EnglishCBSE Class 8 · Chapter 14

Magnifying Glass Class 8: Poem Summary, Devices and Questions

Updated 15 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Magnifying Glass, by Walter de la Mare in Poorvi Unit 5, celebrates how a simple lens reveals hidden wonders: tiny shells in chalk, a forest in moss, a busy world in a drop of water and a spider spinning silk. The poet ends by imagining that lenses could bring the moon close enough to walk there.

What Magnifying Glass is about

Magnifying Glass by Walter de la Mare is the poem in Unit 5 (Science and Curiosity) of Poorvi, the Class 8 English textbook. The speaker describes the 'magic' of looking at ordinary things through a round magnifying glass.

The poem has six stanzas of four lines (quatrains) with the rhyme scheme ABCB (talk/chalk, trees/bees, jets/spinnerets, flies/eyes, glass/surpass, moon/afternoon). Each stanza follows a pattern: a small, everyday thing is shown to hold extraordinary detail, until the final stanza leaps from tiny things to the moon.

The tone is wonder and curiosity. Key ideas: close observation transforms how we see the world, nature's hidden beauty, and the power of scientific instruments.

CBSE sets no Class 8 paper; your school sets the exam. Expect extract questions, summary completion, devices (simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, imagery, exclamation), word work (myriad, deft, surpass), collective nouns, 'eye' idioms, the -ish suffix, /f/ and /v/ sounds, and writing a conversation.

Weightage: CBSE sets no Class 8 English paper or marks: Class 8 is assessed by your school, which teaches from NCERT Poorvi. School papers usually mix extract questions, short answers (about 40-50 words) and longer answers (about 100-150 words), plus grammar and writing from the "Let us learn" and "Let us write" sections.Source: docs/research/cbse-8-2026-27.md (NCERT book list, Reprint 2026-27)

Magnifying Glass: explanation

In our own words, in the order of the text. Read the NCERT text itself too: the board quotes from it.

What the poem is about. The whole poem is spoken by a curious observer who has a simple round magnifying glass and is thrilled by what it shows him. He does not explain how a lens works; instead, he takes us on a short journey from the smallest objects to the largest one in the sky.

Stanzas 1-2: magic in tiny things. With his round glass, the speaker says, he can make 'Magic talk'. A small piece of chalk shows countless tiny shells. Just an inch of moss looks like a forest of flowers and trees. A single drop of water appears as busy as a hive of bees, full of tiny moving life.

Stanzas 3-4: the spider. The speaker waits patiently and watches a skilful spider push out woven silk from its spinnerets (the silk-producing organs). Through the lens, its claws look fierce, like a tiger's. He exclaims at the silly flies that stumble into its web, and at the spider's many eyes.

Stanza 5: everything becomes marvellous. There is nothing so tiny that the glass cannot make it more wonderful; the glass even seems to outdo itself with each new discovery.

Stanza 6: towards the moon. The speaker imagines that with lenses like this one, looking at the moon, it would seem close enough to walk there in a single afternoon.

Structure. Each stanza moves from something small and plain to a surprising discovery, and the exclamation marks show the speaker growing more excited as he goes. The last stanza turns the lens around: instead of making small things big, it makes a distant thing near.

Central idea: Careful observation, helped by simple scientific tools, reveals a hidden universe of wonder in the smallest things, and can bring even the distant sky within reach. Curiosity makes the ordinary extraordinary.

Themes and message

Wonder of close observation

Ordinary objects (chalk, moss, water) reveal amazing worlds when looked at closely. Observation turns the everyday into the marvellous.

From the text: 'Not even the tiniest thing / But this my glass / Will make more marvellous'

Science as magic

The speaker calls the lens's effect 'Magic', showing how scientific tools can feel magical while revealing real truths.

From the text: 'With this round glass / I can make Magic talk'

Hidden life in nature

A drop of water teems like a beehive; a spider hunts with claws and many eyes. Nature is full of life we usually miss.

From the text: 'A drop of water / Like hive of bees.'

Curiosity and imagination

From a drop of water to the moon, the speaker's curiosity grows, showing how wonder at small things leads to big dreams.

From the text: 'Eyeing the moon, / ‘Twould seem you’d walk there / In an afternoon!'

The speaker and the people in the poem

The speaker

A curious observer using a magnifying glass.

