Once Upon A Time: Questions and Answers

i. Based on your understanding of the poem answer the following questions in one or two

sentences each:

i. What do you associate with the title of the poem?

The title clearly indicates about the past. I associate that a fairytale may be in a poetic form. Here
‘Once upon a Time’ suggests how people were once. It is far from what is being witnessed in the
society now.
i. Based on your understanding of the poem answer the following questions in one or two
sentences each:

i. What do you associate with the title of the poem?

The title clearly indicates about the past. I associate that a fairytale may be in a poetic form. Here
‘Once upon a Time’ suggests how people were once. It is far from what is being witnessed in the
society now.

The poet learnt how to change faces in different situations. Like changing dresses, he is forced to
wear facial expressions.

vi. What does the poet mean when he says ‘good bye’?

The poet has been able to change with the society. He has learnt learnt to say ‘good bye’ in an
unnatural way.

vii. What pleasantries does the poet use to fake cordiality?

In the first line of the third stanza “Feel at home!”, “Come again” the poet uses fake
cordiality. People welcome the guests for two times but the third time they will treat the guests
differently.

viii. What does he desire to unlearn and relearn?

The poet desires to learn how to say goodbye in a nice way. He desires to unlearn all the bad
habits he has picked up over the years.

ix. How is the poet’s laugh reflected in the mirror?

The poet’s laugh reflected in the mirror is like a snake’s bare teeth.

x. What does the poet long for?

xi. Mention the qualities the child in the poem symbolises.

Innocence and ignorance are the qualities of the child in the poem symbolizes.

3. A. Interpret each of the following expressions used in the poem, in one or two lines.

i. laugh with their eyes

The poet means once the people laugh whole heartedly.

ii. shake hands without hearts

The poet means nowadays people shake their hands without any involvement. They shake just for
formality.

iii. like a fixed portrait smile

Just like people keep changing dresses to suit different occasions, the poet has learnt to behave
differently in different situations

iv. hands search my empty pockets

Nowadays people introduce themselves without any involvement and they estimate other’s value.

v. to unlearn all these muting things

The poet wants to get rid of this false laugh showing only the teeth.

B. Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow.

i. ‘But now they only laugh with their teeth,

While their ice-block-cold eyes…’

a. Who are ‘they’?

They are people of modern days.

b. Explain: ice-block-cold eyes

The expression ‘ice-block-cold eyes’ refers to eyes without any warmth of feeling.

c. Identify the figure of speech used here.

Metaphor

ii. ‘Most of all, I want to relearn

How to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror

Shows only my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs!’

a. Why does the poet want to relearn how to laugh?

The poet wants to show his real feelings. Hence he wants to relearn how to laugh.

b. Whom does the poet want to relearn from?

The poet wants to relearn from his son.

c. Mention the figure of speech used here.

like a snake’s bare fangs - Simile

ADDITIONAL APPRECIATION QUESTIONS:

1. Once upon a time, son,

they used to laugh with their

hearts

and laugh with their eyes:

but now they only laugh with their

teeth,
while their ice-block-cold eyes

search behind my shadow.

a) What does the poet convey through the oft-repeated phrase, ‘once upon a time?’

Here ‘Once upon a Time’ suggests how people behaved in the past. Maybe the poet thinks that
expecting sincerity in people’s actions is like a fairy tale, which is not real.

b) Whom is the poet talking to?

The poet is talking to his son.

c) What does the poet mean by “laugh with their hearts” and “laugh with their teeth?”

Laughing with one’s heart reveals real gladness while laughing with one’s teeth reveals one’s
external showy love.

d) What are ‘they’ searching behind the poet’s shadow?

Search behind one’s shadow means that people have a habit of accepting shadows rather than
accepting real people.

e) What do you understand by ‘laughing with teeth?’

Laughter or smile is the outcome of happiness. When we pretend to be happy, then we smile by
showing our teeth by opening the mouth as wide as possible.

f) How is laughing with heart different from that with teeth?

Laughing with heart is the genuine expression of happiness and harmony. On the other hand,
laughing with teeth is fake.

g) What does ‘ice-block-cold eyes’ suggest?

‘Ice-block-cold eyes’ refers to people’s insensitivity and lack of gentle emotions to fellow
beings in the society.

h) Why does the poet address the poem to his son?

The poet is sad that he belongs to a fake society, fake expressions and smile. He doesn’t want his
son to have this hollowness of the society. So he addresses his poem to his son, in the poem.

i) What is the poet’s emotion when he says, ‘Once upon a time, son, they used to laugh with their
hearts?’

