A Concrete Example Questions & Answers | Class 8 English | CBSE NCERT

(b) — The very first description tells us her garden is 'full of stones'.

(a) — She chooses an odd, quirky garden and 'thinks rather nice' what others find strange, showing a taste for the unusual.

(b) — 'Crazy' here means odd or irregular; the path winds in an unusual way through the stones.

False — she 'thinks rather nice'.

Her garden has a crazy path, a lily pond, a rockery, and just beyond them, a sundial with a strange device.

A 'device' is a small mechanical or constructed object; here it refers to the strange working part or mechanism of the sundial that shows the time by the sun's shadow.

(b) — The stanza says she 'puts little plants between the stones'.

(c) — The poet comically exaggerates the tininess of the plants by imagining they must have been planted with a pin.

(a) — The plants are so delicate and small that, to the speaker, 'they don't mean anything at all'.

refrain.

The speaker thinks they are insignificant and puzzling. He calls them 'so delicate and small' and says 'they don't mean anything at all', and he 'can't think how she gets them in'.

Not necessarily — beauty and value depend on the eye of the beholder. Mrs. Jones clearly treasures her small plants, so what seems 'nothing at all' to the speaker may give her great joy. (Any thoughtful personal view is acceptable.)

(b) — The poem says they 'stood and talked about a flower for quite a quarter of an hour'.

(a) — After such a long, proud description, the speaker looked around for a grand flower, but it was too tiny for him to notice.

(a) — Instead of being shown a magnificent flower, the speaker discovers he has been standing on it all along — the opposite of what he expected.

Mrs. Jones.

After a quarter of an hour of admiring talk about a flower, the speaker cannot even see it — because he is standing on it. The 'lovely thing' turns out to be a tiny plant he has unknowingly crushed underfoot, which is both comic and unexpected.

The stanza teaches that people value things differently: Mrs. Jones can spend fifteen happy minutes on a flower the speaker cannot even see. Respecting others' choices, even when we do not share them, keeps friendships pleasant. (Any sensible personal view is acceptable.)

The speaker is Mrs. Jones's next-door neighbour, most likely a child, given the innocent, puzzled tone of the narration. He describes Mrs. Jones and her strange stone-filled garden.

An ordinary garden is expected to have flower beds, lawns and showy plants, but Mrs. Jones's garden is instead full of stones — a crazy path, a rockery, and tiny plants hidden between the stones.

The four features are a crazy path, a lily pond, a rockery, and a sundial with a strange device.

He says the plants are 'so delicate and small' that 'they don't mean anything at all', and he jokes that she must have planted them with a pin.

The speaker finds the garden odd and disappointing. He calls the path 'crazy', says the tiny plants 'don't mean anything at all', and expects a 'lovely thing' which he cannot even find.

Mrs. Jones is proud of and delighted with her garden. She 'thinks rather nice' of her sundial, puts tiny plants carefully between the stones, and happily talks about a single flower for quite a quarter of an hour.

It is a pun because 'concrete' literally refers to the hard, stone-like material of her garden, while symbolically the poem provides a clear, 'concrete' example of Mrs. Jones's peculiar gardening habits.

The refrain is 'My next-door neighbour, Mrs. Jones,'. Its repetition at the start of each stanza binds the poem together and adds a rhythmic, teasing, sing-song humour.

The rhyme scheme is AABBCC — rhyming couplets. Examples include 'Jones/stones', 'pond/beyond', 'device/nice', 'small/all' and 'in/pin'.

The poem creates humour through gentle exaggeration (planting with a pin), the mock-serious tone of the refrain, and the surprise ending where the speaker discovers he is standing on the very flower he is looking for.

It shows that Mrs. Jones finds endless delight in the smallest things. She can describe one tiny flower for fifteen minutes, revealing great passion, patience and love for her garden.

The speaker eagerly looks around for the 'lovely thing' they have discussed, but Mrs. Jones replies, 'You're standing on it.' The expected grand flower is actually a tiny plant beneath his own feet — the opposite of what he anticipated, which is situational irony.

Alliteration occurs in 'puts little plants' (repetition of the 'p' sound in 'puts' and 'plants'), and also in 'next-door neighbour' (repetition of the 'n' sound).

Mrs. Jones emerges as a cheerful, unconventional woman who loves her unique garden, takes pride in stones and tiny plants, and is warm enough to invite her neighbour over to share her enthusiasm.

He was probably curious to see what could be special about a garden made of stones after hearing her talk about it — though he clearly expected something far more impressive than what he found.

Mrs. Jones treasures the tiny flower enough to talk about it for a quarter of an hour, while the speaker is so unimpressed that he cannot even spot it and is surprised to learn he is standing on it.

The word is 'cried'. It conveys the speaker's excitement and eagerness — he is impatient to see the 'lovely thing' that Mrs. Jones has been describing.