Curious and patient ('I lie in wait and watch')
Full of wonder and delight (exclamations)
Imaginative: dreams of the moon

'I lie in wait and watch'

The spider

The creature the speaker studies closely.

Skilful ('deft') spinner of silk
Fierce hunter with 'tigerish claws' and many eyes

'How the deft spider jets / The woven web-silk'

Poetic devices

Device	Example	Effect
Simile	'A drop of water / Like hive of bees.'	Shows that a water drop, seen closely, is full of busy, swarming life.
Metaphor	'Of but an inch of moss / A forest'	An inch of moss becomes a whole forest, showing the huge change in scale.
Personification	'I can make Magic talk'; the glass will 'itself surpass'	Makes the glass and its magic seem alive and active.
Alliteration	'woven web-silk'; 'make more marvellous'; 'scrap ... shells show'	Adds music and helps the lines flow.
Hyperbole and exclamation	'‘Twould seem you’d walk there / In an afternoon!'; 'With all those eyes!'	Exaggeration and exclamations express the speaker's excitement and amazement.
Imagery	'The tigerish claws he has!'	Creates a vivid, slightly scary picture of the magnified spider.

Key quotations

Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.

With this round glass I can make Magic talk
The speaker: Opening lines.
The glass reveals wonders as if by magic.
A myriad shells show In a scrap of chalk;
The speaker: First example of magnification.
Countless tiny shells hidden in a small piece of chalk.
A drop of water Like hive of bees.
The speaker: Stanza 2.
Simile: a drop teems with tiny life.
The tigerish claws he has!
The speaker: Watching the spider.
Magnified, a tiny spider looks fierce like a tiger.
Eyeing the moon, ‘Twould seem you’d walk there In an afternoon!
The speaker: Final stanza.
Lenses can bring distant things close; curiosity reaches the sky.

Key concepts

Form, rhyme scheme and pattern

Six quatrains (four-line stanzas). Rhyme scheme ABCB: only lines 2 and 4 rhyme (talk/chalk, trees/bees, jets/spinnerets, flies/eyes, glass/surpass, moon/afternoon). Lines are short, giving a quick, light rhythm.

Pattern: each stanza shows a small object, then the surprising detail the glass reveals (chalk -> shells, moss -> forest, drop -> beehive, spider -> claws and eyes). The last stanza shifts from tiny things to the huge, distant moon: magnification works both ways, making small things big and far things near.

Tone: wonder and curiosity; exclamation marks show excitement.

Worked example

Give the rhyme scheme of the final stanza, whose line endings are it, moon, there, afternoon.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

it (A), moon (B), there (C), afternoon (B).
Only lines 2 and 4 rhyme.

Answer: ABCB (moon/afternoon).

What the glass reveals

Ordinary thing	Seen through the glass
a scrap of chalk	a myriad (countless) shells
an inch of moss	a forest of flowers and trees
a drop of water	like a hive of bees (busy tiny life)
a spider	deft spinner, woven silk, tigerish claws, many eyes
any tiny thing	more marvellous
the moon (with lenses)	seems near enough to walk to in an afternoon

Science link: chalk is formed largely from the remains of tiny sea creatures, and pond water holds micro-organisms; the poem's images match what microscopes and lenses really show.

Worked example

Why does the poet say chalk shows 'a myriad shells'?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Myriad = countless.
Magnified chalk shows tiny shell-like remains.

Answer: Under the lens, a small piece of chalk reveals countless tiny shells, showing hidden detail in something we think of as plain.

Vocabulary, collective nouns and -ish adjectives

Words: myriad (countless), deft (skilful), jets (shoots out), spinnerets (a spider's silk organs), woven (made by weaving), stumble (trip, blunder), marvellous (wonderful), surpass (do better than), 'Twould (it would).

Collective nouns: a hive of bees, a swarm of locusts, a constellation of stars, a grove of trees, a troupe of dancers, a battalion of soldiers, a fleet of ships.

-ish adjectives (like 'tigerish', from 'tiger'): girlish, boyish, bookish, childish, foolish. Not every noun takes -ish: we say 'glassy', 'silky', 'watery', not 'glassish'.

Worked example

Make adjectives with -ish from: boy, book, fool.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Add -ish to the noun.
Check meaning: like a ...

Answer: boyish (like a boy), bookish (fond of books), foolish (like a fool).

