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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?
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)
Why did the poet try to harm the 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:
- 'Asort 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:
- He seemed to me like a king in exile…' The poet refers to the snake as such to emphasize that the snake
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:
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:
Do you think the snake was conscious of the poet's presence? How do you know?
How do we know that the snake’s thirst had been satiated? Pick out the expressions that convey this.
Answer the following question briefly:
The poet has a dual attitude towards the snake. Why does he experience conflicting emotions on seeing the snake?
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:
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?
