Why did the Maharaja order the dewan to double the land tax?
After hearing about disappearances of sheep, the Maharaja set out on an expedition to find the hundredth tiger, which was supposed to be the reason for all this. However, the tiger could not be found. In his rage, the Maharaja ordered the dewan to double the land tax.
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o'er-darkened ways
Made for our searching: yes in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits.
(a) Name the poem and the poet.
(b) Why are we 'despondent'?
(c) What removes 'the pall from our dark spirits'?