'Eye' idioms and /f/ and /v/ sounds

Idioms with 'eye' (the poem uses 'eyeing the moon'):

apple of one's eye: a very precious person
in the blink of an eye: very quickly
keep an eye on: watch closely
turn a blind eye: pretend not to notice
see eye to eye: agree
bird's-eye view: an overall view from above

/f/ and /v/: for both, the lower lip lightly touches the upper teeth. /v/ has vibration (voiced: vase, woven, hive); /f/ has none (forest, deft, itself). Minimal pairs: fan/van, fine/vine, leaf/leave.

Worked example

Use an 'eye' idiom: The teacher asked me to ______ the younger children during the trip.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Meaning needed: watch closely.
Idiom: keep an eye on.

Answer: keep an eye on

Writing a conversation

Points to remember: set the scene (where, when, who); choose a formal or informal tone; include key information, agreement and disagreement; add emotions or actions in brackets, such as (excitedly) or (sits down); fillers like 'Er...', 'Uff' can sound natural. Each new speaker begins on a new line with their name and a colon.

Worked example

Write a short conversation between two friends, Kabir and Leena, choosing a planet for a class presentation.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Scene and names.
Two ideas, a disagreement, a compromise, a decision.
Use bracketed actions.

Answer: (Classroom, after the bell) / Kabir: Leena, we have to choose a planet for our presentation by Friday. Any ideas? / Leena: (excitedly) Saturn! Its rings would look amazing on a chart. / Kabir: (doubtfully) Er... everyone will pick Saturn. What about Mars? There is so much news about missions there. / Leena: True, but I would love to show the rings. / Kabir: (thinking) How about we compare them? Saturn for beauty, Mars for exploration. / Leena: (smiling) Perfect! I'll do Saturn's rings, and you take the Mars missions. / Kabir: Deal. Let's meet in the library tomorrow.

Magnifying Glass in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Observation in science

Suppose your science teacher asks you to study a drop of pond water for a project.

How does the poem prepare you, and what should you do?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Poem: a drop is 'like hive of bees'.
Use a magnifier or microscope; observe patiently.
Draw and note what you see.

Answer: The poem tells me to expect a busy world inside a drop. I should place the drop on a slide, look patiently through a lens, and sketch and note the tiny moving organisms, just as the speaker 'lies in wait and watches'.

Memory hook: Look longer, see more.

Seeing beauty in ordinary things

Imagine you feel bored on a long summer afternoon at home.

How could the poem change your afternoon?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Wonder is in everyday things.
Examine leaves, sugar crystals, fabric, insects.
Record discoveries.

Answer: Like the speaker, I could take a magnifying glass and explore ordinary things: a leaf's veins, a sugar crystal, threads in my shirt, an ant's legs. Boredom turns into discovery.

Memory hook: Boring is just unexplored.

Lenses that help people

Say your grandmother struggles to read medicine labels.

Which visual aid from the lesson could help, and why?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Options: magnifying spectacles, stand magnifier, hand-held magnifier.
Hand-held with light: small, easy to move over labels.
Check with an eye doctor.

Answer: A hand-held magnifier, especially one with a built-in light, could help her read small labels, as the lesson describes for people with low vision. An eye doctor can advise on magnifying spectacles too.

Memory hook: The right lens makes small print readable.

Topics in this chapter

Magnifying Glass: Structure, Excitement and the Moon

How the school exam asks Magnifying Glass

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Question type	How it is asked	Method
Extract-based (5 x 1 mark)	One or two stanzas with MCQs on meaning, devices, rhyme scheme, tone and inference.	Name the device and quote the words; use the meanings of myriad, deft, surpass.
Summary completion	Fill a summary with words from the poem.	Recall the sequence: chalk, moss, water, spider, moon.
Short answer (2 marks, 40-50 words)	Significance of the spider; why the poem ends with the moon; speaker's attitude.	Point plus quotation.
Long answer (5 marks, 100-150 words)	How observation changes our view of nature; science and wonder; your own use of a lens.	Three examples from the poem, then a link to real life.
Language and writing	Collective nouns, 'eye' idioms, -ish adjectives, /f/ and /v/; writing a conversation.	Follow the conversation checklist: scene, tone, brackets for actions.