The poet is sad and helpless. He feels nostalgic about the lost charm of the society, once upon a
time.

2. There was a time indeed

they used to shake hands with their
hearts:

but that’s gone, son.

Now they shake hands without

hearts

while their left hands search

my empty pockets.

a) How do people shake hands without hearts?

People express fake intimacy with people they don’t like. They shake hands without hearts.

b) What do people’s left hands do while their right hands shake hands with people?

While shaking hands with their right hands, people send their left hands into their friends’
pockets. It means friendship and intimacy is all for selfish motives.

3. ‘Feel at home!’ ‘Come again’:

They say, and when I come

Again and feel

At home, once, twice,

There will be no thrice-

For then I find doors shut on me.

a) Why do people invite repeatedly?

People repeatedly invite their friends but they don’t expect them to accept the invitations. They
invite without any sincerity.

b) Why is there no ‘third time’ for the poet to feel at his host’s home?

When the poet visits someone for the third time, the host will get fed up and slam the doors
shut. The host won’t allow the author to come into his house.

4. So I have learned many

things, son.

I have learned to wear many

faces

like dresses – home face,

office face, street face, host face,

cocktail face, with all their conforming
smiles

like a fixed portrait smile.

a) What has the poet learnt about faces?

The poet has learnt how to change faces according to different situations.

b) Why is the poet forced to wear faces?

The poet is forced to wear faces because many people wear smiles like dresses and none is
sincere and honest.

5. And I have learned too

to laugh with only my teeth

and shake hands without my heart.

I have also learned to say,

‘Goodbye’,

when I mean ‘Good-riddance’:

to say ‘Glad to meet you’,

without being glad; and to say ‘It’s

been

nice talking to you’, after being

bored.

a) Do you think that the poet has been able to change with the society? Give an example.

Yes, I think that the poet has been able to change with the society. He has learnt to laugh
artificially and learnt to say hello in an unnatural way.

b) What do you mean by ‘good riddance’?

It is an expression of relief at being free of any unwanted person,

c) Mention the poetic device employed here. Explain with an example.

The poet used Oxymoron here. It is known from the line “It’s been nice talking to you’ after
being bored.

6. But believe me, son.

I want to be what I used

to be
when I was like you. I
want

to unlearn all these muting

things.

Most of all, I want to relearn

how to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror

shows only my teeth like a snake’s bare

fangs!

a) What is the poet asking his son to teach him? Why?

The poet is asking his son to teach how to behave as a young boy. The poet is getting tired of all
the artificial and unnatural attitude of people.

b) Which muting things is the poet referring to?

Laughing unnaturally and shaking hands inwardly with contempt and hatred but outwardly
with a fake smile are the muting things the poet is referring to.

c) What made the poet’s teeth look in the mirror like those of a snake?

The artificial smile of the poet made his teeth look in the mirror like those of a snake.

7. So show me, son,

how to laugh; show me

how

I used to laugh and

smile

once upon a time when I was like you.

a) Who is the speaker here?

The poet is the speaker

here.

b) What does the poet ask his son to show?

The poet asks his son to show how to laugh and smile.

c) What is the figure of speech employed in the last line?

when I was like you - Simile

d) What is the message conveyed in these last lines?

The poet wants the younger generation to behave naturally and sincerely.
C. Explain the following lines with reference to the context.

i. Once upon a time, son

They used to laugh with their eyes:

Context: The above lines are taken from the poem “Once upon a Time” written by Gabriel Okara,
a Nigerian poet.

Explanation: The poem is a father’s address to his son., where the father wants to learn from his
son how to go back to normality and no longer fake. The poem starts by the father telling his son
how the people used to laugh with their hearts in olden times.

Comment: This description in the poem gives the impression of genuine emotion given off by the
people in the past

ii. There will be no thrice.

Context: The above lines are taken from the poem “Once upon a Time” written by Gabriel Okara,
a Nigerian poet.

Explanation: In the first line of the third stanza “Feel at home!”, “Come again” the poet uses fake
cordiality.

People welcome the guests for two times but the third time they will treat
differently.

Comment: Their falseness is reflected in the language they use.

iii. I have learned to wear my faces Like dresses …

Context: The above lines are taken from the poem “Once upon a Time” written by Gabriel Okara, a
Nigerian poet.

Explanation: The poet presents the adaptations and solutions that the man has found to counter
the problems. He tells of the false personalities or of his ‘many faces’. He says that he has an
‘office-face, street-face, and host-face, proving that he acts differently under different
circumstances. He then adds that they have, ‘conforming smiles, like a fixed portrait’.

