A Legend of the Northland Summary Class 9 English

A tale is presented in the poem, written as a ballad. Folklore or popular culture is a sort to be carried that includes ballads. You may find the summary and notes for the English text A Legend of the Northland for Class 9.

Students will get an idea of the poem from the summary and be helped to appreciate its meaning through the in-depth explanation. They can utilize the summary and the class 9 English notes to study for their examination. Students can also review the essence of the poem before exams.

The poem's Basic Concept

The Northland folktale that inspired the poem "A Legend of the Northland" has been passed down through the centuries. It tells the story of Saint Peter and the elderly woman who received harsh punishment for being self-centered. The story's moral is not to engage in greed and to cherish qualities like empathy and compassion.

Regarding the Poet

Poet Phoebe Cary is American. Alice Cary, another poet, is her sister. They have each published a number of poems, both jointly and individually.

A Legend of the Northland Summary

In this poetry, an elderly woman is described as having offended Saint Peter because of her selfishness. The elderly woman lives in the Northland, which serves as the background. She was self-centered and greedy. Saint Peter once traveled around the world and spoke to people about religion. One day the saint showed up at the lady's residence. During that period, she started baking cakes.

The saint was weak and hungry since he had fasted the entire day. He asked for only one slice of cake from the woman. She was self-centered. The size of the cakes she had baked was apparent to her. Since she wanted to keep the large cake she had cooked, she began creating a fresh one.

Her realization that the new cake was larger appeared quickly, though. She so rolled out a little pastry and flattened it. She reduced it to wafer size. She could not, however, give the saint even so little. The saint saw the woman's conduct and was furious. He cursed her to turn into a bird after being deemed unworthy of human existence. The curse changed the woman, turning her into a woodpecker. As birds do, she was now digging a home out of dry wood and scouting the area for food sources.

Summary Explanation by Stanzas

Stanzas 1 and 2

Away Away...... furry clothes:

In the poem's first two stanzas, the poet describes the story's setting that follows. The narrative begins in the cold Northland region, where the winter days are brief and the nights are long. Due to the extreme cold, residents in the Northland had trouble falling asleep at night. In Northland, people use sleds to transport themselves and their lovely reindeer when it snows. The kids are clothed warmly in shaggy outfits, making them seem like bear cubs.

Stanzas 3 and 4

They tell them......he did, you know.

The poem's third and fourth paragraphs depict the story-telling habits of Northland parents with their young children. The narrative is told even if the poet doesn't think it's true. The poet thinks it has a crucial message that everyone should take away. Saint Peter once existed as a person on Earth. He spread knowledge about God all across the world.

Stanza 5 and 6

He came to the door... him a single one.

The poem's fifth and sixth stanzas depict Saint Peter touring the world and arriving at a cottage door. There was a little woman baking cakes in the cottage's fireplace. In addition to being hungry and worn out after fasting all day, Saint Peter. The day was nearing its conclusion. Saint Peter requests the lady to bring him a cake from her shop.

Stanzas 7 and 8

So she made a very...... first had done.

The woman starts preparing a cake for Saint Peter in the poem's seventh and eighth stanzas, but she thinks it is too big to share before she can give it to him. So she bakes another little cake, but when she turns it over, it appears to be the same size as the original.

Stanza 9 and 10

Then she took... on the shelf.

In the ninth and tenth stanzas of the poem, the female protagonist folds a small piece of cake as thinly as she can. She made a cake as light as a wafer but did not have to offer it to Saint Peter. She claims that the cakes she ate seemed smaller when she ate them. However, those cakes were too big to be distributed for free. She didn't want to offer any cakes to Saint Peter, so she put them on the shelf.

Stanza 11 and 12

Then good Saint Peter... keep you warm.

The eleventh and twelfth stanzas of the poem depict Saint Peter as being angry at the woman's self-centered activities. He was hungry and worn out. The woman's acts made Saint Peter furious, which is difficult for a loving and sympathetic saint like him to do. Saint Peter, therefore, informed her that she was very self-centered. She didn't deserve to be a person who had access to healthy food, a comfortable house, and a joyful, meaningful life.

Stanza 13 and 14

Now, you shall build... changed to a bird.

Saint Peter curses the woman and changes her into a bird in the poem's thirteenth and fourteenth stanzas. The woman would now need to build a nest and explore for food like a bird. She had to carve holes in the tough, dry wood to get at the food. Because of this, the woman silently left her house through the chimney. Her new appearance was that of a woodpecker.

Stanza 15 and 16

She had a scarlet... boring for food.

The little woman was covered in a red cap. When she became a woodpecker, all her other clothing was burned to ashes, leaving just her red cap. In other words, the woodpecker is red-headed but has a black body. Next, the poet asserts that every student has witnessed the woodpecker or the little woman in the forest. She still resides there, searching in the woods for meals.

We learn from A Legend of the Northland to never be self-centered and to constantly consider others. The poem recommends us to show kindness and, if we can, assist those in need. This sort of bird has been spotted in the nearby forests by locals of all ages, including schoolchildren. She works the entire day searching the tree for food. This tale is told to young children by older people to encourage them not to be greedy in life.

Conclusion

Students should be able to understand the content of the poetry after reading the summary and explanation of the A Legend of the Northland poem in Class 9 English. Additionally, it has helped students in their study for English tests.