From a Railway Carriage

Robert Louis Stevenson


About Robert Louis Stevenson

Rober Louis Stevenson was a Scottish Novelist and a Travel Writer. His most noted works are - 'Treasure Island', 'Kidnapped', 'Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide' and 'A Child's Dream'. 

He was born on 13th November 1850 at Edinburgh in United Kingdom. He was a son of a lighthouse builder and a harbour engineer. He suffered from breathing problem in his childhood and this persistent health problem made him thin. By the time he entered Edinburgh University at the age of sixteen to study Engineering, he fell in love with the spell of language and began to write. 

He died on 3rd December, 1894 in Samoa.

Faster than fairies, faster than witches,
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;
And charging along like troops in a battle,
All through the meadows the horses and cattle:
All of the sights of the hill and the plain
Fly as thick as driving rain;
And ever again, in the wink of an eye,
Painted stations whistle by.
Here is a child who clambers and scrambles,
All by himself and gathering brambles;
Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;
And there is the green for stringing the daisies!
Here is a cart run away in the road,
Lumping along with man and load;
And here is a mill and there is a river:
Each a glimpse and gone for ever!

Summary
The poem is about the experience of a railway journey of a boy using the rhythm of verse The poet explains the train s speed and the natural scenes which he looks from the railway carriage The poet compares the speed of the train with the way the fairies fly and the witches move In this poem the poet shares his experience of a railway journey with us He describes its speed as very amazing He presents natural scenes seen from the window of a railway carriage Summary Stanza 1 The poet says that the train runs more quickly than fairies can fly and witches can move When the train advances ...

Available Answers

  1. 1.

    Why does the speaker say the horses and cattle are 'charging along'? Are they really running?

  2. 2.

    Fly as thick as driving rain.

    1. What flies as think as driving rain? Are they really flying?
    2. What does the speaker mean by this line?
  3. 3.

    Why is the tramp gazing at the train?

  4. 4.

    Write three sentences about what the speaker sees from the train - one about things , one about animals and one about people.

  5. 5.

    'Each a glimpse and gone for ever'. What does the speaker mean by this?

  6. 6.

    Do you think the speaker enjoys travelling by train? What do you think he enjoys most about the journey?

1 more answer(s) available.

Comments
Exam questions
28 Jan 2023Arjubanti K.
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