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Karnataka State Syllabus Class 10 English Poem Chapter 8 Off to Outer Space Tomorrow Morning
Off to Outer Space Tomorrow Morning Questions and Answers, Summary, Notes
Understand the poem:
Rounding to the nearest hundredth means finding the approximate value of the given decimal number up to 2 decimal places.
Question 1.
Pick out two phrases from line 1 which suggest the final moments for the launch of the rocket.
Answer:
Count Down, a last look.
Question 2.
With what feelings is the speaker flying out of the earth?
a) despair
b) lack of confidence
c) apprehension
d) doubt about his return to the earth.
e) ______________________
Choose your response from the ones given above or give your own. Say which line or lines in the first stanza support your response.
Answer:
e) Eagerness, (you can start the countdown).
f) Excitement.
Question 3.
State the reasons for the poet to say “calendars and clocks” are useless in space (stanza 2).
OR
“Calendars and clocks are useless in space”.
What makes the poet Nicholson say so?
Answer:
There is no concept of day and night in space. The 24 hours that we count are dependent on the rotation of the Earth around the sun. When this yardstick does not exist, there is no use for calendars and clocks.
Question 4.
The expression “winter under lock,” means that, in space,
a) there is no change of seasons
b) seasons change frequently
c) weather is chilly always
d) weather is very hot always.
Answer:
a) there is no change of seasons.
Question 5.
The speaker has the feeling that he is imprisoned. What might have been the reason for him to have such a feeling? (Read lines 9 to 12)
Answer:
The speaker is alone and he feels lonely. He cannot have contact with anybody. In his spaceship with the capsule door sealed, the speaker would have the feeling that he is imprisoned.
Question 6.
The speaker says, Teacups circling round me like the planets around the sun.” Why does it happen only in space and not on earth?
Answer:
The earth has the force of gravity, but in space, there is no gravitational force. So the teacups circle round the speaker like the planets around the sun.
Question 7.
Read stanza 5, and identify the indirect comparison (metaphor) in it.
Answer:
The metaphor is ‘upward shooting star’. The comparison is to the rocket that shoots up from the earth towards space to be among the stars.
Question 8.
The speaker in line 19 says, “But you needn’t think I’ll give a damn for you.” This is the same as saying
a) I don’t think I will have time to think about you.
b) I don’t think I will have no time to think about you.
Answer:
a) I don’t think I will have time to think about you.
Read and appreciate:
Question 1.
The tone of the poem is one of
a) mourning [ ]
b) jubilation [ ]
c) disappointment
d) sadness [ ]
e) humour [ ]
f) anger [ ]
g) protest [ ]
You may think more than one is appropriate. Mark (✓) if you think so, and, mark (✗) if you do not.
Answer:
b) jubilation (✓)
e) humour (✓).
Question 2.
Do you think that the repetition of the last line of every stanza is intentional?
What might have been the purpose behind it? What does it suggest? Sing it aloud and try to find out the answer.
Answer:
Yes, it is intentional. When the same line is repeated, at the beginning or the end of a stanza, it’s known as ‘refrain’. A refrain is employed for the emphasis and musical quality of a poem.
Question 3.
The poem is not full of figures of speech. Yet the poem has two similes. Pick them out.
Answer:
‘In solitary confinement as complete as any gaol’ and “With the teacups circling round me like the planets round the Sun’.
Question 4.
Pick some instances of daily routine mentioned in the poem. Do you think the speaker doesn’t want to do these things?
Answer:
Writing letters, posting mails and visiting friends are some of the routine chores mentioned by the speaker. The speaker doesn’t say whether he doesn’t want to do these things. He only says that he wouldn’t be doing these things in space as he would be alone. Yet, the eagerness with which he looks forward to his space voyage makes it appear that he doesn’t want to do these chores.
Question 5.
A group of rhyming words has been given to you. Write down the remaining ones. You may practise them with proper pronunciation with the help of your teacher.
