The Tale Of Melon City – Complete Question-Answer Guide

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“The Tale of Melon City,” from the Class 11 NCERT Snapshots book, is a witty and sharply satirical poem by Vikram Seth that exposes the foolishness of blind justice and meaningless traditions. Through a humorous sequence of events—where the king blames everyone for his fallen crown, gets himself hanged by his own rules, and a melon is ultimately crowned as king—the poem highlights how a society can collapse into absurdity when logic and reason are replaced by rigid customs. In this post, we present the most important questions and answers to help Class 11 students understand the poem’s deeper themes, irony, humour, and moral message with clarity and ease.

Important Questions & Answers from 'The Tale of Melon City'

1. What kind of king is depicted in the poem?

Answer:
The king is described as “just and placid.” He wants to be fair and punish those who make mistakes, but his strict sense of justice becomes absurd and excessive, as he punishes anyone or anything, even inanimate objects, for minor faults.

2. Why did the king order the arch to be built?

Answer:
The king ordered a triumphal arch to be built across the main street so that it would edify spectators, meaning to educate or impress them with a grand structure.

3. Why did the king’s crown fall off?

Answer:
The crown fell because the arch was built too low, and the king rode under it. This triggered a chain of absurd events as the king tried to assign blame.

4. How does the poem show the absurdity of the king’s justice?

Answer:

The king initially blames the chief of builders, then the workmen, then the masons, then the architect, and finally the arch itself.
He ignores reason and responsibility, showing that his idea of justice is ridiculous and blind.

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5. What advice does the wisest man give?

Answer:
The wisest man, though extremely old and blind, says “the culprit must be punished” and suggests hanging the arch. This highlights the blind and mechanical application of justice.

6. How does the king end up being hanged?

Answer:
The crowd demands someone be hanged. The officials measure people for the noose, and only the king is tall enough to fit. Thus, he is hanged by his own rules, which is ironic.

7. How is a melon chosen as king?

Answer:
Following tradition, the next person to pass the city gate gets to choose the new king. An idiot passes by and, as his standard answer to everything, chooses a melon. The ministers follow the tradition and crown the melon king.

8. How do the people react to having a melon as king?

Answer:
The citizens accept the melon as king because it does not affect their peace or freedom. They follow laissez-faire principles, letting the king be whatever he is as long as he maintains peace and liberty.

9. What is the main theme of the poem?

Answer:

The poem satirizes blind justice, absurd traditions, and excessive rules.
It also humorously critiques how people follow authority or custom blindly without questioning it.

10. Give examples of humor and irony in the poem.

Answer:

The king punishing an arch for knocking off his crown.
The king himself being hanged because he fits the noose.
A melon being crowned king, and people accepting it.
The ministers shouting “Long live the King!” even after he is dead.

11. What literary form is this poem written in?

Answer:
The poem is a narrative poem written in verse form. It tells a story using rhymed stanzas with humor, satire, and moral lessons.

12. What lesson does the poem teach?

Answer:

Extreme or blind adherence to rules and justice can lead to absurd outcomes.
People should use reason and common sense rather than blindly following authority or tradition.
Peace and liberty matter more than rigid customs.

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13. Narrate ‘The Tale of Melon City’ in your own words.

Answer: The poem tells a humorous and ironic story of a city ruled by a king who claimed to be just and calm. He ordered a triumphal arch to be built, but when he passed under it, his crown fell because the arch was too low. Annoyed, he ordered the chief builder to be hanged. The blame kept shifting—from the chief builder to the workmen, then to the masons, then to the architect, and finally back to the king himself because he had altered the plan.

A wise old man suggested hanging the arch itself, which was absurd. Finally, to satisfy the crowd’s demand for a hanging, they decided to hang the person whose height fit the noose—and that person happened to be the king. After he was hanged, the ministers randomly chose a new king based on an idiot’s reply. The idiot said “melon”, so a melon was crowned king. The people were happy as long as they enjoyed peace and liberty, and thus a melon ruled Melon City.

14. What impression would you form of a state where the King was ‘just and placid’?

Answer: A state ruled by such a king would appear outwardly peaceful, but the king’s exaggerated sense of justice and passiveness could make him:

Easily manipulated
Unable to make wise decisions
Focused more on blindly following rituals than on real justice
Ridiculous in judgment, causing disorder instead of fairness

Thus, the state might seem orderly on the surface but would actually be unstable and ruled by illogical decisions.

15. How, according to you, can peace and liberty be maintained in a state?

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Answer: Peace and liberty can be maintained when:

The government is fair, rational, and responsible.
Leaders make decisions based on justice, not on public pressure or tradition alone.
Laws are applied logically and equally to everyone.
People have freedom of thought, expression, and movement.
Good governance replaces superstition, fear, or blind custom.

A stable system—not an individual’s whims—brings true peace and liberty.

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