Comment: This suggests, even more, falseness and changes.

iv. I want to be what I used to be.

Context: The above lines are taken from the poem “Once upon a Time” written by Gabriel Okara,
a Nigerian poet.

Explanation: The poet tells his son that he wants to go back to his childhood. He wants to get back
his lost identity. He expresses a desire to unlearn whatever he has forced himself to learn.

Comment: He asks his son to help him be happy once again and acquire the childlike innocence he
once possessed as a child.
ADDITIONAL :

Stanza 1

Once upon a time, son

They used to laugh with their eyes:

But now they only laugh with their teeth,

While their ice-block-cold eyes

Search behind my shadow.

Context: The above lines are from the poem “Once upon a Time” written by “Gaberiel Okara”, a
Nigerian Poet.

Explanation: Here ‘Once upon a Time’ suggests how people behaved in the past. ‘Once upon a
Time’ is a phrase used in ‘fairy tales’. Maybe the poet thinks that expecting sincerity in people’s
actions is like a fairy tale, which is not real. In the past people were honest, sincere in their
dealings with one another. But now the laugh does not express any real happiness. People laugh
showing their teeth. “Ice-block-cold eyes” refers to absence of any real feeling. The idiom “to be
under somebody’s shadow” means to receive less attention than another person. Here the poet
means that while greeting each other people don’t have any real love or attraction.

Comment: These lines give the impression of genuine emotion given off by the people.
Stanza 2

There was a time indeed

They used to shake hands with their hearts:

But that’s gone, son.

Now they shake hands without hearts:

While their left hands search

My empty pockets.

Context: The above lines are from the poem “Once upon a Time” written by “GaberielOkara”, a
Nigerian Poet.

Explanation: The poet uses the words ‘hearts’ and ‘faces’ to refer to emotion. He says that
people in the past showed emotions on their faces coming from the heart when shaking hands or
when laughing. It is true that we can see the emotion in one’s eyes.

Comment: These lines give the impression of genuine emotion given off by the people in the past.
Stanza 3

‘Feel at home!’ ‘Come again’:

They say, and when I come

Again and feel

At home, once, twice,

There will be no thrice –

For then I find doors shut on me.

Context: The above lines are from the poem “Once upon a time” written by ‘Gaberiel Okara’, a
Nigerian Poet.

Explanation : The poet says that people these days are not sincere when they say ‘feel at home’
and ‘come again. They do not really invite other people. The words are used only for the sake of
formality.

Comment: These lines brings out the false love and respect expressed.

Stanza 4

So I have learned many things, son.

I have learned to wear many faces

Like dresses – home face,

office face, street face, host face,

cocktail face, with all their conforming smiles

like a fixed portrait smile.

Context: The above lines are from the poem “Once upon a Time” written by ‘Gaberiel Okara’, a
Nigerian Poet.

Explanation: The speaker tells us that he has learnt to deal with this fake, insincere world by
changing himself like other those people. Like others, he too hides his real feelings. He says that
he has learnt “to wear many faces like dresses” Just like people keep changing dresses to suit
different occasions, the poet has learnt to behave differently in different situations.

Comment: The poet dramatically pictures falseness and changes.

Stanza 5
And I have learned too

To laugh with only my teeth

And shake hands without my heart.

I have also learned to say, ‘Goodbye’,

When I mean ‘Good-riddance’;

To say ‘Glad to meet you’,

Without being glad; and to say ‘It’s been

Nice talking to you’, after being bored.

Context: The above lines are from the poem “Once upon a Time” written by ‘Gaberiel Okara’, a
Nigerian Poet.

Explanation: The poet admits that he has learnt to say what fits each situation instead of
speaking the truth. He fakes his behaviour. When he feels like saying ‘Good-riddance’, he says
‘Goodbye’. When he feels like saying ‘Good-riddance’, He says ‘Glad to meet you’, without
feeling glad.

Comment: The poet says he has also learnt to greet people with pretended gladness.

Stanza 6

But believe me, son.

I want to be what I used to be

When I was like you. I want

To unlearn all these muting things

Most of all, I want to relearn

How to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror

Shows only my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs!

Context: The above lines are from the poem “Once upon a time” written by “Gaberiel Okara”, a
Nigerian Poet.

