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Question
Read the following extract and do the activities.
I remember the night my mother
was stung by a scorpion. Ten hours
of steady rain had driven him
to crawl beneath a sack of rice.
Patting with his poison – flash
Of diabolic tail in the dark room -
he risked the rain again.
The peasants came like swarms of flies
And buzzed the name of God a hundred times
to paralyse the Evil One.
With candles and with lanterns
throwing giant scorpion shadows
on the mud-baked walls
they searched for him: he was not found.
They clicked their tongues.
With every movement that the scorpion made his poison
moved in Mother’s blood, they said.
(A1) Choose the correct option for the following.
(1) The incident in the poem took place in
(i) the morning (ii) the night
(iii) the afternoon (iv) the evening
(2) ‘The Evil’ mentioned in the poem was
(i) the peasant (ii) the God
(iii) the scorpion (iv) the mother
(3) The scorpion crawled beneath a sack of
(i) sugar (ii) a wheat
(iii) corns (iv) rice
(4) The peasants are compared with
(i) flock of sheep (ii) group of monkeys
(iii) swarms of flies (iv) herds of cattle
(A2) Write the reactions of the people when they knew that the mother was stung by a scorpion.
(i)..................................................................
(ii)................................................................
(iii)...............................................................
(iv)...............................................................
(A3) Write down the rhyming words from the stanzas for the following.
(i) fight - (ii) clash -
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Solution
(A1) 02
(1) The incident in the poem took place in the night.
(2) ‘The Evil’ mentioned in the poem was the scorpion.
(3) The scorpion crawled beneath a sack of rice.
(4) The peasants are compared with swarms of flies.
(A2) The reactions of the people when they knew that the mother was stung by scorpion……. 02
(i) By hearing about the incident, they came into the poet’s house like a swarms of flies.
(ii) They prayed to God countless times to immobilize the evil creature.
(iii) They searched the scorpion with candles and lanterns.
(iv) They found it is necessary for the scorpion to stay still to reduce the pains of the poet’s mother.
(A3) (i) fight - night (ii) clash - flash 01
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Brainstorm what you know about Scorpions. Use the points given below.
After reading the poem, complete the following. What happens? There are three main parts of the poem. Do you know what they are about? The first one is done for you.
| Lines | What is happening? |
| 1-7 | The scorpion comes into the home to escape the rain and stings the poet’s mother. |
| 8-33 | |
| 34-48 |
Complete the following table.
| Background/setting of the poem | |
| Type |
Evidence (Quote lines from the poem |
| Rural/Urban | ______________________ |
Complete the following table.
| Scorpion | |
| Many images of the scorpion contrast in the opening lines of the poem. Find examples of each and add them to the columns below. | |
| Timid | Dangerous |
|
(1) hides _________ (2) ___________ back |
(i) Diabolic ____________ (ii) ____________ |
Complete the following table.
|
Imagery |
|
| Look at the description of the village peasants. What does the imagery suggest about them? |
|
| The Images | What images suggest |
| They came like swarms of flies. | |
| They buzzed the name of God. | |
| They threw giant scorpion shadows on the mud-baked walls. | |
| They clicked their tongues. | |
Choose the correct alternative.
The poem is titled ‘Night of the Scorpion’, for, the major part of the poem _______________.
Read the poem and complete the table showing the qualities of the father and mother giving sufficient evidence from the poem.
| Qualities | |
| Father | Mother |
Expand the flow-chart in writing a paragraph in your own words.
Read the following poem and write an appreciation of it with the help of the given points in a paragraph format:
|
Night of the Scorpion I remember the night my mother |
Points:
- The title and the poet of the poem
- Rhyme scheme
- Figures of speech
- Central Idea/Theme
Read the following extract and do the given activities.
A1. Match the following:
| (1) Misfortunes | mud-baked |
| (2) Ambition | bad luck |
| (3) World | goal |
| (4) Wall | unreal |
|
With candles and with lanterns -Nissim Ezekiel |
A2. Write two words ending in "on".
A3. Give an example of "metaphor" from the extract.
