🧠 Vocabulary Booster (20 words) — सरल हिंदी अर्थ

Tip: Read the Word then the Meaning. Use them in your own sentence! ✍️

📝 Summary (English) — ~250 words

“A Funny Man” by Natalie Joan is a lively, nonsense-style poem that makes readers laugh through playful topsy-turvy images and polite, odd behaviour. The speaker meets an unusual man walking down the street: he wears a shoe on his head and hats on his feet! Although he looks absurd, his manners are perfectly courteous—he lifts the shoe like a hat and smiles. He addresses the speaker as “Your Highness,” and offers “a rose,” but the gift turns out to be a currant bun which he holds to the speaker’s nose. Startled, the speaker staggers back and jokes that they have never seen a “rose” with such a funny-looking smell—mixing sight, smell, and sound to heighten the comic confusion.

The man then sings and sits on the ground; the speaker remarks they have never heard such a “funny feeling sound.” Finally the speaker asks why the man wears two hats upon his feet. In pure nonsense fashion, the man doesn’t answer— he simply turns the other way and hops home on his head! Throughout, the poem blends politeness with silliness, using childlike logic, inversion (shoe on head; hats on feet), and sense-mixing phrases (“funny sounding sight,” “funny feeling sound”). The rhythm and simple diction make it musical and easy to recite.

Beneath the humour, the poem invites readers to enjoy imagination and accept difference. The funny man’s behaviour is illogical, yet harmless and cheerful. He brings surprise to an ordinary street, and the speaker responds with curiosity, not cruelty. The piece celebrates laughter, play, and the joy of seeing the world from a fresh, upside-down point of view. 🤸‍♂️🎩👟

📝 सारांश (Hindi) — ~250 शब्द

नैटली जोन की कविता “ए फ़नी मैन” एक हँसाने वाली, नॉनसेंस शैली की रचना है जिसमें उलट-पुलट चित्र और शालीन मगर अजीब हरकतें मिलकर मनोरंजन करती हैं। वक्ता सड़क पर एक अजीब आदमी से मिलता/मिलती है—उसके सिर पर जूता और पैरों में टोपियाँ! रूप भले बेतुका हो, पर तौर-तरीके बहुत विनम्र हैं—वह जूते को टोपी की तरह उठाकर मुस्कुराता है। वह वक्ता को “योर हाइनेस” कहकर संबोधित करता है और “गुलाब” भेंट करने को कहता है; मगर वह गुलाब नहीं, किशमिश वाला बन होता है जिसे वह नाक के पास कर देता है। यह अनपेक्षित हरकत देखकर वक्ता दीवार से लगकर पीछे हट जाता/जाती है और मज़ाक में कहता/कहती है कि ऐसा “गुलाब” कभी नहीं देखा—जिसकी “गंध” भी देखने जैसी हो! यहाँ कवि ने इंद्रियों का मिलान कर मज़ाकिया प्रभाव पैदा किया है—“funny sounding sight”, “funny feeling sound” जैसी पंक्तियाँ इसी खेल की मिसाल हैं।

इसके बाद वह आदमी ज़मीन पर बैठकर गाना गाता है—वक्ता कहता/कहती है कि जिंदगी में इतनी “हँसाने वाली” आवाज़ नहीं सुनी। अंत में जब वक्ता पूछता/पूछती है कि पैरों में दो टोपियाँ क्यों, तो वह कोई तर्क नहीं देता—बस उलटी दिशा में मुड़ता है और सिर के बल कूदते हुए घर चला जाता है! पूरी कविता में सभ्यता और शरारत का प्यारा संगम है—सिर-पैर का उलटाव, वस्तुओं का अदला-बदली अर्थ, और बच्चों-सी निष्पाप कल्पना।

कविता का संदेश सरल है—दुनिया को नए, उलटे-सीधे नज़रिये से देखना भी आनंद देता है। यह अजीब आदमी किसी को नुकसान नहीं पहुँचाता; वह बस साधारण दिन में मुस्कान जोड़ देता है। कविता हमें भिन्नता को अपनाने, कल्पना का आनंद लेने और खुलकर हँसने की प्रेरणा देती है। 🎭🌹🥐

🎯 One-Word Answers (10)

1. Poet — Natalie Joan
2. On his head — Shoe
3. On his feet — Hats
4. Gift he “presented” — Bun
5. Type of bun — Currant
6. Speaker’s immediate reaction — Staggered
7. What he began to do — Sing
8. Where he sat — Ground
9. How he went home — Hopping (on head)
10. Overall tone — Humorous

✍️ Very Short Answer (10) — 2–3 lines

1. Why is the man called “funny”?
   Because his actions are playfully illogical—shoe on head, hats on feet, bun as a rose—yet he stays very polite.
2. What is meant by “funny sounding sight”?
   It mixes senses (sound + sight) to create comic nonsense and surprise.
3. Why does he say “Your Highness”?
   Exaggerated courtesy adds to humour; he behaves royally polite in a silly scene.
4. Why offer a currant bun as a rose?
   To twist expectations and make readers laugh through absurd substitution.
5. Why does the speaker stagger back?
   The “rose” is actually a bun at the nose—so startling that the speaker steps back.
6. How is the song described?
   As a “funny feeling sound,” suggesting a unique, amusing tune.
7. What question does the speaker ask?
   “Why do you wear two hats upon your feet?”—curious about the odd outfit.
8. How does the funny man respond?
   He doesn’t answer; he simply turns and hops home on his head—pure nonsense fun.
9. What mood does the poem create?
   Light, cheerful, playful—designed to make readers smile.
10. What theme emerges?
    Joy of imagination and accepting harmless quirks in the world.

🧩 Short Answer (10) — 3–4 lines

1. How does imagery create humour in the poem?
   Visual images (shoe on head, hats on feet) and sensory mix-ups (“funny sounding sight”) build a vivid yet silly world that feels delightfully topsy-turvy.
2. What is the effect of repeating the word “funny”?
   Repetition sets a comic rhythm, keeps the tone light, and reminds readers to expect playful nonsense throughout.
3. How do politeness and absurdity work together?
   The man’s royal manners (“Your Highness”, presenting a “rose”) contrast with absurd acts, doubling the comic impact.
4. How does the poet use surprise?
   By replacing expected objects (rose) with unexpected ones (bun), and normal actions with odd ones (hopping on head).
5. What does the poem suggest about perspective?
   Seeing ordinary life from an upside-down angle can be refreshing and joyful; difference can be delightful.
6. Give two examples of nonsense logic in the poem.
   (i) Wearing hats on feet; (ii) Calling a bun a rose and offering it to smell.
7. How do rhythm and simple diction help?
   Short lines and easy words make the poem bouncy, memorable, and fun to read aloud—perfect for humour.
8. Any real-life parallels to the funny man?
   Clowns, mimes, and street performers dress oddly and act playfully to entertain, just like the poem’s character.
9. Why include dialogue in a short poem?
   Dialogue adds immediacy and timing—essential for jokes—and shows the speaker’s reactions in real time.
10. Suggest an alternate title and justify.
    “Upside-Down Gentleman”—captures both his politeness and his inverted, comic behaviour.