The poem shows that the same garden is 'full of stones' and 'nothing at all' to one person, and a source of pride and joy to another. Beauty, it suggests, lies in the eye of the beholder.

They are friendly neighbours: Mrs. Jones invites him round to see her stones, they talk together for quite a while, and her replies, though teasing, are good-humoured rather than rude.

I would try to look at it through Mrs. Jones's eyes and find out what she loves about it, because every garden reflects the care and personality of the person who makes it. (Any reasonable personal response is acceptable.)

Although the speaker teases her garden, Mrs. Jones comes across as a warm and genuine person. She 'thinks rather nice' of her strange sundial, lovingly places delicate little plants between the stones, and invites her neighbour over to share what she enjoys. She can spend 'quite a quarter of an hour' talking about a single flower, showing deep patience and passion. Her witty reply, 'You're standing on it,' shows her sense of humour. She is thus portrayed as cheerful, hospitable, devoted to her hobby, and confident enough to be different.

Yes, the tone is light-hearted and playful throughout. The exaggeration of planting with 'a pin', the sing-song refrain, and the surprise ending are all meant to raise a smile. Even the final joke is at the speaker's own expense — he, not Mrs. Jones, fails to see the flower — so no one is truly mocked or hurt. The humour stays gentle and good-natured.

Literally, 'concrete' points to the hard, stone-like world of Mrs. Jones's garden — stones, rockery and a crazy path. Symbolically, a 'concrete example' means a clear, definite instance of something, and the poem is exactly that: a specific, amusing illustration of Mrs. Jones's eccentric gardening habits and of how differently two people can view the same thing. This play on double meanings makes the title a pun.

The poet builds a visual picture through concrete details: a garden 'full of stones', a 'crazy path', a 'lily pond', a 'rockery', a sundial with 'a strange device', and 'little plants' so delicate they seem planted 'with a pin'. These images help the reader visualise the garden's peculiar nature, and the final image of the speaker standing on the flower makes the scene vivid and funny at once.

The poem shows two opposite reactions to the same object. Mrs. Jones sees wonder, beauty and value in stones and tiny plants; the speaker sees only oddity and 'nothing at all'. Neither view is necessarily wrong — it simply shows that interest and beauty depend on personal perception. The poem gently suggests that we should respect enthusiasms we do not share.

The naive voice makes the humour natural rather than cruel. A child-like speaker says plainly that the plants 'don't mean anything at all' and cannot imagine how she gets them in 'unless she plants them with a pin' — exaggerations that sound innocent rather than insulting. This makes Mrs. Jones's earnest love of her garden seem even funnier by contrast, and the final surprise lands perfectly because the speaker is too naive to guess where the flower is.

First, the refrain — the line 'My next-door neighbour, Mrs. Jones,' opens all three stanzas, giving the poem rhythm and a teasing, chant-like humour. Second, situational irony — after fifteen minutes of admiring talk, the speaker looks around asking where the 'lovely thing' is, only to be told 'You're standing on it'; the outcome is the exact opposite of what he expected. (Other acceptable devices: hyperbole in 'plants them with a pin', the AABBCC rhyme scheme, and alliteration in 'puts little plants'.)

I would say that my garden is not 'just stones' but a carefully created rock garden: my crazy path, lily pond and rockery are arranged exactly as I like them, and my sundial with its strange device is a thing of real character. My little plants may be delicate, but tending them between the stones takes patience and skill. I would rather have a garden full of things I love than one designed to impress others. (Any answer in the spirit of the poem is acceptable.)

Until the last line, we share the speaker's assumption that Mrs. Jones's garden is a joke — a 'garden full of stones' with plants that 'don't mean anything at all'. The reply 'You're standing on it' suddenly reveals that the garden holds treasures the speaker never noticed, and that his scorn was blind. The ending turns the laughter around: the one who missed the beauty is the speaker, not Mrs. Jones.

The poem conveys that beauty and value are matters of personal perception. What looks like 'stones' and 'nothing at all' to one person may be another person's pride and joy. It also gently warns against judging by appearances — the speaker mocked a garden whose loveliest flower was literally beneath his feet. Respecting the enthusiasms of others, however small they appear, is the poem's quiet lesson.

Mrs. Jones, the 'next-door neighbour' of the speaker, is the lively heart of the poem. She is unconventional: instead of a normal garden of flower beds, she has 'a garden full of stones' — a crazy path, a lily pond, a rockery and a sundial 'with a strange device', and she 'thinks rather nice' of things others find odd. She is a devoted and patient gardener: she 'puts little plants between the stones', so delicate and small that the speaker jokes she must 'plant them with a pin' — a task requiring great care. She is warm and sociable, inviting her neighbour 'round to see her stones' and happily talking 'about a flower for quite a quarter of an hour'. Finally, she has a playful sense of humour, replying to his eager question with the teasing words, 'You're standing on it.' In short, Mrs. Jones is a cheerful, passionate and self-assured woman who finds joy in small things and is quite content to be different.

