A Friend Found in Music Questions & Answers | Class 9 English | CBSE NCERT

b. metaphor — music is directly called an ocean, without 'like' or 'as'.

b. shore / core.

b. irresistible — she is drawn towards it as waves draw a swimmer to the shore.

It means that music affects the poet deeply and completely, stirring the innermost part of her being.

Metaphor — music is directly identified with rhythm, one of its own elements.

The poet herself, Bryanna T. Perkins — the stanza is written in the first person ("pulls me", "moves me").

b. to feel sad or low-spirited — 'blue' is an idiom for unhappiness.

a. a phrasal verb meaning to succeed in getting through something very difficult.

c. therapy or medicine.

When she feels "blue" — that is, when she is sad, low or upset.

It lifts them, making sure she pulls through difficult times.

It means music raises her mood — makes her feel happier, lighter and stronger.

b. music itself.

c. anaphora — repetition at the beginning of successive lines.

a. thoughtful — the poet quietly reflects on music's role in her life.

When "no one seems to care" — in moments of loneliness or neglect.

She says, "It's clear, music was there" — music shared those happy moments with her.

It suggests that at times the people around her appeared indifferent or unavailable, while music remained a constant, dependable companion.

Music's rhythm touches the innermost depths of the poet's heart. Its beats and melodies resonate so deeply with her feelings that she is stirred completely — moved emotionally in a way that ordinary words and experiences cannot reach.

Like a true friend, music stands by the poet in every mood — comforting her in sadness ("when I feel blue") and sharing her joy ("when I'm most cheerful"). It stays with her "when no one seems to care".

The poet's attitude is one of devotion and gratitude. She sees music as essential to her existence — an ocean that draws her, a therapy that heals her sadness, a spirit-lifter in hardship, and a faithful friend.

The poem conveys that music is not mere entertainment but a lifelong companion — a healing therapy and a faithful friend that supports us in sorrow and shares our joy. It urges us to treasure music's constant presence in our lives.

The repetition (anaphora) of "Music is…" acts like the recurring beat of music itself. It emphasises that music is present in every situation — sad or happy — and reinforces its roles: ocean, rhythm, therapy and friend.

The rhyming pairs are shore–core, blue–through and there–care, giving an ABCB pattern in each stanza. The soft, regular rhyme gives the poem a gentle, song-like cadence that echoes its subject — music itself — and makes the lines memorable.

The poem is written in the first person throughout — "pulls me", "The times when I'm most cheerful", "my spirits". These intensely personal confessions show the voice is the poet speaking of her own lived experience with music.

In sadness, music is her "therapy" and lifts her spirits; in happiness, she admits, "The times when I'm most cheerful, / It's clear, music was there." Thus music accompanies her through every mood — a friend for all seasons.

The mood is thoughtful. The poet quietly reflects on music's role in her life, weighing its comfort in sad times and its presence in happy ones — a meditative, personal contemplation rather than nostalgia, amusement or playfulness.

It suggests that the poet copes with sadness not by escaping it but by letting music heal her, as a treatment heals an ailment. Music is her chosen remedy — it gently lifts her low spirits until she can pull through.

Just as ocean waves draw a swimmer irresistibly towards the shore, music pulls the poet with a force she cannot resist. The image suggests music's vast, magnetic hold over her heart.

The four metaphors are: music is the ocean, music is the rhythm, music is the therapy, and music is the needed friend. Each image highlights a different power of music.

'Feel blue' is an idiom meaning to feel sad or low-spirited. Its happy opposite in the poem is "most cheerful" — the state in which the poet finds music beside her.

The stanza admits that there are times "when no one seems to care" — moments of loneliness and neglect. In such times, music alone remains the "needed friend", constant and dependable when people are not.

The title suits the poem, for it discovers in music every quality of true friendship — presence in joy and sorrow, comfort in sadness, and loyalty "when no one seems to care".

The first-person voice — "pulls me", "I feel blue", "my spirits" — makes the poem deeply personal and confessional. Readers feel the poet is speaking directly to them and recognise their own experiences in her words.

'Pull through' is a phrasal verb meaning to succeed in getting through something very difficult. The poet says music lifts her spirits "to make sure I pull through" — helping her survive hard times.

"Music is as vast and irresistible as the ocean that pulls me to the shore" and "Music is like a therapy that heals me when I feel sad." (Any two reasonable rewrites are acceptable.)

The ending leaves a feeling of comfort and quiet gratitude. Music emerges as a faithful, needed friend that stays beside the poet when no one else cares — an assurance of never being alone.

The poet needs music most when she feels "blue" — sad or low — and when "no one seems to care". In such moments music is her therapy and her needed friend, lifting her spirits.

The central idea is that music is not mere entertainment but a lifelong companion. It attracts the poet like an ocean, moves her deeply, heals her sadness like therapy, shares her happiest moments, and remains a faithful friend when no one else cares.

"Music is the ocean / That pulls me to the shore" presents music as vast and irresistible — a force that draws the poet towards it. "Music is the therapy / I need when I feel blue" presents music as medicine that heals her sadness and helps her pull through.

