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Paraphrase the verses to show that you understand their literal meaning.

"Is my team ploughing

That I use to drive

And hear the harness jingle

When I was man alive?

Ay, the horses trample,

The harness jingles now;

No change though you lie under

The land you use to plough.

User Bertran
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2 Answers

7 votes

Final answer:

The verses explore the continuity of life and work post-death, the universality of human experience in labor, and how work intertwines with life. The act of ploughing is used as a metaphor for ongoing human effort, underscoring the rhythm of life that goes unabated by an individual's absence.

Step-by-step explanation:

The verses provided discuss subjects like the persistence of life and activities after someone has passed, the breadth of human experiences, and labor in different personal and societal contexts. They evoke imagery of farming, which symbolizes the cycle of life and death, with the ploughman's relationship with the earth carrying a poetic resonance that links the living and the dead.

For the paraphrased meaning: An individual reminisces to verify whether the team of horses and plough that he once used while alive are still being used in the field despite his demise. The response is that life continues as usual, the horses still trample, and the plough still furrows the land he once worked on, uninterrupted by his death. This reflects the idea that despite one's passing, the world goes on.

The other excerpts depict various forms of labor and life, illustrating how work and existence are intrinsic to the human experience, transcending time and changes. People can find comfort and a sense of companionship in their daily tasks, regardless of what those might be. The act of ploughing itself spans across several of the verses, serving as a metaphor for the continuous and collective human endeavor.

User Andrius Solopovas
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4 votes

Answer:

  1. "Is my team plowing" = Are my horses still working?
  2. "That I use to drive" = The way I used to drive them to plow the land
  3. "And hear the harness jingle" = While listening to the harness noises.
  4. "When I was man alive?" = When was I still alive?
  5. "Ay, the horses trample," = The horses continue to work hard.
  6. "The harness jingles now;" = And the harness continues to make noise
  7. "No change though you lie under" = Everything is the same, except your presence
  8. "The land you use to plow." = On the land you used to plow.

Step-by-step explanation:

Firstly, it is important to highlight the meaning of paraphrasing. To paraphrase is to use a sentence and rewrite it keeping the original meaning, but using different words, as was done in the poem above.

The poem provides the conversation between a dead man and his friend, who is still alive. In the first three verses, the man wants to know what is happening in the land that he plowed, cared for and cultivated. He wants to know if everything is as he left it. The latest verses describe the friend's response, who says that everything is the same, except for the presence of the man who is now dead.

User Nayomi
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