The poem is about a man who talks excessively but takes no action. He spends his life talking but doing nothing good with his words. Over time, his abilities rust away as he goes through a process of ruin. By the end, he is spiritually dead because he lived a life full of words but no deeds. The poem suggests that a life spent on empty words without actions leads to ultimate ruin, just as a garden overrun with weeds becomes fruitless and worthless.

1. Poem No.19
A Man of Words And
Not of Deeds
(Charles Perrault and translated by Robert Samber)
 Short Questions & Answers.
Q 1: How does the life of a man pass through different phase of it?
Ans: The poem is about a man who is talkative. Such a man talks all the time. He does no good.
With the passage of time, his faculties begin to rust. He passes through the processes of ruin.
Finally, he is spiritually dead.
Q 2: What happens when life is spent with the help of deeds and not of words?
Ans: The life, full of words with no deeds, is useless and worth-nothing. Such a life leads to
ultimate ruin.
Q 3: What does the garden look like when the weeds start growing?
Ans: The garden that is full of weeds bears no fruit. It is useless and worth-nothing. It is not
better than barrenness.