Pranshu's English Classroom (CBSE)

  1. Dust of Snow by Robert Frost Background & Setting Setting: A cold, snowy winter day. The narrator is standing under a Hemlock tree (a poisonous tree associated with sorrow). Perspective: First-person ("I"). A personal, transformative moment. Tone: Initially gloomy and cynical, shifting to appreciative and hopeful. Mood: Melancholic at the start, transitioning to lighthearted and refreshed. Characters: The Narrator (human), a Crow , and the Hemlock Tree . Summary in Points The speaker is in a depressed and regretful mood ("rued" the day). A crow sitting on a hemlock tree shakes down fine particles of snow onto the speaker. This sudden, cold touch of nature startles the speaker out of his negative thoughts. The small event changes his mental state completely. He realizes that a portion of his day has been saved from being wasted in sadness. Flowchart for "Dust of Snow" This poem follows a linear emotional transformation caused by a small natu...

  Background of the Story: The Last Lesson The story is set against a significant historical turning point in 19th-century Europe. Here is the background broken down into key points: The Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871): The story takes place during this conflict, where France was defeated by a coalition of German states led by Prussia (under Otto von Bismarck). The Annexation of Alsace and Lorraine (The Treaty of Frankfurt):  The Treaty of Frankfurt was a  peace treaty  signed in  Frankfurt  on 10 May 1871 by the  German Empire  and the  French Third Republic , at the end of the  Franco-Prussian War .  As a result of the French defeat, the two border districts of Alsace and Lorraine were taken over by Prussia. The Berlin Order: A central plot point is a decree issued from Berlin, the Prussian capital. This order banned the teaching of the French language in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine, mandating that only German be taugh...