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प्रश्न
How do we know that the snake’s thirst had been satiated? Pick out the expressions that convey this.
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उत्तर
The snake’s thirst was satiated, for after drinking silently, he lifted his head ‘as cattle do,’ satisfied, and flickered his forked tongue from his lips ‘as one who has drunken’ and slowly proceeded to draw his slow length, curving round and climbing again the broken bank of my wall-face.
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संबंधित प्रश्न
For he seemed to me again like a king.
Like a king in exile, uncrowned in the underworld,
Now due to be crowned again.
And so, I missed my chance with one of the lords
Of life.
And I have something to expiate:
A pettiness.
(a) Why is the snake called a king in exile?
(b) What is the pettiness referred to in these lines?
(c) What does the word ‘underworld’ mean?
What does the poet compare the snake's drinking habits to? Why?
What is the dilemma that the poet faces when he sees the snake?
Why did the poet have to wait near the water trough ? (Snake)
Why did the poet try to harm the snake ?
Snakes generate both horror and fascination. Do you agree? Why/Why not?
Based on your reading of the poem, answer the following question by ticking the correct option:
- 'he lifted his head from his drinking as cattle do' - The poet wants to convey that the snake
Based on your reading of the poem, answer the following question by ticking the correct option:
- 'Sicilian July', 'Etna smoking' and 'burning bowels of the earth' are images that convey
that
Based on your reading of the poem, answer the following question by ticking the correct option:
- 'I thought how paltry, how vulgar, what a mean act' -The poet is referring to
Answer the following question briefly:
Why does the poet decide to stand and wait till the snake has finished drinking? What
does this tell you about the poet? (Notice that he uses 'someone' instead of 'something'
for the snake.)
Answer the following question briefly:
How does the poet describe the day and the atmosphere when he had seen the snake?
Answer the following question briefly:
Do you think the snake was conscious of the poet's presence? How do you know?
Answer the following question briefly:
The poet is filled with horror and protest when the snake prepares to retreat and bury itself in the 'horrid black', 'dreadful' hole. In the light of this statement, bring out the irony of his act of throwing a log at the snake.
Answer the following question briefly:
The poet seems to be full of admiration and respect for the snake. He almost regards him like a majestic God. Pick out at least four expressions from the poem that reflect these emotions.
Answer the following question briefly:
What is the difference between the snake's movement at the beginning of the poem and later when the poet strikes it with a log of wood? You may use relevant vocabulary from the poem to highlight the difference.
Answer the following question briefly:
The poet experiences feelings of self-derision, guilt and regret after hitting the snake. Pick out expressions that suggest this. Why does he feel like this?
A Calligram is a poem, phrase or word in which the handwriting is arranged in a way that creates a visual image. The image created by the words expresses visually what the word or words, say. In a poem, it manifests visually the theme presented by the text of the poem. Read the poem given below. Try to compose a calligram. You could pick a subject of your choice.
Snake
Snake glides
through grass
over
Pebbles
forked tongue
working
never
speaking
but its
body
whispers
listen.
Keith Bosley
