The Height of the Ridiculous- Oliver Wendell Holmes
Q/A
Please refer to the E.E text for questions
2.a.
A. The poet wrote some lines while he was in a happy mood. While reading them he found them so funny, that he thought that he would actually die of laughing. Even though by nature he was a sober man, the lines were so funny that he was sure that people would appreciate them.
b.
A. The poet's servant read the first line and started grinning. As he continued reading the grin grew broader and he started chuckling to himself. At the fourth line, he started roaring with laughter, he laughed so hard that his waistband split and he burst five buttons when he read the fifth line. He went into a laughing fit that seriously alarmed Holmes. He watched over him for ten days and nights and never dared to write humorously again.
c.
A. When the poet wrote down his, he was sure that people would find them funny. He himself started laughing on reading them funny. He himself started laughing on reading them. He laughed so hard that he thought he would die. This in itself was ridiculous. But the height of the ridiculous was when his servant, on reading the poem laughed so hard that he burst a few buttons and split his waistband. He fell into a fit of laughter from which he recovered after ten days.During this period his worried master kept an eye on him. Observing the effect of his humour, Holmes did not dare to write again.
The effect of his funny lines on people, reached the heights of absurdity and hence this poem is called 'The Heights of the Ridiculous '
3.i)
A. The lines were very funny and strange.
ii)
A. The poet was in general a very serious man, but he had written so humorously that he felt that he would die of laughter.
Please refer to the E.E text for questions
2.a.
A. The poet wrote some lines while he was in a happy mood. While reading them he found them so funny, that he thought that he would actually die of laughing. Even though by nature he was a sober man, the lines were so funny that he was sure that people would appreciate them.
b.
A. The poet's servant read the first line and started grinning. As he continued reading the grin grew broader and he started chuckling to himself. At the fourth line, he started roaring with laughter, he laughed so hard that his waistband split and he burst five buttons when he read the fifth line. He went into a laughing fit that seriously alarmed Holmes. He watched over him for ten days and nights and never dared to write humorously again.
c.
A. When the poet wrote down his, he was sure that people would find them funny. He himself started laughing on reading them funny. He himself started laughing on reading them. He laughed so hard that he thought he would die. This in itself was ridiculous. But the height of the ridiculous was when his servant, on reading the poem laughed so hard that he burst a few buttons and split his waistband. He fell into a fit of laughter from which he recovered after ten days.During this period his worried master kept an eye on him. Observing the effect of his humour, Holmes did not dare to write again.
The effect of his funny lines on people, reached the heights of absurdity and hence this poem is called 'The Heights of the Ridiculous '
3.i)
A. The lines were very funny and strange.
ii)
A. The poet was in general a very serious man, but he had written so humorously that he felt that he would die of laughter.
