Q.1. What was the name of the periodical started by Steele in 1709?
Ans. The periodical is Tatler.
Q.2. Who was the editor of ‘The Spectator’?
Ans. Steele was the editor of “The Spectator”
Q.3. What is the Tatler?
Ans. The Tatler was a British literary and society journal founded in 1709 by Richard Steele, who used the pseudonym “Isaac Bickerstall, Esquire”.
Q.4. Write two names of the members of the ‘Spectator’s Club’.
Ans. Sir Roger de Coverley, Will Honeycomb.
1. The Spectator’s Account of Himself
Q.5. What is the motive for writing ‘The Spectator’s Account of Himself?
Ans. The writer has observed that if a reader does not know the details of the writer, he/she does not find any interest in reading the piece of writing. So, he starts with descriptions of his life.
Q.6. Which places does the writer visit during his stay in the city?
Ans. He appears everywhere in all the resorts, coffee houses, clubs and inner rooms of politics, Exchange and so on.
Q.7. Why do you think the writer keeps on visiting all the places?
Ans. He chose the life of a Spectator and observer. So, he needs to observe.
Q.8. What do you think has driven the writer to live as a Spectator?
Ans. The writer’s silent nature has required him to choose the life of a Spectator.
Q.9. How has he managed to be the spokesperson of all occupations?
Ans. Being an observer and then putting the observations into writing, he has become the spokesperson of all occupations.
Q.10. Which personal information does the writer not want to reveal?
Ans. He does not want to disclose his name, age and lodgings.
Q.11. Why do you think the writer does not want to disclose his name, age and lodgings?
Ans. Name, age and lodgings may make him impartial and people may try to manipulate him.
Q.12. Who inherited Sir Roger’s property?
Ans. Captain Sentry, Sir Roger’s nephew, inherited the property.
2. Of the Club
Q.13. Who is the first member of the Spectator’s Club?
Ans. Sir Roger de Coverley is the first member of the Spectator’s Club.
Q.14. Name an English country dance.
Ans. Roger de Coverley is the name of an English country dance.
Q.15. How old is Sir Roger now?
Ans. Sir Roger is a gentleman of fifty-six years old.
Q.16. When does Sir Roger behave in an odd manner?
Ans. He behaves in an odd manner only when he is sure that people around him are in the wrong.
Q.17. What is Soho Square?
Ans. Soho Square is a square in Soho, London. It was originally called King Square after Charles II, whose statue stands in the square. It was then the centre of fashionable life. It now marks the eastern limit of the social world of London.
Q.18. Why is Sir Roger a bachelor at the age of fifty-six?
Ans. Though he is fifty-six years old, he is a bachelor because he was disappointed in love in his youth.
Q.19. With whom did Sir Roger fall in love in his youth?
Ans. In his youth, he fell in love with a perverse widow. Instead of responding to his love, he was humiliated and frustrated by the widow.
Q.20. How was Sir Roger before being disappointed in love?
Ans. Before being disappointed in love, Sir Roger was a “fine gentleman”, one who often dined with Lord Rochester, an English poet and courtier of King Charles II’s Restoration court and George Etherege, an English dramatist of the Restoration period.
Q.21. Who was Lord Rochester?
Ans. Lord Rochester was John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1647-1680). He was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II’s Restoration court. He became a principal member of the group of wits at the court of Charles II. He was known for his rakish lifestyle. In 1669 he committed treason by boxing the ears of Thomas Killigrew in sight of the monarch.
Q.22. Who was Sir George Etherege?
Ans. Sir George Etherege (c. 1636 c. 1692) was an English dramatist of the Restoration period. He was known for his creation of the comedy of intrigue and his Restoration plays. His wit and banter in his plays came out in a dull, dark age, which mostly uplifted and encouraged the people, making him and his plays incredibly popular.
Q.23. Why did Sir Roger kick Bully Dawson?
Ans. Sir Roger kicked Bully Dawson, a renowned gambler of London in the time of Charles I, in a public coffee house for insulting him by calling him a youngster.
Q.24. Who was Bully Dawson?
Ans. Bully Dawson was a renowned gambler of London at the time of Charles II. He was a man of low morality who aped the higher classes and tried to get into their society. His name has become an example of a swaggering fool.
Q.25. What is the Game Act?
Ans. It is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom passed in 1831 to protect game birds by establishing a close season when they could not be legally taken.
Q.26. What did the Templar’s father want him to be?
Ans. The Templar’s father wants to see him a barrister.
Q.27. What kind of person is Sir Andrew Freeport?
Ans. He is a person of untiring industry, strong reason, and great experience. He has noble and generous notions of trade.
Q.28. How does Sir Andrew Freeport become rich?
Ans. He has become rich by means of his own efforts and hard work.
Q.29. What does Sir Andrew Freeport represent? Ans. He is a representative of the fast-growing English commercial groups who were then making up a significant proportion of the middle class.
Q.30. Why has Captain Sentry failed to achieve promotion?
Ans. Captain Sentry has failed to achieve promotion because of his modesty. In military service, one needs to possess merit and the art of impressing the officers with the merit to get a promotion. Captain Sentry possesses the necessary merit to be promoted, but he is so modest that he cannot exhibit his merit to the officers.