Answer:
Look, hook, book
Clock, lock, knock
mail, hail, gaol
begun, Sun, one
afar, star, are
hop, stop, top.
Question 6.
The rhyme scheme in the poem is a a a b. Do you find any other rhyme scheme in the pattern of the poem? Look at the last line of all the stanzas, and find it out.
Answer:
No, the rhyme scheme follows the same pattern throughout the poem.
Off to Outer Space Tomorrow Morning Additional Questions and Answers
Answer the following questions in a word or a sentence each:
Question 1.
For what does the poet want the countdown to be started?
Answer:
The countdown is for the take-off of the space shuttle.
Question 2.
Why does the poet want his name crossed out?
Answer:
The poet is going to outer space next morning and so, wants his name crossed out of the telephone book as no one can contact him.
Question 3.
Who will doze in the space shuttle?
Answer:
The poet, Norman Nicholson.
Question 4.
Why will the poet wake without a knock?
Answer:
The’poet is excited about the next day and so, will wake up without a knock.
Question 5.
What is the poet excited about?
Answer:
The poet has to travel to outer space the next morning and is excited about it.
Question 6.
Who will write no letters?
Answer:
The poet, Norman Nicholson.
Question 7.
Why won’t the poet write letters?
Answer:
The poet doesn’t have many friends and no one to visit him, or to write to in space.
Question 8.
Why will the poet not post any mail?
Answer:
The poet will be in outer space the next day, so he won’t be able to post any mail.
Question 9.
Who will be in solitary confinement?
Answer:
The poet, Norman Nicholson.
Question 10.
Where will the poet be in solitary confinement?
Answer:
The poet will be in solitary confinement in the space shuttle, when he goes to outer space in the morning.
Question 11.
Where are the teacups circling?
Answer:
The teacups are circling around the poet in the space shuttle.
Question 12.
Why do the teacups circle around the poet?
Answer:
The poet Norman Nicholson is in a zero-gravity situation where everything floats.
Question 13.
What does the poet ask the reader to watch on television?
Answer:
The poet suggests that the readers watch the take-off of the space shuttle on television.
Question 14.
What is an ‘inter-galactic hop’?
Answer:
A journey in space is referred to as an ‘inter-galactic hop’.
Question 15.
Why should everyone blow their top?
Answer:
The poet says this to explain that he doesn’t care about anyone since he is going to outer space the next morning.
Question 16.
What does the poet mean when he says, “I’ll be the centre of gravity, a universe of one”?
Answer:
The poet says that he will be the universe itself, instead of being part of the universe as in space he is no longer bound by the universal truths of the universe. There is no power of gravitation either; so he will be the centre of gravity. There is a sense of total freedom.
Question 17.
What does ‘trans-galactic’ mean?
Answer:
‘Trans-galactic’ means across galaxies.
Question 18.
What do the words ‘thrust’ and “hop’ suggest in the line “When the rockets thrust me on my trans-galactic hop”?
Answer:
The word ‘thrust’ refers to the force with which the spaceship is launched and the word ‘hop’ suggests the jump from the earth’s atmosphere to space.
Question 19.
Mention three things that tell you that the speaker will not be in touch with anybody.
Answer:
The poet (a) asks that his name be crossed out in the telephone book, (b) says he will not be writing any letters nor posting any mail, and (c) with nobody to visit him and nor a friend in hail, he will be in solitary confinement.
Question 20.
What does the poet mean by saying “There won’t be any calendar?”
Answer:
The poet means that there is no count of days in space.
Answer the following questions in 2-3 sentences each:
Question 1.
Why does the poet say ‘you can take a last look’ and ‘you can cross out my name in the telephone book’?
OR
“You can start the Count Down; you can take a last look;
You can cross out my name from the telephone book.”
What could be the reason for the space traveler to have such a feeling?
