Fill in the blank with the correct option: The unhappy school boy compares himself to the

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 1:

The correct option is 1: **caged bird & the withered plant**.

The question refers to William Blake's famous poem, "The School Boy," which is part of his collection *Songs of Experience*. In this poem, the speaker, a young boy, expresses his deep unhappiness and distaste for formal schooling, which he views as a confining and soul-crushing experience. To convey his sense of imprisonment and despair, the school boy uses powerful natural metaphors to compare his plight to that of two distinct natural entities that are deprived of their inherent freedom and potential.

First, he compares himself to a **caged bird** ("How can the bird that is born for joy / Sit in a cage and sing?"). The bird is naturally meant for freedom, flight, and joyous song; however, when confined, its spirits are dampened, and its song loses its vitality. This metaphor perfectly reflects the boy’s feeling of being trapped within the schoolroom, where his natural youthful energy and desire for freedom are suppressed by the rigid routine and the watchful, oppressive eye of the teacher. The classroom is his cage, preventing his spirit from soaring.

Second, he compares himself to a **withered plant** ("O father and mother, if buds are nipped, / And blossoms blown away; / And if, in the early spring, / The tender plants are stripped / Of their joy"). The school boy views the restrictive nature of his education as prematurely cutting off his growth and potential, much like a plant that is stripped of its tender buds or withered before it can fully bloom. The time for learning and growth (childhood/spring) is wasted and destroyed by sorrow and anxiety. Therefore, the combination of the caged bird (loss of joy/freedom) and the withered plant (loss of growth/potential) accurately captures the boy’s misery, making Option 1 the definitive correct answer based on the central themes and imagery of the poem.

The incorrect option is 2: **singing skylarks**.

This option is incorrect because the singing skylark represents the opposite of the school boy's condition. The skylark is mentioned earlier in the poem as a symbol of joyous, untamed nature and freedom. The boy *wishes* to sit and listen to the skylark, highlighting the contrast between the bird's happiness and his own misery. He certainly does not compare himself to it, as he feels trapped and unable to sing freely.

The incorrect option is 3: **summer fruits**.

This option is incorrect because, while the poem uses the metaphor of seasonal growth (spring/summer) in relation to learning and life, the comparison is specifically to **withered plants** and frustrated blossoms, not to ripe "summer fruits." Summer fruits symbolize the natural reward and maturity that comes after healthy development. The boy feels his future yield (his "summer fruits") will be ruined because his spring of learning is being spoiled by school.

The incorrect option is 4: **huntsman**.

This option is incorrect as the huntsman bears no significant metaphorical relation to the school boy's identity or plight in this specific poem. The boy compares himself to victims of confinement and oppression (the bird and the plant) to emphasize his suffering and lack of freedom, not to someone actively pursuing a target or controlling others like a huntsman.