Class 9 English - TAMILNADU
Poetry: A Legend of the Northland
A Legend of the Northland is a narrative poem by Phoebe Cary that tells the story of Saint Peter and a selfish little woman who baked cakes. Set in the cold Northland region where winter nights are long and people travel in reindeer sleds, the poem conveys a powerful moral lesson about greed, selfishness, and charity. For Class 9 Tamil Nadu Samacheer Kalvi board exams, this chapter is crucial for testing students' comprehension of poetic devices, rhyming schemes, and ability to extract central themes and morals from narrative verse. Questions often focus on character analysis and stanza interpretation.
Start Learning FreeKey Concepts
Narrative Poem
A poem that tells a story with a plot, characters, and a setting, much like a short story in verse form.
Legend
A traditional story handed down from the past, often believed to have a historical basis but containing supernatural or moral elements.
Greed vs. Generosity
The central theme contrasting Saint Peter's humble hunger with the woman's extreme reluctance to part with even a tiny piece of cake.
Poetic Justice
The literary device where virtue is rewarded and vice is punished, seen when the greedy woman is transformed into a woodpecker.
Rhyme Scheme
The pattern of rhymes at the end of each line in a poem, predominantly following an ABCB pattern in this ballad.
Important Formulas
Board Exam Info
In the Tamil Nadu Samacheer Kalvi Class 9 English board examinations, poetry sections carry around 15-20 marks. Questions from 'A Legend of the Northland' typically include 1-mark objective questions (synonyms/antonyms/rhyming words), 2-mark appreciation questions based on poetic lines (comprehension), and 4-mark paragraph questions focusing on the summary, theme, or character sketch of the woman and Saint Peter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main theme of 'A Legend of the Northland'?
The main theme is the condemnation of greed and selfishness and the promotion of kindness, empathy, and hospitality towards weary travelers.
Why was the little woman punished by Saint Peter?
She was punished because she was too greedy to share even a small, thin cake she had baked with the hungry and tired Saint Peter, keeping all the food for herself.
Into what bird was the woman transformed and why?
She was transformed into a woodpecker that bores into hard dry wood for food, symbolizing her boring lifestyle of getting food only through hard work and scarcity.
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