Tricks to remember Magnifying Glass

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

Order of wonders
'Chalk, Moss, Drop, Spider, Moon': 'Clever Minds Do Study Moons'.
Use it when: Summary questions.
What each becomes
'Shells, Forest, Bees, Tiger, Walk': chalk -> shells, moss -> forest, drop -> bees, spider -> tiger claws, moon -> walk there.
Use it when: Imagery questions.
Rhyme scheme
'Only the evens rhyme': ABCB.
Use it when: Form questions.
F or V
'Touch your throat: buzz = V, no buzz = F'.
Use it when: Pronunciation items.

Magnifying Glass: extract-based questions

Read the extract, answer every part on paper, then open the answers.

Extract 1: The spider

I lie in wait and watch
How the deft spider jets
The woven web-silk
From his spinnerets;
The tigerish claws he has!
And oh! the silly flies
The stumble into his net—
With all those eyes!

(1) · 1 mark · MCQ
'Deft' means:
(a) deaf (b) skilful (c) lazy (d) dangerous
(2) · 1 mark · Short answer
What does 'I lie in wait and watch' show about the speaker?
(3) · 1 mark · Short answer
Why does the spider seem to have 'tigerish claws'?
(4) · 1 mark · Very short answer
Pick an example of alliteration.
(5) · 1 mark · MCQ
The exclamation marks mainly express the speaker's:
(a) anger (b) fear of flies (c) amazement (d) boredom

Show the answersAnswers

(b) skilful
He is patient and curious, observing quietly and carefully.
Magnified by the glass, its tiny claws look large and fierce, like a tiger's.
'woven web-silk' (also 'watch ... web').
(c) amazement

Extract 2: From tiny things to the moon

Not even the tiniest thing
But this my glass
Will make more marvellous
And itself surpass.
Yes, and with lenses like it,
Eyeing the moon,
‘Twould seem you’d walk there
In an afternoon!

(1) · 1 mark · MCQ
'Surpass' means:
(a) fall short (b) do better than (c) break (d) hide
(2) · 1 mark · Short answer
What is the main idea of the first four lines?
(3) · 1 mark · Very short answer
Write the full form of ''Twould'.
(4) · 1 mark · MCQ
The idea of walking to the moon 'in an afternoon' is an example of:
(a) simile (b) hyperbole (c) onomatopoeia (d) rhyme
(5) · 1 mark · Very short answer
Which pair of words rhymes in the second stanza of the extract?

Show the answersAnswers

(b) do better than
The glass makes even the tiniest thing more wonderful.
It would.
(b) hyperbole
moon / afternoon

Magnifying Glass: exam-level solved questions

Ordered from exam level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Example 1: Three small things · 2 marks · Short answerExam level

Name the three small objects in the first two stanzas and say what each becomes under the glass. Answer in 40-50 words. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Chalk -> a myriad shells.
Moss -> a forest of flowers and trees.
Drop of water -> like a hive of bees.

Answer: The three objects are a scrap of chalk, an inch of moss and a drop of water. Under the glass, the chalk shows a myriad shells, the moss becomes a forest of flowers and trees, and the drop of water looks as busy as a hive of bees.

Example 2: The drop of water · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

Explain the simile 'A drop of water / Like hive of bees'. Answer in 40-50 words. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Compares drop to a beehive.
Full of tiny moving creatures.
Hidden busy life.

Answer: Seen through the glass, a single drop of water seems crowded with tiny moving creatures, just as a beehive buzzes with busy bees. The simile shows that something that looks empty and still to the naked eye is actually full of life and activity.

Example 3: Artist and hunter · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

How does the poet make the spider seem both admirable and frightening? Answer in 40-50 words. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Admirable: 'deft', 'woven web-silk'.
Frightening: 'tigerish claws', 'all those eyes', exclamations.
Through the glass: artist and predator.

Answer: Words like 'deft' and 'woven web-silk' make the spider seem a skilful craftsman, worthy of admiration. But 'tigerish claws' and 'all those eyes', with exclamation marks, make it seem a fierce hunter. Through the glass, the tiny creature becomes both an artist and a predator.

Example 4: A glass that surpasses itself · 2 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

The speaker says the glass will 'itself surpass'. What does this suggest about discovery? Answer in 40-50 words. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Surpass = do better than.
Each discovery outdoes the last.
Discovery never runs out.

Answer: To surpass is to do better than. The glass seems to outdo itself with every new object, as if each discovery is more wonderful than the last. This suggests that discovery never runs out: the more closely we look, the more marvels we find.

