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Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Old
familiar ache, my childhood's fear,
but all I said was, see you soon,
Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and
smile... ... ...
a) What does the phrase, 'familiar ache' mean?
b) What was the poet's childhood fear?
c) What do the first two lines tell us about the poet's feelings for her mother?
d) What does the repeated use of the word, 'smile' mean?
Concept: My Mother at Sixty-six
Read the extract given below and answer the questions the follow :
I saw my mother,
beside me,
doze, open mouthed, her face
ashen like that
of a corpse and realized with
pain
that she was as old as she
looked but soon
put that thought away,.......
(a) What worried the poet when she looked at her mother ?
(b) Why was there pain in her realization ?
(c) Why did she put that thought away ?
(d) Identify the figure of speech used in these lines.
Concept: My Mother at Sixty-six
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
I looked again at her, wan,
pale
as a late winter's moon and felt that
old
familiar ache, my childhood's fear,
... ... ...
(a) Who is 'her'?
(b) Why did the poet look at 'her' again?
(c) What was the poet's childhood fear?
(d) Identify the figure of speech used in these lines.
Concept: My Mother at Sixty-six
Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’?
Concept: My Mother at Sixty-six
State the common issue faced by most of the aged in the current times, with reference to the poem My Mother at Sixty-six.
Concept: My Mother at Sixty-six
Read the given extract and answer the questions.
| …I looked again at her, wan, pale as a late winter’s moon and felt that old familiar ache, my childhood’s fear, but all I said was, see you soon, Amma, all I did was smile and smile and smile...... |
- What is the speaker's emotional state when looking at her mother? (1)
- Confused and disoriented
- Nostalgic and longing
- Empathetic and understanding
- Fearful and apprehensive
- What does the use of the word "but" at the beginning of the line, ‘but all I said..’, suggest? (1)
- Select the word that WILL NOT complete the sentence appropriately. (1)
The description of the mother as "wan, pale/as a late winter's moon" creates a vivid image of ______.- vulnerability
- sensitivity
- frailty
- mortality
- State whether the given statement is TRUE or FALSE. (1)
The poetic device used in the line, ‘pale as a winter’s moon’ is the same as the one used in the line, ‘the winter wind wistfully wailed at night’. - What message do these lines highlight, in the context of familial relationships, and the speaker’s sense of anxiety and fear at the prospect of losing her mother? (1)
- Complete the sentence appropriately. (1)
The repetition of the word, ‘smile’ suggests that ______.
Concept: My Mother at Sixty-six
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Perhaps the Earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.
Now I’ll count upto twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.
(i) What does the Earth teach us?
(ii) What does the poet mean to achieve by counting upto twelve?
(iii) What is the significance of ‘keeping quiet’?
Concept: Keeping Quiet
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victory with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.
(a) Whom does the word ‘those’ refer to?
(b) What does the poet mean by : ‘put on clean clothes’?
(c) Describe the irony in the third line.
(d) When can a person walk about with ‘their’ brothers?
Concept: Keeping Quiet
Give two reasons why, according to Pablo Neruda, is ‘keeping quiet’ essential to attaining a better, more peaceful world.
Concept: Keeping Quiet
Answer the following question in about 120-150 words.
Imagine you are Pablo Neruda, the poet of Keeping Quiet.
What advice might you offer to Robert Frost, the poet of A Roadside Stand, in the context of his conflicted emotions, as displayed in the given lines-
| The requisite lift of spirit has never been found, Or so the voice of the country seems to complain, I can’t help owning the great relief it would be To put these people at one stroke out of their pain. |
Pen down your advice, in a letter to Frost.
You may begin this way:
Dear Robert
I recently read your poem, "A Roadside Stand," and...
You may end this way:
I hope this advice is helpful to you. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to support you.
Warmly,
Pablo Neruda
Concept: Keeping Quiet
A flowery band to bind us to the Earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways
Made for our searching:
(i) What are we doing everyday? (1)
(ii) Which evil thing do we possess and suffer from? (1)
(iii) What are the circumstances that contribute towards making humans unhappy and disillusioned with life? (1)
Concept: A Thing of Beauty
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness, but will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
(a) Whose loveliness will keep on increasing?
(b) Identify the phrase which says that 'it' is immortal.
(c) What is a 'bower'?
(d) Why do we need sweet dreams, health and quiet breathing in our lives?
Concept: A Thing of Beauty
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness, but will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
(a) Whose loveliness will keep on increasing?
(b) Identify the phrase which says that 'it' is immortal.
(c) What is a 'bower'?
(d) Why do we need sweet dreams, health and quiet breathing in our lives?
Concept: A Thing of Beauty
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness, but will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
(a) Whose loveliness will keep on increasing?
(b) Identify the phrase which says that 'it' is immortal.
(c) What is a 'bower'?
(d) Why do we need sweet dreams, health and quiet breathing in our lives?
Concept: A Thing of Beauty
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness, but will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
(a) Whose loveliness will keep on increasing?
(b) Identify the phrase which says that 'it' is immortal.
(c) What is a 'bower'?
(d) Why do we need sweet dreams, health and quiet breathing in our lives?
Concept: A Thing of Beauty
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
A flowery band to bind us to the Earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways
Made for our searching:
(i) What are we doing everyday?
(ii) Which evil thing do we possess and suffer from?
(iii) What are the circumstances that contribute towards making humans unhappy and disillusioned with life?
Concept: A Thing of Beauty
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
A thing of beauty is a joy forever
Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness; but will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
(a) Which two qualities of beauty are mentioned here?
(b) How does it give calm to a troubled mind?
(c) What does the word ‘bower’ mean?
(d) How does beauty lead to ‘a sleep full of sweet dreams’?
Concept: A Thing of Beauty
What makes human beings love life in spite of troubles and sufferings?
Concept: A Thing of Beauty
Rationalize why Keats uses the metaphor ‘an endless fountain of immortal drink’ in his poem, A Thing of Beauty.
Concept: A Thing of Beauty
How does Keats’ poem, A Thing of Beauty appeal richly to the senses, stimulating the reader’s inner sight as well as the sense of touch and smell? Write your answer in about 120-150 words.
Concept: A Thing of Beauty
