The Peacock – Class 11 English Chapter 9 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 11EnglishChapter 9NCERT book: Woven Words (Elective) - English Class 11

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 9 of the NCERT Class 11 English book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

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Chapter 9: The Peacock (Poem)

Introduction to the Poetry Section

This poem opens the Poetry section of Woven Words. The section introduction explains that the word poetry comes from a Greek word meaning "to make" — a poet is a maker and a poem something created. Poetry has a musical quality (rhythm, pitch, metre) and may use figures of speech such as simile and metaphor. The section mixes traditional forms with modern poems "free from formal restrictions", and includes examples of the haiku and limerick for fun (these are not tested).

About the Poet

Sujata Bhatt (born 1956) was educated in the USA and lives in Germany. She won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize (Asia section) for her collection Brunizem (1988), from which "The Peacock" is taken. Her other books include Monkey Shadows (1991) and The Stinking Rose (1994). She has also translated Gujarati poetry into English.

The Poem — Meaning Section by Section

1. A sudden glimpse

His loud sharp call / seems to come from nowhere. / Then, a flash of turquoise / in the pipal tree

The peacock announces itself first by sound — a loud call from nowhere — and then by a flash of colour in a pipal tree. We see only fragments: the "slender neck arched away", and as he darts off, "a glimpse / of the very end of his tail". The bird is elusive; we never see it fully.

2. How to see a peacock

I was told / that you have to sit in the veranda / And read a book, / preferably one of your favourites / with great concentration..

The speaker has been told that the peacock appears only when you are absorbed in something else. "The moment you begin to live / inside the book", signs appear:

"A blue shadow will fall over you."

"The wind will change direction,"

"The steady hum of bees … will stop."

"The cat will awaken and stretch."

These are cues that the peacock is near. "Something has broken your attention."

3. The closing image

And if you look up in time / You might see the peacock turning away as he gathers / his tail / To shut those dark glowing eyes, / Violet fringed with golden amber. / It is the tail that has to blink / For eyes that are always open.

The "eyes" are the eye-spots on the peacock's tail feathers. When he folds his tail, it is as if the eyes "blink". The final paradox: the tail must blink for eyes that are "always open" — a striking metaphor joining the tail and the eyes.

Themes

The elusive beauty of nature — beauty appears unexpectedly and vanishes quickly.

Attention and absorption — you see the peacock only when you are not looking for it.

Harmony of nature — wind, bees and cat respond to the peacock's presence.

Literary Devices

Imagery (visual and auditory) — "loud sharp call", "flash of turquoise", "Violet fringed with golden amber".

Colour words — turquoise, blue, violet, golden amber.

Metaphor — the tail's eye-spots as "dark glowing eyes"; the tail that "has to blink".

Paradox — "the tail that has to blink / For eyes that are always open."

Free verse — no regular rhyme or metre; the second-person "you" draws the reader in.

Word Power

turquoise — greenish-blue colour (फ़िरोज़ी)

darts — moves suddenly and quickly (तेज़ी से झपटना)

slender — thin and graceful (पतला)

arched — curved (धनुषाकार)

veranda — open porch (बरामदा)

concentration — full attention (एकाग्रता)

fringed — bordered (किनारीदार)

amber — golden-yellow colour (कहरुवा/सुनहरा पीला)

glimpse — brief look (झलक)

pipal — sacred fig tree (पीपल)

Exam Focus

From Understanding the Poem and Try This Out:

Lines that help you visualise the peacock's colours — "a flash of turquoise / in the pipal tree"; "A blue shadow will fall over you"; "dark glowing eyes, / Violet fringed with golden amber."

Cues that signal the peacock's presence — its loud sharp call, a blue shadow, the wind changing direction, the bees' hum stopping, the cat waking and stretching.

How the tail–eyes connection adds detail — the eye-spots on the tail are called eyes; folding the tail becomes a blink, giving a vivid, surprising image.

How the poem captures the peacock's elusiveness — it is heard before seen, seen only in fragments (neck, end of tail), and appears only when your attention is elsewhere.

Try This Out — in English the peacock suggests pride ("as proud as a peacock"); it is India's national bird — students can discuss its beauty and cultural significance.

Common Mistakes

Taking "eyes" literally — they are the eye-spots on the tail.

Thinking the speaker sees the whole bird — only glimpses are given.

Missing that the book-reading instruction is advice the speaker "was told".

Calling it a rhymed poem — it is free verse.

💡 Key Learning Points

✓Understand the basic nature of poetry from the section introduction (poet as 'maker', rhythm, figures of speech).
✓Identify the cues that signal the peacock's presence: call, blue shadow, wind, bees, cat.
✓Explain how the poem captures the elusive nature of the peacock through fragments and glimpses.
✓Interpret the metaphor and paradox of 'the tail that has to blink / For eyes that are always open'.
✓Recognise colour imagery: turquoise, blue, violet, golden amber.

👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

→Show a slow-motion video of a peacock folding its tail to explain the 'blink' image.
→Ask students to underline every colour word and every sound image in the poem.
→Do a silent-reading exercise, then discuss moments when they noticed nature only while absorbed in something else.
→Let students draw the scene: veranda, reader, pipal tree, cat, and a peacock turning away.
→Discuss the section introduction's idea of the poet as a 'maker' before reading.
→Compare with the suggested reading 'The Bangle Sellers' by Sarojini Naidu for colour imagery.
→Discuss why the peacock was chosen as India's national bird (Try This Out).

📋 Assessment Questions

Can the student list the cues that signal the peacock is nearby?
Can the student explain the tail–eyes connection?
Can the student quote lines that create colourful images?
Can the student explain how the poem shows the peacock as elusive?
Can the student state what the word 'poetry' originally means?

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