Answer:
The poet might be saying these words both teasingly and seriously. In the first instance, going by the jovial tone throughout the poem, we can say that it is his way of saying goodbye and as it is the space voyage, he would be out of touch with his near and dear ones. So he says they can take a last look and cross out his name from the telephone book. However, we cannot rule out another more serious interpretation. Maybe deep down, the speaker has a doubt whether he will ever come back because anything can happen to him. So maybe he indirectly refers to this tragic possibility.
Question 2.
What does ‘there won’t be any calendar, there won’t be any clock’ signify?
OR
Why does the speaker in ‘Off to Outer Space’ Tomorrow Morning’ not know the time and date or day?
Answer:
There is no concept of day and night in space. The 24 hours that we count are dependent on the rotation of the Earth around the sun. When this yardstick does not exist, there is no use for calendars and clocks.
Question 3.
‘Space’ and ‘confinement’ signify concepts that are opposite. Why does the poet choose to talk about ‘solitary confinement’ in ‘outer space’?
Answer:
Space is boundless, vast and open. Yet, unlike on the earth, none can freely move around in space. One has to remain in the spaceship. That is why the poet refers to his existence in the spaceship as solitary confinement.
Question 4.
According to the poet Norman Nicholson, outer space is solitary confinement for him. Why?
OR
Why does Norman Nicholson call the space flight, ‘solitary confinement’?
Answer:
The poet Norman Nicholson refers to his life in the spaceship to solitary confinement. He uses this comparison to highlight the fact that he is going to be totally cut off from the world. Though space is vast and open, one cannot move about freely like on the earth. One has to remain in the spaceship. That is why the poet refers to his existence in the spaceship as solitary confinement.
Question 5.
Why does Norman Nicholson feel that he is imprisoned in space?
Answer:
The speaker would be totally cut off from the world. Nobody would visit him nor would he have a friend near him. He would not write any letters nor would he receive any. He would be like a prisoner.
Question 6.
“Teacups circling round me like the planets round the sun”. What made the poet Norman Nicholson to think so?
Answer:
The earth has the force of gravity, but in space there is no gravitational force. Hence the poet says that when the capsule doors are shut and when he is on the space flight beyond the earth’s gravitational force, the teacups would fly around him like the planets in an orbit around the sun.
Question 7.
The speaker in ‘Off to Outer Space Tomorrow Morning’ is uncertain of his return. How does he express this?
Answer:
The speaker says that people can take a last’ look at him as he is all set to go to outer space. The word ‘last’ is indicative of the fact that the speaker is uncertain of his return. Further, the speaker says that his name could be crossed out from the telephone book. It is as if he has the feeling that his existence on the earth needn’t be recorded.
Answer the following questions in 6-8 sentences each:
Question 1.
What indirect references does the poet make to the interferences that people suffer from in life?
Answer:
When he says that he won’t give a damn for the person he addresses, there is the suggestion that in our day-to-day existence, we cannot live our lives without bothering about what other people say or what other people think of us. Again, his statement that when he reaches space after having travelled twenty-hundred light-years, he would no longer care for others who explode and show their anger, shows his disdain for interferences by others in our lives. Thus the poem, though in a light vein, makes indirect references to some of the unhealthy aspects of life on the earth.
Question 2.
The poem is written in first person singular. What is significant about it?
Answer:
The poem is written in first person singular and throughout the poem the poet uses only T and ‘me’. There is no reference to anyone else accompanying him on the space travel. It is as if the speaker would be alone on the space travel. The reference to ‘solitary confinement’ makes the idea that he is alone clearer. Although such a situation cannot be ruled out, it’s rather strange that the speaker is not accompanied by other astronauts in the space travel.
Question 3.
How does the poet describe life in space?
OR
What are the feelings of the poet in the poem ‘Off to Outer Space Tomorrow Morning’?
Answer:
The poet uses a unique technique. Through negative references he conveys positive feelings. When he compares the life in outer space to solitary confinement in a jail and when he says there would be no friend who would enquire after his well-being, it is as though he laments about his loneliness. But then, the tone, that is light and jovial, persists throughout the poem and we can make out that he is looking forward to the experience of being alone amidst the vastness of the outer space with no one to disturb him. The poet has no sense of regret as such an existence offers him the splendour of being the centre of his own gravity, a universe by himself, with tea cups circling around him like the planets in orbit.
