Questions and answers of Brotherhood : Homage to Cladius Ptolemy

Brotherhood : Homage to Cladius Ptolemy broad / long / descriptive important questions and answers for Class - 11th ( WBCHSE and other board )

Q. Write the substance of the poem Brotherhood : Homage to Cladius Ptolemy.

Ans :- Brotherhood : Homage to Cladius Ptolemy is a remarkable philosophical poem. The poem surprisingly stats with I.By reading the first line, we can see that Paz is speaking in first person by using "I." He tells us that life is short, and he knows this, and one night, he finds himself looking up at the sky an realizing how long the night is. He sees the stars though, and they bring about a sense of ease and lightheartedness. He notices how the stars "write out" against the night sky. The stars are always in the sky, every single night of his life. He ponders this and starts realizing that he too must be like the stars in the night sky. Just as the stars are ever present in everyone's lives (obviously everyone has seen a star at least once in their lifetime), Paz wants his work to live on in the hearts of his readers. He wants his work to live forever, even though he will not. He states in the last two lines, "and at this very moment / someone spells me out," meaning that as he is sitting outside thinking about all this, he takes pride knowing that someone, somewhere is reading a piece of his work as he's thinking about all this. Truly Paz has shown his thinking power here very remarkably.

Q. Analyse the poem Brotherhood : Homage to Cladius Ptolemy.

Ans :- In the first two lines of the poem the poet observes himself in the light of of a superficial truth: he as the tiniest particle, shrouded in the most unfathomable insignificance against the immeasurable vastness of the universe. Man is not only insignificant in terms of the physical volume that he occupies in this world., but also in terms of his span of life set against the endless flow of time.However, this sense of intimidating humbleness is altogether reversed in the last three lines of the poem. In these three lines the poet contends that his existence is very carefully and with all sombreness being etched in the general scheme of the universe and its life force. The poet realise through a mystic and unconscious sojourn towards knowledge that inspite of his humbleness and apparent insignificance he stands at a vital part of the schemes; the schemes of existence, the schemes of the universe. Even his role is silently spelt out by the life force present in the universe, the spirit of all existence.

Q.Analyse the title of the poem "Brotherhood: Homage to Claudius Ptolemy ".
Ans :- Octavio Paz's  “Brotherhood”, the popular poem is about the unique and undeniable relationship that organically binds everything of this Universe. This bondage is created and managed by a superior cosmic force in this geocentric world system. When humans look out in the sky on a starry night, they are made aware of this bondage which makes them feel important as being an inseparable part of the system and they get rid of the feeling of insignificance. It is then that human beings find the worth of their existence and understand that the deep bondage of brotherhood organically binds everything together. The title of the poem thus seems to be appropriate as the poem makes one understand about the close knit relationship that binds everything. So the title is well justified.

Q.How does the poem "Brotherhood : Homage to Claudius Ptolemy" justify the poet’s homage to Ptolemy?
Ans :-The poet pays homage to  Claudius Ptolemy who was a Greek astronomer and geographer whose chief astronomical work "Almagest", is a mathematical treatise on the apparent motion of stars and planets in a geocentric model which was the model that was followed by the ancient Greeks before the Renaissance. The poem by Octavio Paz aims at searching for rhythmic correspondences in the Universe. In these correspondences the astronomical objects play an important role by fixing the destiny of man. The poem also refers to everything in the Universe as predestined and bound in the bondage of Brotherhood. This is much like the quest of Ptolemy who tried to establish a rhythmic relationship between the astronomical objects . This justifies the poem as Octavio Paz’s homage to Ptolemy.

Q.What is the central idea of the poem "Brotherhood"?
Ans :- "Brotherhood" is a philosophical poem on the apparent insignificance of human beings in this vast Universe.Later on the poet understands that the feeling of insignificance is flawed and feels that everything, however insignificant, is a part of the scheme of the cosmic force that commands everything by writing the destiny of all the objects that are a part of the cosmos.This understanding creates a feeling of brotherhood and one understands the importance of one’s existence, whatever the duration may be in comparison to the vast and eternal world. It gives us a feeling that we are all intertwined in history and that our life has a purpose and follow a rhythm set by the guiding cosmic force. The poem has a boarder side in it's overall presentation.