The poet openly uses the language of healing. Music is "the therapy I need when I feel blue"; it "lifts my spirits" as a remedy raises a patient's strength, ensuring she "pulls through" difficult times. Music treats both sadness and loneliness, restoring her cheer.

The poem places music beside the poet in opposite moods: in sadness it is her therapy, and in her happiest moments she admits, "It's clear, music was there." Whether she is blue or cheerful, music is present — a companion for every season of life.

The poem has three four-line stanzas. Several lines begin with "Music is…", an anaphora that echoes a recurring musical beat. The second and fourth lines of each stanza rhyme (shore/core, blue/through, there/care), giving the poem a gentle, song-like cadence that mirrors its subject.

The poem reveals a sensitive, reflective and resilient person. The poet feels emotions deeply — both sadness and cheer — yet she does not surrender to low spirits; she turns to music as her therapy and friend, showing self-awareness, gratitude and quiet strength.

Friendship is the poem's governing idea. Music is given a friend's qualities: it attracts ("pulls me"), understands without words ("moves me to the core"), heals ("therapy"), and stays loyal "when no one seems to care". The title itself announces a friend discovered in music.

The ocean image highlights music's vast, irresistible power — it draws the poet towards it as waves draw a swimmer to the shore. The rhythm image highlights music's emotional depth — it stirs her "to the core", reaching the innermost part of her being.

The poem assures readers that they need not face hard times alone. It presents music as always-available therapy that lifts the spirits and helps one "pull through". Its gentle rhymes and hopeful tone themselves soothe, offering companionship "when no one seems to care".

In the poem, music makes no demands — it is simply there. Yet it gives richly: an ocean's pull, a rhythm that moves the poet to the core, therapy for her sadness, and faithful friendship in loneliness. Like true friendship, music's generosity is unconditional.

The poet presents music as the truest of friends through a chain of striking metaphors. Like the ocean, it "pulls me to the shore" — an irresistible presence the poet cannot live without. Like a friend who understands without being told, its rhythm "moves me to the core", reaching parts of her that nothing else touches. When she is low, music is "the therapy I need when I feel blue", lifting her spirits so she "pulls through" hard times. When she is "most cheerful", music was there sharing her joy — a friend in fair weather and foul alike. Most touchingly, music is "the needed friend / When no one seems to care", standing by her even in loneliness. Like an ideal friendship, it asks for nothing, gives everything, and never leaves. Through these images, Perkins shows music to be the most faithful companion a human heart can have.

The poem builds four central metaphors. First, "Music is the ocean / That pulls me to the shore" — music is vast, deep and magnetic; the poet is helplessly drawn to it, just as tides draw a swimmer. Second, "Music is the rhythm / That moves me to the core" — music is an inner pulse that touches her innermost being and stirs her profoundly. Third, "Music is the therapy / I need when I feel blue" — music is medicine, a healer that cures her sadness and "lifts my spirits" so that she can "pull through" difficulties. Fourth, "Music is the needed friend / When no one seems to care" — music is a loyal companion that stays beside her in her loneliest hours. Each metaphor adds a new dimension — power, depth, healing and loyalty — so that by the end, music stands complete as a lifelong friend.

The poet's attitude is one of loving dependence and heartfelt gratitude. She does not treat music as background entertainment but as a necessity of life — something that calls her (the ocean), moves her (the rhythm), heals her (the therapy) and accompanies her (the needed friend). Her confession "It's clear, music was there" during her most cheerful moments shows she credits music for her very happiness. Yes, this attitude is widely shared: across the world, people turn to music in sorrow — listening to sad songs after heartbreak, lullabies calming a crying child — and in joy, celebrating festivals and weddings with song. Music therapy is also recognised today as an aid to mental wellbeing. The universality of hummed lullabies, anthems and film songs proves that for most of humanity, music is indeed a friend found and never lost.

The poem's appeal is universal because it deals with experiences common to all humanity. Everyone, in every culture, has known sadness — the feeling of being 'blue' — and most people have felt neglected, "when no one seems to care"; the poem speaks to both conditions with a remedy known everywhere: music. No special knowledge is needed to understand its simple words, and its rhyming lines read like a song itself. Music crosses boundaries of language, nation and age — a lullaby, a symphony and a folk song all comfort their listeners in the same way the poet describes. The first-person voice ("pulls me", "I feel blue") lets every reader step into the poet's place. Finally, the idea of finding an unconditional friend in something beyond human relationships resonates with anyone who has ever been lonely. Hence, though short and simple, the poem touches a chord in every human heart.

The poem is built on an extended metaphor: music is compared, line after line, to an ocean ("Music is the ocean / That pulls me to the shore"), a rhythm that "moves me to the core", a therapy for sadness, and "the needed friend". The repetition of "Music is…" at the beginning of several lines is anaphora; like a recurring musical beat, it emphasises music's presence in every situation. The poem also draws on idiomatic English: "feel blue" for sadness and the phrasal verb "pull through" for surviving hardship give the verse a natural, conversational tone. Sound is woven in through rhyme — shore/core, blue/through, there/care — whose alternating pattern (ABCB) gives each stanza a gentle, song-like cadence that echoes the poem's subject. Together, these simple but skilful devices make a short poem feel like a melody itself.