Question 4.
“The poet is off to outer space tomorrow morning.” What does he ask the readers to do?
Answer:
The poet will be off to outer space the next day. With total absence of apprehension, he asks for his helmet to be passed on. He even asks the listener to begin the countdown and take a last look. He highlights the timelessness in space by saying there will be neither a calendar nor a clock, neither daylight nor winter, and neither the night to sleep nor the day to wake up. The usual chores of writing letters and visiting friends will not be done as the existence will almost be like solitary confinement in jail. So he says that his name can be crossed out from the telephone book as he would remain inaccessible from the next day.
Read the following extracts and answer the questions given below them:
Question 1.
“There won’t he any calendar Daylight will he on the switch and winter under lock.”
a) Why are calendars useless in outer space?
b) Winter under lock” – what does this mean?
Answer:
a) There is no concept of day and night in space, hence no concept of time. Therefore, calendars are useless in outer space.
b) ‘Winter under lock’ means that there is no change of seasons.
Question 2.
For with nobody to visit me and not a friend in hail,
In solitary confinement as complete as any gaol.
a) Where is the speaker going?
b) Why is there nobody to visit the speaker?
c) Why does the poet talk about solitary confinement in outer space while actually space is boundless, vast and open?
Answer:
a) To outer space.
b) Because the speaker is in a spacecraft, about twenty hundred light-years away.
c) Though space is boundless, vast and open, one cannot move about freely like on the earth. One has to remain in the spaceship. That is why the poet refers to his existence in the spaceship as solitary confinement.
Question 3.
“There won’t be any calendar, there won’t be any clock”.
a) Who has made this statement?
b) Where is the speaker experiencing this?
c) Why will there be no calendars or clocks?
Answer:
a) The poet Norman Nicholson.
b) In space.
c) There is no concept of time or day and night in space. So there is no need for calendars or clocks.
Question 4.
For I am off to Outer Space tomorrow morning.
a) Who is off to outer space?
b) Why is the above line repeated several times in the poem?
Answer:
a) The speaker/the poet.
b) The line is repeated to highlight the enthusiasm and eagerness of the speaker to start on the space voyage. He makes no bones about being happy at the prospect of being away from all his acquaintances.
Question 5.
‘With the teacups circling round me like the planets round the Sun’.
a) Where does the speaker experience this?
OR
Where does this happen?
b) Why does the speaker have the above feeling?
OR
Why would the poet feel so?
Answer:
a) In outer space.
b) The earth has the force of gravity, but in space there is no gravitational force. Hence the poet says that when the capsule doors are shut and when he is on the space flight beyond the earth’s gravitational force, the tea cups would fly around him like the planets in an orbit around the sun.
Question 6.
‘For with nobody to visit me and not a friend in hail,
In solitary confinement as complete as any gaol’.
a) Why is there nobody to visit the speaker?
b) What feelings do these lines convey?
c) Why do you think the speaker would have this feeling?
Answer:
a) Because the speaker is in a spacecraft, about twenty hundred light years away.
b) Unlike the feeling of depression which loneliness usually produces, we see that the speaker celebrates his solitary confinement and looks forward to it.
c) A speaker is probably a man with the spirit of adventure and exploration and hence wants to go on his expedition in outer space. So the prospect of being alone fills him with a sense of excitement rather than fear and foreboding.
Question 7.
“In solitary confinement as complete as any gaol.”
a) What is referred to as ‘solitary confinement’?
OR
What two aspects are compared in the line?
b) Why does the speaker say so?
Answer:
a) Life in the spaceship is referred to as solitary confinement.
b) The speaker uses this comparison to highlight the fact that he is going to be totally cut off from the world. Though space is vast and open, one cannot move about freely like on the earth. One has to remain in the spaceship. That is why the poet refers to his existence in the spaceship as solitary confinement.
