Choose the correct option: "They give it its body and swing And everyone today is longing to hear Some fresh and beautiful thing." The above lines occur in:

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is (1):

The lines, "They give it its body and swing / And everyone today is longing to hear / Some fresh and beautiful thing," are taken directly from the poem "The Wonderful Words." This poem, often studied in middle school English curricula, is a celebration of language and the power of words to express our thoughts and emotions. The poet emphasizes that thoughts often remain trapped inside our minds, like "prisoners," and it is only through the use of words that these thoughts can be set free and shared with the world.

In the quoted lines, "They" refers back to the ideas, thoughts, or "wonderful words" themselves. The phrase "give it its body and swing" is a beautiful personification, suggesting that words provide substance, rhythm, and life ("body and swing") to an idea, transforming an abstract concept into something tangible and meaningful that others can perceive and appreciate. The subsequent lines highlight the universal human desire for novelty and inspiration: "And everyone today is longing to hear / Some fresh and beautiful thing." This longing is satisfied when someone expresses an original, beautiful thought using precise and imaginative words. The poem’s central theme is that we should strive to use the "finest words" possible to communicate our unique thoughts, ensuring that we bring something new and beautiful into the world, rather than letting our ideas fade away silently. Therefore, these lines perfectly encapsulate the poem's message about the creative and liberating power of language.

The incorrect option is (2):

"Vocation" is an incorrect choice. This title refers to a poem by Rabindranath Tagore, which typically explores a child's imagination and their fantasies about different professions they see around them (like the hawker, the gardener, and the watchman). The theme centers on the contrast between the freedom perceived in the adults' lives and the restricted life of the child, not on the power and beauty of language or words.

The incorrect option is (3):

"A House, a Home" is an incorrect choice. This poem, by Lorraine M. Halli, focuses on distinguishing between a 'house' (a building made of brick and wood) and a 'home' (a place defined by love, family, and selfless acts). Its themes are related to family relationships and emotional bonds, which are entirely unrelated to the expression of thoughts through "fresh and beautiful" language.

The incorrect option is (4):

"Beauty" is an incorrect choice. While the quoted lines do use the word "beautiful," the poem "Beauty" usually discusses the subjective nature and perception of beauty—how it is found not just in sight, but in actions, rest, and listening. It focuses on the inner and external aspects of beauty, but does not center on words as the specific mechanism to give thoughts "body and swing" or to create something new and beautiful for others to hear.