Read the poem given below and answer the questions that follow.
O gift of God! O perfect day:
Whereon shall no man work, but play;
Whereon it is enough for me,
Not to be doing, but to be!
Through every fibre of my brain,
Through every nerve, through every vein,
I feel the electric thrill, the touch
Of life, that seems almost too much.
I hear the wind among the trees
Playing celestial symphonies;
I see the branches downward bent,
Like keys of some great instrument.
And over me unrolls on high
The splendid scenery of the sky,
Where through a sapphire sea the sun
Sails like a golden galleon,
Towards yonder cloud-land in the West,
Towards yonder Islands of the Blest,
Whose steep sierra far uplifts
Its craggy summits white with drifts.
Blow, winds! and waft through all the rooms
The snow-flakes of the cherry-blooms!
Blow, winds! and bend within my reach
The fiery blossoms of the peach!
O Life and Love! O happy throng
Of thoughts, whose only speech is song!
O heart of man! canst thou not be
Blithe as the air is, and as free?
By the words “the touch / Of life, that seems almost too much”, the poet means that
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → the joy of being alive is so strong that he can hardly take it in
The poet feels “the electric thrill” of life in every nerve and vein.
- A thrill is a sudden strong feeling of joy. This joy is so strong that it “seems almost too much” for him.
- He is not unhappy. He is so full of joy that he can hardly hold it all.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: life has become too hard for him to bear — Incorrect. Opposite meaning: “Too much” here is about joy, not pain. The whole poem is full of delight in life.
Option 3: he is too busy to enjoy the beauty around him — Incorrect. Contradicted: He is not busy at all. It is a day “Whereon shall no man work, but play”.
Option 4: he feels guilty for resting instead of working — Incorrect. Not mentioned: Guilty means feeling that one has done wrong. The poet shows no such feeling. He is happy “Not to be doing, but to be”.