Multiple Choice Questions
Question 1.
Daylight will be on the switch’ could mean
A) the power supply will be cut
B) there will not be natural daylight
C) it will always be dark
D) none of the above
Answer:
B) there will not be natural daylight
Question 2.
When the poet says, ‘You can start the Count Downhe addresses
A) his mother
B) his wife
C) his friend
D) cannot be determined
Answer:
D) cannot be determined
Question 3.
The distance between the earth and space as mentioned in the poem is
A) ten hundred light-years
B) twenty hundred light-years
C) thirty hundred light-years
D) two hundred light-years
Answer:
B) twenty hundred light-years
Question 4.
What does the poet Norman Nicholson ask us to do?
A) Tear off the calendar
B) Remove the clock
C) Cross out his name from the telephone book
D) Mail letters to him.
Answer:
C) Cross out his name from the telephone book
Question 5.
The teacups circle round the poet because
A) they are playing a game
B) the teacups are very light
C) the poet is the centre of gravity
D) there is no gravity in space.
Answer:
D) there is no gravity in space.
Question 6.
The poet asks every soul on earth to go and blow their top because
A) he is far away from everybody
B) he doesn’t care about anyone
C) nobody can catch him
D) the capsule door is sealed.
Answer:
B) he doesn’t care about anyone
Question 7.
“You can start the Count Down; you can take a last look” suggests
A) the end of the launching of the rocket
B) the re-entering of the rocket into the earth
C) the beginning of the launching of the rocket
D) failure of the launching of the rocket.
Answer:
C) the beginning of the launching of the rocket
Question 8.
You can cross out my name from the telephone book – the poet says this because
A) he will not be coming back from space
B) he will be staying in space permanently
C) he is lost in space
D) he cannot have contact with anyone.
Answer:
D) he cannot have contact with anyone.
Question 9.
The expression ‘winter under lock’ means that in space
A) there is no change of seasons
B) seasons change frequently
C) it is always cold
D) it is always hot.
Answer:
A) there is no change of seasons
Off to Outer Space Tomorrow Morning Summary in English
‘Off to Outer Space Tomorrow Morning’ is a simple and sweet poem about a man’s happy references to the space voyage that he is all set to start on the next day. The refrain ‘For I’m off to outer space tomorrow morning’, repeated six times with minor changes, highlights the enthusiasm and eagerness of the speaker to start on the space voyage. With the total absence of apprehension, as he asks for his helmet to be passed on, he says that his name can be crossed out from the telephone book as he would remain inaccessible from the next day.
He even asks the listener to begin, the countdown and takes a last look. He highlights the timelessness in space by saying there will be neither a calendar nor a clock, neither daylight nor winter, and neither the night to sleep nor the day to wake up. The usual chores of writing letters and visiting friends will not be done as the existence will almost be like solitary confinement in jail. However, the speaker has no sense of regret because such an existence offers him the splendour of being the centre of his own gravity, a universe by himself, with tea cups circling around him like the planets in orbit.
With this new found sense of freedom he has total disdain for others on the earth and hence says that they may watch his spaceship being launched on television, but he would have no importance for them. He would be twenty hundred light-years away with a single hop, and wouldn’t care for those who would be blowing their top on the earth.
Thus we see that the speaker has an unusual approach to the space travel and makes no bones about being happy at the prospect of being away from all his acquaintances.
Off to Outer Space Tomorrow Morning Summary in Kannada
Glossary:
- doze: sleep
- solit’ry: solitary / alone
- confinement: imprisonment
- gaol: prison
- capsule: part of the spacecraft that separates from the main rocket
- center of gravity: weight due to the force of gravity or attraction
- tracking: following
- trans-galactic: across galaxies
- blow your top: explode in anger
- rocket: a vehicle used for traveling or carrying things into space
- setting off to outer space: flying in space
- afar: far away
- I will give a damn: I don’t care