Direction : Read the following poem and answer the question given below :

The poetry of earth is never dead :
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead,

That is the grasshopper's – he takes the lead
In summer luxury – he has never done
With his delights, for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.

The poetry of earth is ceasing never :
On a lone winter evening when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills
The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,

And seems to one in drowsiness half lost ;
The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills.

"A voice will run from hedge to hedge ....... " whose voice is this?

Question

Direction : Read the following poem and answer the question given below :

The poetry of earth is never dead :
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead,

That is the grasshopper's – he takes the lead
In summer luxury – he has never done
With his delights, for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.

The poetry of earth is ceasing never :
On a lone winter evening when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills
The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,

And seems to one in drowsiness half lost ;
The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills.

"A voice will run from hedge to hedge ....... " whose voice is this?

Accepted Answer

The poem describes the continuous presence of nature's music throughout different seasons. In the summer, when the birds are too tired from the heat to sing, the poem mentions a voice that "will run from hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead." This voice is identified as belonging to the grasshopper, as indicated by the line "That is the grasshopper's – he takes the lead." This clearly establishes that the grasshopper's voice is the one that continues to be heard in the summer, providing the "poetry of earth" when other creatures are silent due to the heat.

1. **Explanation for Option 1 (The Grasshopper):**
   - The poem explicitly states that the grasshopper takes the lead in summer luxury and continues to sing when other creatures, like birds, are silent. The line "a voice will run from hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead" directly follows the mention of the grasshopper, indicating that it is indeed the grasshopper's voice that is being referred to. This makes Option 1 the correct answer.

2. **Explanation for why other options are incorrect:**
   - **Option 2 (The Cricket):** The cricket is mentioned later in the poem as the voice of winter evenings, not summer. The cricket's song is associated with warmth from the stove during the cold, silent winter, not the summer setting described in the lines about the voice running from hedge to hedge.
   - **Option 3 (The Gnats):** The poem does not mention gnats at all. Therefore, there is no basis for attributing the voice running from hedge to hedge to gnats.
   - **Option 4 (The Poet):** The poet is the narrator and observer of the scene, not the source of the voice described in the poem. The voice is clearly attributed to a creature of nature, specifically the grasshopper, as per the poem's description.

In conclusion, the poem clearly attributes the voice running from hedge to hedge in the summer to the grasshopper, making Option 1 the correct answer.