Perkins says almost nothing about how music is made — no instruments, notes, ragas, performers or training. Instead, every image describes what music does to the heart. It "pulls me to the shore" — an emotional attraction; it "moves me to the core" — a stirring of the innermost self; it is "the therapy I need when I feel blue" — a healing of sadness; and it is "the needed friend / When no one seems to care" — a cure for loneliness. Even the happy moments are remembered emotionally: "The times when I'm most cheerful, / It's clear, music was there." The poem's vocabulary belongs to feeling, not technique. This choice makes the poem accessible to every reader, for its subject is not the art of music but the experience of it — music as comfort, strength and companionship in every mood.

The poem directly supports the idea of music as medicine. The poet calls music "the therapy I need when I feel blue" — the vocabulary of healing applied to song. Like a course of treatment, music "lifts my spirits / To make sure I pull through", suggesting gradual recovery and the strength to survive difficult times. Even loneliness is treated: music is "the needed friend / When no one seems to care", offering companionship when human comfort is absent. Music is not only a remedy for sadness — it is credited for her most cheerful moments too. In my own experience, the same is true: a favourite song after a hard day calms the mind better than any advice, and a familiar melody can brighten a dull morning. The poem's central claim — that music heals without side effects — is one that readers everywhere can verify from their own lives.

When I feel sad or low-spirited.

To make sure I succeed in getting through something very difficult. VI. Integrated / Cross-textual Questions (Play + Poem)

Both texts present music as a force that heals, unites and uplifts. In the poem, music is a "therapy" and a "needed friend" that sees the poet through sorrow; in the play, music bridges the generational divide, reconciling Shruti with her father and melting Nabin's rigid views. Together they suggest that music is not merely entertainment but a bond — both personal and family-wide.

The poet is moved to the core by music's rhythm, which stirs her deepest emotions. Shruti, too, is moved to the core — she says, "Oh, how much I enjoy performing this piece" — music is her innermost passion, worth facing her father's anger for. Both show music as an irresistible emotional force that reaches the very centre of a person.

Nabin and the poet represent two very different relationships with the same thing — music. Nabin approaches music as a purist and gatekeeper: for him, classical Hindustani music with its ragas and aalaaps is "the only kind of music that an artist of any worth should play", and he initially dismisses fusion as noise and "desecration". His love for music is real, but it is conditional and rule-bound. The poet's approach is the opposite: she asks nothing of music and takes everything from it — it is her ocean, therapy and friend, present in sadness and joy alike, with no conditions about 'worthiness'. Yet the two converge by the end. When Nabin hears Shruti's fusion and finds the raga intact within it, he learns that music's power cannot be caged in one form — "I underestimated the power of our own music." The poet knew this truth from the start: music's value lies not in its category but in what it does for the human heart. Together, the texts teach that music, in any form, is a healer and a unifier — and that the richest musical life is one with room for both the classical and the modern.

In 'Twin Melodies', the statement proves true in both its positive and negative forms. Shruti's earliest and deepest training comes from her family — she has already performed with her father, and the newspaper praises "melody in her veins". Yet family also becomes the obstacle: her father's strict views make her hide her passion until honesty, her mother's wisdom and her friends' encouragement help her claim it. Iqbal, Avinash and Peter — her musical family of choice — give her the courage to speak up, proving friends can shape musical confidence as much as parents do. In the poem, human company almost vanishes: "when no one seems to care", it is music itself — not any person — that befriends the poet. Yet even here, the poet's bond with music feels like a relationship, a companionship learned perhaps from being consoled by song since childhood. The two texts together suggest a balance: families may nurture or obstruct our loves, friends may embolden us, but ultimately music itself becomes the most dependable companion — present in the concert hall and in the lonely room alike.

In the play, Nabin warns that Shruti would "drown" her individual style "in the hubbub of an orchestra" — water imagery for being swallowed and lost in a crowd. In the poem, music itself is the ocean that "pulls me to the shore" — water imagery for a powerful, welcoming force that draws the poet home. One fears drowning; the other trusts the tide — neatly capturing the two texts' differing starting points about music. VII. Model Answer Writing Tips for Students Extract/stanza questions: Read the extract twice; anchor every answer in the words of the extract. For MCQs, eliminate obviously wrong options first. Short answers (2 marks): Write 30–40 words in complete sentences; one clear point plus one supporting detail from the text. Short answers (3 marks): Write 40–50 words; make two linked points and support each with a short textual quotation. Long answers (5 marks): Write 120–150 words with an opening statement, 3–4 developed points with textual evidence, and a concluding sentence. Value-based questions: State the value (honesty, empathy, courage, openness to diversity) and connect it to a specific event in the text. Always quote short phrases from the text (e.g., "bite the bullet", "each bay, its own wind") — examiners reward textual evidence. VIII. Quick Revision Sheet (last-minute facts) End of Question Bank — Unit 6, Kaveri (NCERT) Class IX English.