Example 5: Observation transforms the world · 5 marks · Long answerHarder exam level

How does the poem show that close observation can change the way we see the world? Answer in 100-150 words. (5 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Ordinary objects become extraordinary: chalk, moss, water.
Spider: hidden skill and drama.
Pattern of each stanza.
Ending: from small to vast.
Message for us.

Answer: The poem shows that looking closely turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. A scrap of chalk, usually just a piece of white stick, reveals a myriad shells; an inch of moss becomes a forest of flowers and trees; a drop of water seems as busy as a beehive. When the speaker patiently watches a spider, he discovers its deft silk-spinning, its tigerish claws and its many eyes, a whole world of skill and danger. Each stanza follows the same pattern, from something small to a surprising discovery, so the reader learns to expect wonder everywhere. Finally, the speaker imagines lenses bringing the moon so close that one could walk there in an afternoon. The message is that the world is far richer than it first appears. If we observe carefully, everyday life is full of marvels.

Example 6: Your own discovery · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

Suppose you were given a magnifying glass for a day. Describe three things you would examine and what you might discover, in the spirit of the poem. Answer in 100-150 words. (5 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Choose three ordinary things.
Describe surprising details with vivid images.
Link to the poem's wonder.
End with a reflection.

Answer: With a magnifying glass for a day, I would first study a leaf from our neem tree. I expect to find a network of veins like the roads on a city map, and tiny hairs along the edges. Next, I would look at a grain of salt, which might turn out to be a perfect little cube, sparkling like a block of ice. Finally, I would watch an ant carrying a crumb across the courtyard. Up close, its jaws and bent legs might look as powerful as the 'tigerish claws' of the poet's spider, and its patient struggle would seem heroic. Like Walter de la Mare, I would realise that wonders are hiding in plain sight. A simple lens, used with curiosity and patience, can turn an ordinary afternoon into an adventure.

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is marked: the value points the examiner looks for and the marks each earns.

Explain how the poem's form (short quatrains with an ABCB rhyme) suits its subject. Answer in 40-50 words. (2 marks) (2 marks)

Step	Marks
Content: short lines like quick glances through the lens; each quatrain holds one discovery; the light ABCB rhyme gives a sing-song rhythm that carries the reader from one marvel to the next.	1
Expression within the word limit.	1

Write a conversation in which you persuade your grandfather, who is reluctant, to try a hand-held magnifier for reading. (5 marks) (5 marks)

Step	Marks
Format: scene, speaker names with colons, actions in brackets.	1
Content: his difficulty and doubts, your reasons and suggestions, a gentle disagreement, a decision.	2
Natural flow and suitable tone.	1
Accuracy of language.	1

Where students lose marks in Magnifying Glass

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Writing the rhyme scheme as AABB
Not checking lines 1 and 3.
Wrong working
AABB: glass/talk, chalk/moss.
Right working
ABCB: only lines 2 and 4 rhyme (talk/chalk).
Do this: Label each end word before deciding.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Taking the moon line literally
Missing hyperbole.
Wrong working
The poet says we can walk to the moon in an afternoon.
Right working
Through lenses, the moon would seem so near that one could walk there: an exaggeration showing wonder.
Do this: Notice 'Twould seem'.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Calling 'like hive of bees' a metaphor
Confusing simile and metaphor.
Wrong working
It is a metaphor.
Right working
It is a simile because it uses 'like'; 'an inch of moss / A forest' is the metaphor.
Do this: 'Like' or 'as' = simile.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Conversation written as a paragraph
Ignoring the format.
Wrong working
Deepa said that she liked the idea and Asma agreed...
Right working
Deepa: (excitedly) I love it! / Asma: Great, let's begin.
Do this: Name and colon for each speaker; new line each time.
Usually costs: 1-2 marks of 5.

