A Concrete Example: Summary, Word-Meanings, NCERT solution & MCQs

M
Jul 24
5 min read

A quirky glimpse into a stone garden where beauty hides beneath your feet and humour blooms between the rocks.

Lesson At- A-Glance

Theme in English

Theme in Hindi

Summary In English Summary In Hindi

Text of the Poem

Word-Meanings

Text with Paraphrase

Theme in English

The central theme of “A Concrete Example” is the contrast between human perception and appreciation of beauty, especially in nature. The poet humorously depicts how people can be passionate about their creations, no matter how peculiar they seem to others.

Mrs. Jones, the poet’s neighbour, takes great pride in her stone-filled garden, where tiny, almost invisible plants grow between rocks. Her intense admiration for the garden reflects how personal taste can differ widely.

The poem subtly explores themes of subjective beauty, individual eccentricity, and the ironic disconnect between the observer and the creator. While the speaker finds the garden strange and the plants insignificant, Mrs. Jones sees it as a source of joy and pride.

The poem ends with a gentle punchline when the speaker asks about a beautiful flower, only to be told he is unknowingly standing on it. This highlights how people often overlook delicate beauty underfoot while seeking something grander.

Through light-hearted irony and gentle humour, the poem encourages readers to reconsider how they value and observe beauty in their surroundings.

Theme in Hindi

“A Concrete Example” कविता का मुख्य विषय है सौंदर्य की व्यक्तिगत परिभाषा और दृष्टिकोण। कवि अपनी पड़ोसन श्रीमती जोन्स की बगिया का चित्रण करते हैं, जो पत्थरों से भरी हुई है। यह बगिया पारंपरिक फूलों वाली नहीं, बल्कि विचित्र पत्थरों, झील, और एक सन्डायल से सजी है।

श्रीमती जोन्स उसमें बेहद छोटे-छोटे पौधे लगाती हैं जिन्हें शायद सुई से लगाया गया हो, क्योंकि वे इतने सूक्ष्म हैं। कवि को यह सब अजीब लगता है, लेकिन श्रीमती जोन्स को अपनी बगिया पर गर्व है।

यह कविता दर्शाती है कि किस प्रकार सौंदर्य का अनुभव प्रत्येक व्यक्ति के लिए अलग हो सकता है। जब कवि उस बगिया में एक फूल के बारे में पूछते हैं, तो श्रीमती जोन्स बताती हैं कि वह फूल उनके पैरों के नीचे है, जिससे यह स्पष्ट होता है कि हम अक्सर सूक्ष्म सुंदरता को अनदेखा कर देते हैं।

कविता हल्के-फुल्के व्यंग्य और हास्य के माध्यम से हमें यह सिखाती है कि कभी-कभी जो चीज़ हमें सामान्य लगती है, वह किसी और के लिए बेहद खास हो सकती है।

Summary in English

The poem humorously narrates the speaker's observation of his neighbour, Mrs. Jones, who has an unusual garden made mostly of stones.
Instead of colourful flowers, her garden features:
- A winding stone path
- A lily pond
- A rockery (stone arrangement)
- A sundial with a curious device
Between these stones, Mrs. Jones plants tiny, delicate plants that are barely visible.
The speaker is amused and puzzled by how she manages to plant them—perhaps using a pin.
One day, Mrs. Jones invites the speaker to admire her garden.
They spend fifteen minutes discussing a flower, which the speaker eagerly looks for.
When he asks where the flower is, Mrs. Jones amusingly replies that he is standing on it.
The poem ends on a witty note, showing how we often overlook subtle beauty while searching for something obvious.
Through light humour and irony, the poem highlights:
- Individual taste in beauty
- Eccentricity and personal passion
- How beauty can be found in unexpected places

