A Tragic Story (Poem)

Unit 2 – Poem: A Tragic Story

Warm-up: Pin the Tail on the Donkey

• Pin the tail on the donkey.
• Scan here to get the picture of the donkey.
• Get the tail of the donkey cut off from the picture.
• Use a dark-coloured cloth to cover the participant’s eyes.
• Have the player stand close to the picture of the donkey.
• Spin the player five to ten times.
• Now let the blind-folded player pin a tail.

Task: Read the poem silently. Based on your reading, discuss in class whether the incidents are humorous or tragical.

A Tragic Story

by William Makepeace Thackeray

There lived a sage in days of yore,
And he a handsome pigtail wore;
But wondered much and sorrowed more,
Because it hung behind him.

He mused upon this curious case,
And swore he'd change the pigtail's place,
And have it hanging at his face,
Not dangling there behind him.

Says he, “The mystery I’ve found –
Says he, “The mystery I’ve found!
I’ll turn me round,” he turned him round;
But still it hung behind him.

Then round and round, and out and in,
All day the puzzled sage did spin;
In vain—it mattered not a pin –
The pigtail hung behind him.

And right and left and round about,
And up and down and in and out
He turned; but still the pigtail stout
Hung steadily behind him.

And though his efforts never slack,
And though he twist and twirl, and tack,
Alas! Still faithful to his back,
The pigtail hangs behind him.

Glossary

Word	Meaning
sage	wise man
yore	long ago
pigtail	a plaited lock of hair worn singly at the back
mused	thought over
curious	eager to learn more
mystery	puzzle
stout	thick in structure

About the Poet:
William Makepeace Thackeray was one of the great novelists of the English Victorian Age. His Vanity Fair is one of the finest and best-known novels in English literature. Thackeray wrote in a colorful, lively style, with a simple vocabulary and clearly-structured sentences. These qualities, combined with his honest view of life, give him an important place in the history of realistic literature.

A. Answer the following

1. What made the sage upset?
2. Why did the sage spin all day?
3. What solution did he arrive at for the mystery that he found?
4. Was he finally successful in changing his pigtail’s position? Support your answer with a line from the poem.
5. Did something dreadful happen? How would you describe the events in the poem—comedy or tragedy?

B. Read the poem lines and answer

1. But wondered much and sorrowed more
   Because it hung behind him.
   a) What was he wondering about?
   b) What does the word ‘it’ refer to here?

2. And though his efforts never slack
   And though he twist, and twirl, and tack,
   Alas! Still faithful to his back
   The pigtail hangs behind him.
   a) Pick out the rhyming words from the above lines and give the rhyme scheme for the same.
   b) Did he quit his trying? How can you say?

3. ‘He mused upon this curious case’
   What is the figure of speech used in this line?

4. Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning. It may also be a situation that ends up in quite a different way than what is generally anticipated. In simple words, it is a difference between appearance and reality.
   Can this poem be called an ironic poem? Justify your answer.

C. Fill in the table

Pick the line or lines that

Purpose	Example Line (one given)
suggest the sage lacked practical common sense	And swore he'd change the pigtail's place
make the poem humorous
show the clowning movements of the sage
are actually funny but have a serious tone

(Some lines may be used more than once.)

D. Complete the summary

Fill in the blanks with the help of the box given below.
faithfully, change, pigtail, round, sage, down, slack, out, hung, place, behind, vain, face

Once upon a time there lived a ____. He had a handsome ____. He was worried and pondered over his pigtail’s ____. He wanted to ____ its place. He wanted it hanging at his ____. He didn’t like it hanging there ____ him. So he turned right and left and ____ about, up and ____, and in and ____ but it still ____ behind him. However he tried, his efforts were in ____. But he didn’t ____ in his efforts. Nevertheless his pigtail hung ____ behind him.

E. Role-play

Work with a partner. Let one student read the poem and the other pantomime (communication by means of gesture and facial expression) the poem as he or she reads.

Practice Practice Exercises

1.What made the sage upset?

2. Why did the sage spin all day?

3. What solution did he arrive at for the mystery that he found?

4. Was he finally successful in changing his pigtail’s position? Support your answer with a line from the poem.

5. Did something dreadful happen? How would you describe the events in the poem– comedy or tragedy?

3. ‘He mused upon this curious case’ What is the figure of speech used in this line?

Can this poem be called an ironic poem? Justify your answer.

Once upon a time there lived a . He had a handsome . He was worried and pondered over his pigtail's . He wanted to it's place. He wanted it hanging at his He didn’t like it hanging there him. So he turned right and left and about, up and , and in and but it still behind him. However he tried, his efforts were in . But he didn’t in his efforts. Nevertheless his pigtail hung behind him.