Practice questions on Magnifying Glass

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQExam level
Who wrote 'Magnifying Glass'?
(a) Arthur C. Clarke (b) Walter de la Mare (c) Mary Dow Brine (d) Sarojini Naidu
Hint
Named at the end of the poem.
Answer
(b) Walter de la Mare
Q2 · 1 mark · Very short answerExam level
What does the speaker compare a drop of water to?
Hint
Stanza 2, a simile.
Answer
A hive of bees ('A drop of water / Like hive of bees').
Q3 · 1 mark · Very short answerExam level
What does an inch of moss look like through the glass?
Hint
Stanza 2.
Answer
A forest of flowers and trees.
Q4 · 1 mark · Very short answerHarder exam level
Complete the collective nouns: a ______ of locusts, a ______ of stars, a ______ of dancers, a ______ of ships.
Hint
swarm, constellation, troupe, fleet.
Answer
swarm, constellation, troupe, fleet
Q5 · 1 mark · Very short answerHarder exam level
Use the right 'eye' idiom: (i) The school principal won't ______ to students running in corridors. (ii) My brother and I rarely ______ on films.
Hint
pretend not to notice; agree.
Answer
(i) turn a blind eye (ii) see eye to eye
Q6 · 1 mark · Very short answerHarder exam level
Sort into /f/ or /v/ sounds and say which has vibration: leaf, leave, phone, vine.
Hint
ph can sound like f.
Answer
/f/: leaf, phone; /v/: leave, vine. /v/ has vibration.
Q7 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level
Identify one metaphor and one personification in the poem, with lines.
Hint
Moss; Magic.
Answer
Metaphor: 'Of but an inch of moss / A forest' (moss called a forest). Personification: 'I can make Magic talk' (magic given the human ability to talk); also the glass that will 'itself surpass'.
Q8 · 2 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Why does the speaker call the flies 'silly'? Do you agree with his view? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
They walk into a trap.
Answer
He calls them silly because they blunder straight into the spider's web despite having 'all those eyes'. I partly agree: from his magnified view they seem careless, but the web is nearly invisible to them. The word adds light humour to a scene of hunting.
Q9 · 2 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Suppose the poet had used a telescope instead of a magnifying glass. Write a four-line stanza (ABCB) about what he might see.
Hint
Planets, stars; rhyme lines 2 and 4.
Answer
Sample: With this long tube I find / The rings that Saturn wears, / And in one patch of dark / A thousand hidden stars.
Q10 · 5 marks · Long answerHarder exam level
Write a conversation (10-12 lines) between you and a friend planning to use a magnifying glass for a nature project in the school garden.
Hint
Scene, tone, agreement and disagreement, bracketed actions.
Answer
Points: scene line (garden, after school, two names); idea (observe leaves, insects, soil); a disagreement (what to study first, or safety around ants) and how it is resolved; actions in brackets (excitedly, kneels down); a clear decision and plan at the end.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.What does the speaker call the effect of the glass?Show answer
Magic ('I can make Magic talk').
2.What is shown in a scrap of chalk?Show answer
A myriad (countless) shells.
3.From what does the spider jet its silk?Show answer
Its spinnerets.
4.What does the speaker exclaim about the spider's claws?Show answer
That they are 'tigerish'.
5.What would seem possible when eyeing the moon with lenses?Show answer
Walking there in an afternoon.
6.What is the tone of the poem?Show answer
Wonder and curiosity.

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

Poet: Walter de la Mare; Poorvi Unit 5, Science and Curiosity.
Six quatrains; rhyme scheme ABCB; tone of wonder and curiosity.
Chalk -> myriad shells; moss -> forest; water drop -> like a hive of bees.
Spider: deft, woven web-silk, spinnerets, tigerish claws, many eyes.
Glass makes every tiny thing more marvellous.
Ending: lenses make the moon seem a walk away (hyperbole).
Devices: simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, imagery, exclamations.
Language: myriad, deft, surpass; collective nouns; 'eye' idioms; -ish adjectives.
Speaking: /f/ vs /v/ (vibration).
Writing: a conversation with stage-like bracketed actions.

Magnifying Glass: frequently asked questions

Who is the poet of 'Magnifying Glass'?

Walter de la Mare. The poem is in Unit 5, Science and Curiosity, of Poorvi, the Class 8 English textbook.

What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?

ABCB in each of its six four-line stanzas (quatrains).

What does the magnifying glass reveal?

Countless shells in chalk, a forest in an inch of moss, busy life in a drop of water, and a spider's silk, claws and many eyes.

Why does the poem end with the moon?

To show that lenses can also bring far-off things near, so the speaker's wonder extends from the tiniest objects to the sky.

What is the writing task?

Writing a conversation between two Science Club members, Deepa and Asma, deciding on a model for the Science Fair.

Based on: NCERT Poorvi, Textbook of English for Grade 8 (Reprint 2026-27); NCERT unit PDF: Poorvi Unit 5