Class 7 English · Original EZT practice
Try Again (Class 7 English Chapter 2): King Bruce and the spider
King Bruce of Scotland has tried and tried to do a great deed for his people - and failed. In despair, he watches a spider climbing toward its cobweb, falling again and again, yet trying once more. Eliza Cook's poem 'Try Again' in Poorvi Unit 1, Learning Together, turns that spider into the most famous lesson in perseverance. This page gives a stanza-wise summary, word meanings and practice questions. (Note: this is original practice, not a textbook exercise key.)
6 original worked examples, 6 fresh self-check questions and 4 mixed questions, with explained answers. These are not copied textbook exercises, an official chapter index or a full answer key. No affiliation with NCERT is claimed.
Official sources for topic and edition context, checked 23 October 2026:
1. Poem summary and central idea
Discouraged after many failures, King Bruce is about to give up when he sees a spider repeatedly slip and fall while climbing to its cobweb home; at last the spider makes 'a bold little run at the very last pinch' and succeeds - 'He conquered, and why shouldn't I?' cries the king, who braces his mind, tries once more, and this time does not fail.
2. The spider's struggle - stanza understanding
The spider drops down on its silken thread, and the king watches it climb the long way up to the ceiling dome; it slips and 'tumbles every time', but goes up once more, 'steadily, steadily, inch by inch', and a bold little run at the last pinch puts it into its cobweb home.
3. Word meanings
The poem's old-fashioned words - monarch, despair, pondered, filmy clue, divine, braced.
4. Reading the poem
The poem is written in a narrative style - it tells a story in rhyming verse; notice the rhyming pairs and the repetition of 'tried and tried'.
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State the central idea
Choose the method: Perseverance beats failure.
EZT practice question
What is the central idea of the poem Try Again?
Show the worked solution
- King Bruce fails again and again and is ready to give up.
- The spider falls again and again but keeps climbing - and succeeds.
- The king takes the lesson, tries once more, and does not fail.
Answer: Perseverance - never give up after failure; keep trying steadily, and you will succeed, as the spider did and then King Bruce.
Check: 'He conquered, and why shouldn't I?' - the spider's win becomes the king's win.
Watch for this: Do not call it only a spider poem - the spider is the lesson, the king is the learner.
Now try it yourself
Who wrote the poem 'Try Again'?
Check your answer
Eliza Cook.
Her name closes the poem in the book.
Explain the king's despair
Choose the method: A monarch with a sinking heart.
EZT practice question
Why was King Bruce sad, and what did he decide at first?
Show the worked solution
- He had been trying to do a great deed to make his people glad.
- He had tried and tried, but couldn't succeed - so he became quite sad.
- 'I'll give it all up,' said he.
Answer: He had tried and tried to do a great deed to make his people glad, but could not succeed; at first he decided to give it all up.
Check: 'Tis true he was monarch, and wore a crown, but his heart was beginning to sink.
Watch for this: Do not say he failed only once - the poem repeats 'tried and tried'.
Now try it yourself
What does 'tis true he was monarch, and wore a crown, but his heart was beginning to sink' tell us?
Check your answer
Even a king with a crown can lose hope - feelings of failure come to everyone.
The crown cannot protect the heart from despair.
Trace the spider's attempts
Choose the method: Nine brave attempts.
EZT practice question
Describe the spider's struggle to reach its cobweb.
Show the worked solution
- It climbed straight up with strong endeavour, then came down with a slippery sprawl.
- Up it ran, fell still lower, grew steady, went a half-yard higher, fell and mounted again.
- Nine brave attempts were counted - and the king was sure the 'foolish thing' would strive no more.
Answer: The spider climbed and fell again and again - 'tumbles every time' - yet mounted once more after every fall; nine brave attempts were counted before it went up once more.
Check: Each fall is lower, each recovery quicker - the poem slows down to make us watch.
Watch for this: Do not say the king helped the spider - he only watched, 'in the midst of his thinking'.
Now try it yourself
What could King Bruce 'not divine' about the spider?
Check your answer
How it would get back to its cobweb home along such a fine rope.
'It hung by a rope so fine.'