The speaker is Mrs. Jones's next-door neighbour, most likely a child, and he narrates the poem in a tone of frank, bewildered amusement. He is observant, noticing every detail of the garden — the crazy path, the lily pond, the rockery, the strange sundial and the pin-sized plants. He is also openly unimpressed: he declares the delicate plants 'don't mean anything at all' and cannot understand how anyone could love such a garden. His curiosity is shown when he accepts Mrs. Jones's invitation to 'see her stones' and then eagerly cries, 'Where is this lovely thing?' Yet he is not unkind — his teasing is gentle, and his excitement shows genuine interest. His most important trait is his innocent blindness: he is so used to expecting grand flowers that he cannot see the tiny treasure he is actually standing on. His bewilderment, honestly confessed, is what makes the poem funny.

The central theme is that beauty and value depend on the eye of the beholder. The same garden is, for the speaker, a strange collection where plants 'don't mean anything at all', while for Mrs. Jones it is a source of pride — she can discuss one small flower 'for quite a quarter of an hour'. A related theme is not judging by appearances: the speaker looks around for a 'lovely thing' and is told, 'You're standing on it,' proving that the garden's beauty was real but unnoticed by him. The poem also celebrates individuality — Mrs. Jones happily keeps a garden full of stones, indifferent to what neighbours might think. Finally, friendship and neighbourliness run through the poem: despite the teasing, the two share a pleasant visit and conversation. Through humour and a surprise ending, the poet shows that what seems worthless to one person may be another's greatest treasure.

The poem's entertainment comes from layering gentle humour with a final twist of situational irony. The humour begins with the description of 'a garden full of stones' — a garden whose proud features are a 'crazy path' and a sundial 'with a strange device'. It deepens with exaggeration: the plants are so tiny that the speaker can't think how she gets them in, 'unless she plants them with a pin'. The refrain 'My next-door neighbour, Mrs. Jones,' chanted at the start of every stanza adds a teasing, musical rhythm. The rhyme scheme of couplets (AABBCC), such as 'Jones/stones' and 'small/all', gives the poem a light, bouncing tune. Then comes the irony: after a full quarter of an hour of admiring talk about a flower, the speaker cries, 'Where is this lovely thing?' — and Mrs. Jones replies, 'You're standing on it.' The grand unveiling turns out to be a tiny plant under his own feet. Irony and humour thus combine to laugh at human expectation, while leaving both characters likeable.

The poem teaches several values through its light-hearted story. First, respect for others' choices: Mrs. Jones loves a garden 'full of stones' that her neighbour cannot appreciate, yet she is neither ashamed nor defensive about it — we should allow others their harmless joys. Second, patience and attention to small things: Mrs. Jones 'puts little plants between the stones' and can talk 'about a flower for quite a quarter of an hour', showing that love and care make small things precious. Third, not judging by appearance: the speaker mocks plants that 'don't mean anything at all', only to find he was 'standing on' the loveliest thing in the garden — a warning against hasty judgements. Fourth, good humour in friendship: the teasing between the neighbours stays kind and ends in shared laughter, not quarrel. Together, these values remind us to look twice before dismissing what others treasure.

The lesson — that value and beauty depend on personal perception — applies everywhere around us. A classmate's collection of stamps, coins or pebbles may look like 'stones' and 'nothing at all' to us, but it may mean the world to them, just as Mrs. Jones's tiny plants meant more to her than any grand flower. Before laughing at someone's hobby, artwork or home-made craft, we should remember the speaker of the poem, who mocked a garden whose 'lovely thing' was right beneath his feet. We can apply the poem by asking people what they love about their interests instead of judging at first glance; by giving small, sincere efforts their due praise; and by being confident, like Mrs. Jones, about our own harmless passions even when others do not share them. In short, the poem trains us to see with two pairs of eyes — our own and the other person's.

(An imaginative answer in the speaker's voice.) Dear Diary, today Mrs. Jones, my next-door neighbour, finally asked me round to see her famous stones. Honestly, her garden is the strangest I have ever seen — a crazy path, a lily pond, a rockery, and a sundial with some strange device that she thinks is rather nice. She has planted the tiniest plants between the stones, so small they don't mean anything at all; I honestly can't think how she gets them in, unless she plants them with a pin! Then she began telling me about a flower. We stood there talking about it for quite a quarter of an hour, and I got more and more curious. At last I cried, 'Where is this lovely thing?' — and she replied, 'You're standing on it!' I couldn't believe it. I had been squashing her most precious flower under my shoes the whole time! I felt terribly embarrassed, but I also learned something: perhaps I shouldn't judge her little garden so quickly. What looks like 'nothing at all' to me is clearly a treasure to her. Maybe next time I'll watch where I'm standing — and look a little closer before I laugh!