Q.31. Why does Captain Sentry resign from his job?
Ans. In military service, one needs to possess merit and the art of impressing the officers with the merit to get a promotion. Captain Sentry possesses the necessary merit to be promoted, but he is so modest that he cannot exhibit his merit to the officers. So, he resigns from his job in the military because he does not consider himself fit for it.
Q.32. What was the financial condition of Captain Sentry?
Ans. Financially, he is rich enough. He has a small estate of his and is the next heir to Sir Roger.
Q.33. How does Steele describe Will Honeycomb?
Ans. Steele describes him as being familiar with the gallantries and pleasures of the age. He is also described as “very careful of his person” so he can hide his true age.
Q.34. Who is a lady-killer among the members of the Club?
Ans. Will Honeycomb is a lady-killer among the members of the Club.
Q.35. Who was the Duke of Monmouth?
Ans. The Duke of Monmouth was the illegitimate son of Charles II.
Q.36. What type of man is the Clergyman?
Ans. He is very religious, learned and philosophic but he is of the utmost breeding and therefore good enough for the club.
Q.37. What is a chamber counsellor?
Ans. A chamber counsellor is one who gives advice only in private.
Q.38. Why was Sir Roger given priority?
Ans. As Sir Roger was the landlord of the whole congregation, he was given priority.
Q.39. What is the Inner Temple?
Ans. The Inner Temple is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London, where lawyers resided or had their offices and where students studied law. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, one must belong to one of these Inns.
3. Sir Roger at Church
Q.40. What is the social value of the
Ans. On Sunday people gather at church to offer their prayers to God. It is also a social gathering where people get a chance to converse and appear in their fresh look and with the clean dress. According to Addison, people would have become savages if they did not attend church on Sunday. Their attendance in the church keeps them away from barbarism.
Q.41. How does Sunday clear away the rust of the whole week?
Ans. Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week by refreshing the notions of religion in the minds of the villagers and refreshing their minds from the monotonous routine work of the whole week.
Q.42. What is the significance of the Sunday?
Ans. As described in the Book of Genesis, God worked hard to create the heavens and the earth in six days and took rest on the seventh day and this seventh day is Sunday.
Q.43. What is the ‘Change?
Ans. The ‘Change refers to the Royal Exchange in London where business is transacted.
Q.44. Why is Sir Roger a good churchman?
Ans. Sir Roger is a good churchman because he is a regular church and upholds its rights and privileges.
Q.45. What is pulpit cloth?
Ans. It is a piece of cloth which is used to cover the pulpit, the raised platform from which the clergyman speaks.
Q.46. Who is John Matthews?
Ans. John Matthews is one of the tenants of Sir Roger.
Q.47. What is a tithe?
Ans. The tithe is the tenth part of the product to be given to the church.
Q.48. What did Sir Roger do to beautify the inside of his church?
Ans. He has decorated and beautified the inside of the church with several texts of his own choosing on his own accord and at his own expense.
4. His Account of his Disappointment in Love
Q.49. At what age did Sir Roger become a sheriff?
Ans. He became a sheriff at the age of twenty-three.
Q.50. Why did the widow go to court?
Ans. She went to court concerning the share of her husband’s estate that she would be getting.
Q.51. Why was the whole court in the widow’s favour?
Ans. The widow acted to be dedicated to her husband, poor and sad.
Q.52. What does Sir Roger say about the lady’s not willing to marry anyone?
Ans. Sir Roger says that the widow finds pleasure in friendship only.
Q.53. Why did Sir Roger improve his lifestyle?
Ans. He improved his lifestyle to make the widow happier.
Q.54. What has kept Sir Roger distant from the widow?
Ans. The widow’s bewildering talks have kept Sir Roger distant from her.
Q.55. What is the religious value of Sunday?
Ans. The observance of the Sunday refreshes the notions of religion in the minds of the villagers.
5. Death of Sir Roger
Q.56. Whose letter is presented in the essay ‘Death of Sir Roger?
Ans. The butler of Sir Roger wrote a letter informing the death of Sir Roger to his friend. The butler’s letter is presented in the essay.
Q.57. What did Sir Roger bequeath to the widow lady before his death?
Ans. Sir Roger gave a pearl necklace and a couple of silver bracelets set with jewels, which belonged to his mother.
Q.58. What did Addison get on the death of Sir Roger?
Ans. Addison got all the books of Sir Roger.
Q.59. Where was Sir Roger buried?
Ans. Sir Roger was buried among the Coverley families, beside the left hand of his father.
Q.60. How many men carried Sir Roger’s coffin?
Ans. Six men carried his coffin.
Q.61. Who was Andrew Freeport?
Ans. Sir Andrew Freeport was Sir Roger’s antagonist and enemy.
Q.62. Who is the believer of the maxim “A penny saved is a got”?
Ans. Sir Andrew Freeport is a believer in the maxim.
Q.63. What is a spectator’s club?
Ans. The Spectator’s Club is the group of men whom Steele sits and chats with most often. They are a group of fine gentlemen.
Q.64. What is a country Sunday?
Ans. A country Sunday refers to a Sunday spent in the countryside.
Q.65. What is a catechising day?
Ans. It is a day on which the priest teaches children through the question-answer method – the priest puts the questions and the children answer them.
