KSEEB Class 9 · English (2nd language) · KTBS Revised 2024-25
Gratefulness
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
Mary Oliver (American poet, 1935–2019). Oliver won the Pulitzer Prize and is beloved for poems that find the sacred in ordinary nature - "Gratefulness" celebrates being alive.
Summary
The poem opens by asking us to pay attention to the world around us - not grand wonders but everyday gifts we overlook.
The poem opens by asking us to pay attention to the world around us - not grand wonders but everyday gifts we overlook.
Being alive itself is a wonder: breath entering and leaving, the body carrying us through another day without our asking.
Being alive itself is a wonder: breath entering and leaving, the body carrying us through another day without our asking.
Sunlight, seasons turning, and the natural world offer continuous reasons for thankfulness if we pause to see them.
Sunlight, seasons turning, and the natural world offer continuous reasons for thankfulness if we pause to see them.
We rush through days forgetting how fragile and precious consciousness is - the poem slows us down deliberately.
We rush through days forgetting how fragile and precious consciousness is - the poem slows us down deliberately.
Thankfulness is not a single feeling but a habit of mind - choosing to name what is good rather than only what is lacking.
Thankfulness is not a single feeling but a habit of mind - choosing to name what is good rather than only what is lacking.
The poet ends by affirming that gratefulness connects us to life's depth and makes ordinary moments holy.
The poet ends by affirming that gratefulness connects us to life's depth and makes ordinary moments holy.
Hard words & meanings
| gratefulness | the quality of being thankful |
| miracle | an extraordinary event or gift |
| consciousness | the state of being awake and perceiving |
| fragile | delicate and not permanent |
| complacency | uncritical contentment that stops growth |
| affirmation | a statement that something is true |
| precious | dear and not to be wasted |
| mindfulness | calm focus on the present moment |
| sacred | worthy of deep respect |
Model exam answers, grammar & audio
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