Question

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:    

...........On their slag heap, these children
Wear skins peeped through by bones and spectacles of steel
With mended glass, life bottle bits on stones. 

(a) Name the poem and the poet.
(b) Explain: 'slag heap'.
(c) What future awaits these children?
(d) Name the figure of speech used in the third line.

Answer 1

a. The lines have been taken from the poem 'An Elementary Classroom in a Slum by Stephen Spender.
b. By slag heap, the poet refers to the malnourished and emaciated bodies of the children. The ashen pallor of their bodies, owing to the poor conditions of living, makes the comparison to slag leaves appropriate.
c. The poet hopes for a bright future for the kids. The poet hopes the authorities would realize their moral responsibilities and free these children from their grave-like entrapments (catacomb – cave). He wants all the barriers to be pulled down; barriers that keep away true education from them.
d. In the third line, a similie has been used.