Summary in Hindi

यह कविता कवि की पड़ोसन श्रीमती जोन्स और उनके असामान्य पत्थर वाले बगीचे के बारे में है।
उनके बगीचे में रंग-बिरंगे फूलों की बजाय शामिल हैं:
- एक टेढ़ी-मेढ़ी पत्थरों की पगडंडी
- एक लिली तालाब
- एक रॉक गार्डन (पत्थरों का सजावटी ढांचा)
- एक सन्डायल (धूपघड़ी) जिसमें एक अजीब-सा उपकरण जुड़ा है
वह पत्थरों के बीच बहुत ही छोटे और नाजुक पौधे लगाती हैं, जिन्हें देख पाना भी मुश्किल है।
कवि को आश्चर्य होता है कि इतने छोटे पौधों को वह कैसे लगाती हैं—शायद सुई से।
एक दिन श्रीमती जोन्स कवि को अपना बगीचा दिखाने बुलाती हैं।
वे दोनों लगभग पंद्रह मिनट (quarter of an hour) एक फूल के बारे में बात करते हैं।
जब कवि पूछते हैं कि वह सुंदर फूल कहां है, तो श्रीमती जोन्स कहती हैं—"आप उसी पर खड़े हैं।"
कविता हास्य और व्यंग्य के साथ यह दर्शाती है:
- सौंदर्य की व्यक्तिगत समझ
- किसी की अनोखी पसंद और जुनून
- सूक्ष्म सुंदरता को अक्सर लोग नज़रअंदाज़ कर देते हैं

Text of the Poem

Word Meanings

Word	Meaning	Example Sentence
Concrete	Real or physical; not abstract	Mrs. Jones’s garden is a concrete example of her creativity with rocks and plants.
Device	A decorative or functional object or mechanism	The sundial with a strange device intrigued the poet.
Delicate	Fragile or very fine and subtle	She plants delicate flowers between the heavy stones.
Rockery	A garden feature made with rocks and small plants	The rockery in Mrs. Jones's yard was full of tiny plants and stones.
Lily Pond	A small water body designed for growing water lilies	There is a lily pond at the centre of her stone garden.
Strange	Unusual or unexpected	The sundial had a strange device that caught everyone’s attention.
Quarter of an hour	A time period of fifteen minutes	They discussed a tiny flower for a quarter of an hour.
Admiration	A feeling of respect or wonder	Mrs. Jones looked at her garden with quiet admiration.
Whimsical	Playfully unusual or quaint	The poem has a whimsical tone that lightly mocks human behaviour.
Eccentricity	Unusual or quirky behaviour	Her love for stone gardens shows her eccentricity in aesthetic taste.

Text with Paraphrase

Original Line	Easy English Meaning
My next-door neighbour, Mrs. Jones,	My neighbour who lives next to me is Mrs. Jones.
has got a garden full of stones:	She has a garden that is filled with stones.
A crazy path, a lily pond,	There is a winding path and a pond with lilies.
a rockery and, just beyond	There’s a rock garden, and a little further,
A sundial with a strange device,	A sun clock with a strange-looking part,
which Mrs. Jones thinks rather nice.	Mrs. Jones thinks it looks very nice.
My next-door neighbour, Mrs. Jones,	My neighbour, Mrs. Jones,
puts little plants between the stones	She plants tiny plants between the rocks.
They are so delicate and small,	The plants are very tiny and soft.
they don’t mean anything at all.	They seem unimportant to me.
I can’t think how she gets them in,	I don’t understand how she plants them,
unless she plants them with a pin.	Maybe she uses a pin to put them in the ground.
My next-door neighbour, Mrs. Jones,	My neighbour, Mrs. Jones,
once asked me round to see her stones.	One day, she invited me to see her stone garden.
We stood and talked about a flower	We stood together and talked about a flower.
for quite a quarter of an hour.	We talked for about fifteen minutes.
“Where is this lovely thing?” I cried.	I asked loudly, “Where is this beautiful flower?”
“You’re standing on it,” she replied.	She replied, “You are standing on the flower!”