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Question
Answer the following question briefly :
'I have something to expiate'-Explain.
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Solution
Although the poet hits the snake under the influence of his education he feels sorry and wishes the snake would come back so the poet could crown it like a king but he misses the chance. He thinks he has to make amends for this petty mistake.
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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?
Why did the poet throw the log at the snake?
What does the poet compare the snake's drinking habits to? Why?
What is the poet’s dual attitude towards the snake?
Why did the poet have to wait near the water trough ? (Snake)
What were the conflicting thoughts in the poet's mind on seeing the snake?
What were the poet's thoughts after the snake had gone?
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
‘A sort of horror, a sort of protest overcame me’ - The poet is filled with protest because ______.
Based on your reading of the poem, answer the following question by ticking the correct option:
- In the line 'And as he slowly drew up, snake-easing his shoulders, and entered farther'
the phrase snake easing' his shoulders means
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:
In stanza 2 and 3, the poet gives a vivid description of the snake by using suggestive expressions. What picture of the snake do you form on the basis of this description?
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:
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?
Answer the following question briefly:
You have already read Coleridge's poem The Ancient Mariner in which an albatross is killed by the mariner. Why does the poet make an allusion to the albatross?
