Going Down Hill on a Bicycle

 by Henry Charles Beeching

The Poem :

"With lifted feet, hands still,

 I am poised, and down the hill

 Dart, with heedful mind;

 The air goes by in a wind.

 Swifter and yet more swift,

 Till the heart with a mighty lift

 Makes the lungs laugh, the throat cry:-

 'O bird, see; see, bird, I fly.

 'Is this, is this your joy?

 O bird, then I, though a boy,

 For a golden moment share

 Your feathery life in air!'

 Say, heart, is there aught like this

 In a world that is full of bliss?

 'Tis more than skating, bound

 Steel-shod to the level ground.

 Speed slackens now, I float

 Awhile in my airy boat;

 Till, when the wheels scare crawl,

 My feet to the treadles fall.

 Alas, that the longest hill

 Must end in a vale; but still,

 Who climbs with toil, wheresoe'er,

 Shall find wings waiting there."

Summary of the Poem :

This is a poem depicting the childhood innocence. Here a boy is going down hill on a bicycle. He feels like he is flying. He is ready to move down the hill by lifting his feet and keeping his hands still. He is moving downwards very fast keeping rapt attention in his journey. The passing air feels like wind to him because of the speed he is moving down due to the hill slope.

As he moves very fast, his heart fills with utter joy and excitement. His heart beats powerfully and his lungs fill with laughter. He cries from his throat and yells the birds to look how he is flying like them.

He asks the birds if they have the same type of joy as him while flying. He further tells them that he is also having the pleasure of flying in spite of being a boy. The joy the birds enjoy with feathers in air, is the same as the boy is experiencing while going down hill on a bicycle.

The boy doubts that there should be hardly anything in the world that can give him the extreme happiness like he is having now. According to the boy, it is more joyous than skating bounding steel-shod to the level ground.

Now the speed of his bicycle gradually becomes slower. The boy feels as if he is in a boat in the air. The wheels stop crawling automatically as the hill slop has come to an end. The boy puts his feet on the peddles of the bicycle to keep in  moving.

The boy has come to the end of his ride. He concludes that even the longest hill ends in a valley. Yet one will find wings waiting there for him if he can climb up the hill with hard work.

MAKING CONNECTIONS

1. Choose the correct answer.

a. Which stanza mentions two parts of a bicycle?

Stanza 1[ ] 2[ ] 3[ ] 4[ ] 5[✓] 6[ ]

b. Which stanza mentions another sport?

Stanza 1[ ] 2[ ] 3[ ] 4[✓] 5[ ] 6[ ]

c. Which stanza has the antonym of 'idleness'?

Stanza 1[✓] 2[ ] 3[ ] 4[ ] 5[ ] 6[ ]

d. Which stanza has the synonym of 'barely'?

Stanza 1[ ] 2[ ] 3[ ] 4[ ] 5[✓] 6[ ]

e. Which stanza has a metaphor for the bicycle?

Stanza 1[ ] 2[ ] 3[ ] 4[ ] 5[✓] 6[ ]

f. Which stanza tells us whose voice we hear in the poem?

Stanza 1[ ] 2[ ] 3[✓] 4[ ] 5[ ] 6[ ]

g. The poem has a pair of words that have the same spelling and pronunciation but different meanings. In which stanzas are these words?

Stanza 1[✓] 2[ ] 3[ ] 4[ ] 5[ ] 6[✓]

h. Which stanza has comparative forms of a word to imply speed and momentum?

Stanza 1[ ] 2[✓] 3[ ] 4[ ] 5[ ] 6[ ]

2. Read the following lines and answer the questions that follow.

a. "With lifted feet, hands still,

     I am poised, and down the hill

     Dart, with heedful mind;"

i. Whose voice do we hear in these lines?

= In these lines, we hear the voice of a boy who is moving down hill riding his bicycle.

ii. Where is the persona?

= The persona is up the hill.

iii. Which word means 'absolutely still but ready to go'?

= The word 'poised' means 'absolutely still but ready to go'.

b. "Swifter and yet more swift,

      Till the heart with a might lift

      Makes the lungs laugh, the throat cry:-

      'O bird, see; see, bird, I fly.' "

i. Which action does the phrase 'swifter and yet more swift' refer to?

= Here in this poem, a boy is going down hill on a bicycle. The phrase 'swifter and yet more swift' refers to this action.

ii. In your own words explain what you understand by 'makes the lungs laugh'.

= As he moves very fast, his heart fills with utter joy and excitement. His heart beats powerfully and his lungs fill with laughter.

iii. To whom does the throat cry out?

= The throat cries out to the bird.

c. "Say, heart, is there aught like this

      In a world that is full of bliss?

      'Tis more than skating, bound

      Steel-shod to the level ground."

i. A rhetorical question is a question asked for effect or emphasis. It is a question to which the speaker does not expect a reply. Paraphrase (rewrite in your own words) the rhetorical question in the given extract.

= The boy doubts that there should be hardly anything in the world that can give him the extreme happiness like he is having now while going down hill on a bicycle.

ii. What is the comparison drawn in these lines?

= According to the boy, it is more joyous than skating bounding steel-shod to the level ground. Going down hill on a bicycle on a bicycle is compared to skating.

iii. Which line in the stanza best contrasts with the line: 'Your feathery life in air'?

= The line in the stanza best contrasts with the line: 'Your feathery life in air' is 'Steel-shod to the level ground.'

3. List the words or phrases that give us a picture of going downhill on a bicycle. How does the poet convey different movements and speeds?

= The words or phrases that give us a picture of going downhill on a bicycle are - 'lifted feet'; 'hands still'; 'poised'; 'dart'; 'heedful'; 'swifter'; 'more swift'; etc.

This is a poem depicting the childhood innocence. Here a boy is going down hill on a bicycle. He feels like he is flying. He is ready to move down the hill by lifting his feet and keeping his hands still. He is moving downwards very fast keeping rapt attention in his journey. The passing air feels like wind to him because of the speed he is moving down due to the hill slope.

As he moves very fast, his heart fills with utter joy and excitement. His heart beats powerfully and his lungs fill with laughter.

4. Why does the persona address the bird?

= The boy cries from his throat and yells the birds to look how he is flying like them.

He asks the birds if they have the same type of joy as him while flying. He further tells them that he is also having the pleasure of flying in spite of being a boy. The joy the birds enjoy with feathers in air, is the same as the boy is experiencing while going down hill on a bicycle.

5. Paraphrase there lines: 'Alas, that the longest hill/ Must end in a vale;'

= The boy enjoyed the ride in a never before way. He felt the amazement of flying. He is now in seventh heaven while going down hill on a bicycle. His joy ends as he reached the down hill. The boy has come to the end of his ride. He concludes that even the longest hill ends in a valley. Yet one will find wings waiting there for him if he can climb up the hill with hard work. 

6. Does the poem convey a message beyond its literal meaning? Explain and support your answer.

= Yes, the poem conveys a message beyond its literal meaning. At the last stanza of the poem we get the message to go out. To reach the top of hill to the pure joy being in nature. We are accustomed to our daily routine life caged in our comfort zone i.e. our home. It costs bit hard work to reach the hill. But if we can sacrifice that, sterling joy is waiting for us to overpour our heart with pleasure and happiness. 

About the Poet :

Henry Charles Beeching (1859-1919) was an English author and clergyman. He wrote two volumes of poetry namely - Love in Idleness and Love's Looking Glass - for which he is popularly known.