The GATE Grind

GATE 2026 XH2 (English) – Question 65

History of English Literature and Literary Studies · Global Perspectives on Literary Studies: Anglophone literatures (British, American, Canadian and other postcolonial literatures) · 2 marks · Multiple select

“My country! In thy days of glory past
A beauteous halo circled round thy brow
and worshipped as a deity thou wast—
Where is thy glory, where the reverence now?
Thy eagle pinion is chained down at last,
And grovelling in the lowly dust are thou,
Thy minstrel hast no wreath to weave for thee
Save the sad story of thy misery!
Well—let me dive into the depths of time
And bring from out the ages, that have rolled
A few small fragments of these wrecks sublime
Which human eye may never more behold
And let the guerdon of my labour be,
My fallen country! One kind wish for thee!”

Which of the following is/are implied in the above lines?

  1. The poet is anguished by the impoverished state of her/his country.
  2. The poet says that the country is like an unrestrained eagle, ready to take flight.
  3. The poet wants to serve her/his country by revisiting its past grandeur.
  4. The poet is indifferent to the fate of her/his country.

Practise this question in The GATE Grind →

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: (A) The poet is anguished by the impoverished state of her/his country.; (C) The poet wants to serve her/his country by revisiting its past grandeur.

Explanation

These are the opening lines of Henry Derozio's sonnet to India. The poet grieves over the fallen state of the country (A) and promises to dive into the past and bring back fragments of its lost glory as his service to it (C). The eagle is 'chained down', not free, and the poet is far from indifferent.