”), hyperbole (“the world might hold a feast”), personification (words “depart”), repetition of “words/heart”, and powerful symbolism in the closing image of the gaudy plant that bears no fruit. The lesson tags each device inline with colour pills.
What is the rhyme scheme and metre of the poem Words?
The poem follows the rhyme scheme ABAB across all six stanzas — heart/depart, care/air, earth/worth, needs/weeds, said/head and so on. The metre alternates between iambic tetrameter (four stresses per line) and iambic trimeter (three stresses per line), giving the poem a steady, song-like rhythm suited to its meditative subject.
How does Words by Charles Swain help CBSE Class 9 exam preparation?
The lesson prepares students for the CBSE Class 9 board format — reference-to-context extract questions, identification of poetic devices with explanation, rhyme-scheme analysis, hyperbole completion exercises, theme essays, and a Word Map activity for vocabulary. The bonus poem ‘Weigh Your Words’ by E. F. Hayward is included for comparison.