KSEEB Class 10 · English (2nd language) · KTBS Revised 2024-25
The Blind Boy
Chapter summary, hard words and model exam answers for Karnataka Board Class 10 English.
Free online summary and notes (Karnataka Board Class 10 English). Read it here, no PDF download needed.
About the author
Colley Cibber (1671–1757) - English actor-playwright. "The Blind Boy" is a lyric in which a blind child questions the meaning of "light."
Summary
A boy who has never seen asks sighted people what "light" is and why they value it so highly.
A boy who has never seen asks sighted people what "light" is and why they value it so highly.
They speak of colours, sunrise, faces, and beauty visible only to the eye. He listens but cannot picture their world.
They speak of colours, sunrise, faces, and beauty visible only to the eye. He listens but cannot picture their world.
His questions are not self-pity but genuine wonder. Blindness is his normal; he puzzles over why light matters so much to others.
His questions are not self-pity but genuine wonder. Blindness is his normal; he puzzles over why light matters so much to others.
The poem invites readers to think about perception - sight vs hearing, touch, and imagination. What is "light" to someone who lives in darkness?
The poem invites readers to think about perception - sight vs hearing, touch, and imagination. What is "light" to someone who lives in darkness?
Cibber's lyric predates modern disability rights but encourages sympathy and reflection on others' experience.
Cibber's lyric predates modern disability rights but encourages sympathy and reflection on others' experience.
Note simple language, rhetorical questions, and pathos without sentimentality. RTC often quotes lines with "say what is light."
Note simple language, rhetorical questions, and pathos without sentimentality. RTC often quotes lines with "say what is light."
Hard words & meanings
| blind | without sight |
| light | brightness that makes vision possible |
| innocent | simple and trusting |
| rhetorical question | asked without expecting a literal answer |
| perception | how we become aware through senses |
| pathos | emotion aroused by suffering |
| lyric | poem expressing personal emotion |
| wonder | desire to know and admire |
| sympathy | sharing another's feelings |
Model exam answers, grammar & audio
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