Explain the final success
Choose the method: Steadily, inch by inch.
EZT practice question
How did the spider finally reach its cobweb, and what did the king cry out?
Show the worked solution
- It kept climbing higher and higher, steadily, inch by inch.
- 'A bold little run at the very last pinch' put it into its native cot - its cobweb home.
- 'Bravo, bravo!' the King cried out, 'All honour to those who try... He conquered, and why shouldn't I?'
Answer: It climbed steadily, inch by inch, and made a bold little run at the very last pinch that put it into its cobweb home; the king cried, 'Bravo, bravo!... He conquered, and why shouldn't I?'
Check: 'Native cot' means the spider's own home - the cobweb.
Watch for this: Do not skip 'at the very last pinch' - success came when the climb was hardest.
Now try it yourself
What did King Bruce do after watching the spider?
Check your answer
He braced his mind and tried once more as he tried before - and that time did not fail.
Gossips tell the tale of his final success.
Match poem words to meanings
Choose the method: Fix each word to one plain meaning.
EZT practice question
Match: monarch, despair, pondered, braced - with their meanings.
Show the worked solution
- monarch - a king or queen.
- despair - complete loss of hope.
- pondered - thought carefully; braced - prepared and strengthened (his mind).
Answer: monarch - a king or queen; despair - complete loss of hope; pondered - thought carefully; braced - prepared and strengthened (his mind).
Check: The monarch pondered in low despair, then braced his mind - the four words carry the whole arc.
Watch for this: Do not read 'low despair' as shallow - 'low' here means deep and heavy.
Now try it yourself
What is the spider's 'silken, filmy clue'?
Check your answer
The fine thread of silk the spider spins - its 'clue' (clew) is the thread it hangs by.
Clue is an old word for a ball of thread.
Explain the repetition
Choose the method: Effort heard again and again.
EZT practice question
Why does the poet repeat 'tried and tried' and 'steadily, steadily'?
Show the worked solution
- 'Tried and tried' shows the king's effort happening failure after failure.
- 'Steadily, steadily' shows the spider's patient attempt after attempt.
- The repetition makes the effort audible - we hear the trying.
Answer: The repetition shows effort happening again and again - failure after failure for the king, and patient attempt after attempt for the spider.
Check: The poem is narrative verse - it tells a story, and the repeated words are its drumbeat.
Watch for this: Do not call repetition a mistake of style - it is the poem's way of showing persistence.
Now try it yourself
What does 'All honour to those who try' mean to you?
Check your answer
Open response - for example, effort deserves respect even before success.
The king honours the spider before he succeeds himself.
Try a mixed set
Choose a method or explanation before opening each answer.
1. Who wrote 'Try Again'?
Show answer and reason
Eliza Cook.
The poem of King Bruce and the spider.
2. Why was the king sad?
Show answer and reason
He had tried and tried to do a great deed for his people, but couldn't succeed.
'His heart was beginning to sink.'
3. How did the spider succeed?
Show answer and reason
Steadily, inch by inch, then a bold little run at the very last pinch.
That put it into its native cot.
4. The poem's lesson?
Show answer and reason
Perseverance - defy despair and keep trying: 'He conquered, and why shouldn't I?'
The king tried once more and did not fail.
Try it yourself
Work these on paper before checking any notes. Answers are deliberately not shown here.
- What did the king decide at first, and what changed his mind?
- What does 'pondered' mean in the poem?
- Describe a time when you succeeded after trying again.
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Questions about this practice page
- What is the poem Try Again about?
- King Bruce of Scotland, ready to give up after many failures, watches a spider climb to its cobweb after many falls - and inspired, tries once more and succeeds.
- Who wrote Try Again?
- Eliza Cook.
- What lesson does the spider teach King Bruce?
- To defy despair and keep trying - 'he conquered, and why shouldn't I?'
- What is the poem's message for students?
- Perseverance: failure is not the end; steady, repeated effort leads to success.
- Are these the NCERT exercise questions for Class 7 English Chapter 2?
- No. EZT pages are original practice following the chapter's section order - use them to prepare for the textbook exercises, not as a substitute for your book.