KSEEB Class 9 · English (1st language) · KTBS Revised 2024-25
The Village School Master
Chapter summary, hard words and model exam answers for Karnataka Board Class 9 English.
Free online summary and notes (Karnataka Board Class 9 English). Read it here, no PDF download needed.
About the author
Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, and poet. "The Village School Master" is an extract from his poem "The Deserted Village" (1770), mourning the decline of rural England. The schoolmaster is drawn with affectionate humour - strict, vain, yet deeply loved.
Summary
The poem recalls Auburn, a village the poet says is now deserted. Once it held a bustling schoolhouse and a famous master.
The poem recalls Auburn, a village the poet says is now deserted. Once it held a bustling schoolhouse and a famous master.
The master is small but fierce in manner. One stern look can silence a room; he seems to know everything.
The master is small but fierce in manner. One stern look can silence a room; he seems to know everything.
Villagers believe he can write, cipher, and argue. He fills the role of local intellectual though his knowledge has limits.
Villagers believe he can write, cipher, and argue. He fills the role of local intellectual though his knowledge has limits.
He is vain about his skill and loves to impress. The village smiles at his pride but respects his service.
He is vain about his skill and loves to impress. The village smiles at his pride but respects his service.
Despite rigour, he is part of community life. Children learn discipline and letters from a figure they remember fondly.
Despite rigour, he is part of community life. Children learn discipline and letters from a figure they remember fondly.
Goldsmith ends by implying such figures vanish when villages decline. The schoolmaster becomes symbol of a lost rural world.
Goldsmith ends by implying such figures vanish when villages decline. The schoolmaster becomes symbol of a lost rural world.
Hard words & meanings
| stern | hard and firm in manner |
| cipher | to do sums; calculation (archaic usage) |
| vanity | too much pride in one's ability or appearance |
| deserted | left by inhabitants; uninhabited |
| intellectual | someone valued for knowledge and reasoning |
| rigour | firm discipline and exactness |
| nostalgia | sad affection for earlier times |
| affectionate | showing fond feeling |
| reputation | general opinion of a person's character or skill |
Model exam answers, grammar & audio
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