Explanation: Here ‘muting’ refers to ‘changing all the time’. The poet has learnt to behave with
pretended gladness. He tells his son that he wants to get rid of this false laugh showing only the
teeth. The comparison of his laugh in the mirror to a snake’s bare fangs brings out the fact that the
smile is artificial and might be dangerous. The poet regrets his fake behaviour and so expresses his
desire to unlearn all those bad things and learn how to laugh sincerely.
Comment: These lines express the poet’s longing to go back in time and have his childlike
innocence and sincerity.

Stanza 7

So, show me, son,

How to laugh; show me how

I used to laugh and smile

Once upon a time when I was like you.

Context: The above lines are from the poem “Once upon a Time” written by “Gaberiel Okara”, a
Nigerian Poet.

Explanation

The poet asks his son to show how to laugh sincerely. Children do not fake things. They show what
they really feel. Again, the phrase ‘once upon a time’ reiterates the fact that he wants to be what
he used to be long time ago as a boy.

Comment: The poet asks his son to help him be happy once again and acquire the childlike
innocence he once possessed as a boy.

4. Answer the following questions in about 100 – 150 words each.

i. Explain the things the poet has learnt when he grew into an adult.

Gabriel Okara (the Nigerian poet) brings out the difference between the behaviour of the people
in the past and their behaviour at present. In the past people laughed with their hearts sincerely.
They greeted one another with real gladness. But now, people laugh with any real happiness and
greet one another with an artificial, pretended smile. Okara says that he has also learnt to behave
in an artificial manner like other people.

ii. This poem is nothing but a criticism of modern life. Justify this statement.

The background of the poem is that the poet remembers the way people used to behave and
interact with each other in the past and how people interact with others now. The purpose of this
poem is to try to bring them back to the past behaviour with emotion and with their heart. The
poem is a father’s address to his son. The son is a small boy and he does things with real emotion.
The father wants to forget his fake personality and re-learn really the cordial behaviour. And he is
asking the son to show him how to express true love and show real feelings to others.

iii. ‘Face is the index of the mind.’ Does this adage concur with the views of the poet?

“Face is the index of the mind” is a proverb. It means that our facial expressions reveal our
feelings----joy, anger, sorrow, disapproval etc. This is true to some extent. But in the poem “Once
upon a time”, Okara disproves this proverb. Nowadays people greet one another with a smile, but
there is no real happiness. On meeting somebody they say “glad to see you”, but they are not
really glad, but they are bored. When somebody says, “good bye” with a smiling face, he (she) is
thinking “good riddance” with these examples, Okara proves that the proverb “Face is the index
of the mind” cannot be always true.

ADDITIONAL PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS:

iv. Justify the title of the poem “once upon a time” (or) What does the title of the poem
“Once upon a time” indicate?

Gabriel Okara, a Nigerian poet is the composer of the poem “Once upon a time”. This is very
catchy title. It clearly indicates the past. The poet remembers that in the past, people used to
show happiness from their hearts on meeting someone. But nowadays people think that the
arrival of a guest creates big problem. So they want riddance at the earliest possible. Artificiality
has taken the place of reality. He remarks that there was a time when people felt real joy on
meeting their friends and relatives. Their behaviour was so genuine and full of warmth
affection. But nowadays people shake hands with their rights, while their left hands search their
friend’s pocket to get something. In the poem the poet has contrasted the past with the present,
so the title is justified and appropriate.

v. Childishness is a great virtue - Elucidate this point with special reference to the poem ‘Once
Upon a Time’. (OR) What are the values and African cultures presented by the poet? (HOTS-Higher
Order Thinking Skill Questions)

Okara’s poem “Once upon a Time” presents an interesting reading. The poem is a monologue----
the poet addresses his son, but his son does not say anything.

The poet compares the behavior of the people in the past and their behavior at present. Once
upon a time people laughed with their hearts, that is sincerely. Their eyes shone with real
happiness. But now people laugh without real feelings. They only show their teeth while laughing
and their eyes are “ice-block-cold”. Now people shake hands without real gladness. A
person shakes his right hand with another, but his left hand is trying to pick the other man’s
pocket. “Feel at home” and “Come again” are simply said without sincere feeling. When the poet
visits someone for a third time the doors are shut on him!

Now the poet says that he has also learnt to behave like other people. He puts an artificial
gladness. He changes his facial expression according to different situations. He has become a fake.
Now the poet feels sorry for his behavior. He wishes to go back to his boyhood days and show real
feelings. He wants his son to make him (the poet) unlearn the artificial behavior. The poets’ son is
a small boy and he has the childlike innocence. “Childishness is a great virtue”, because children
are simple and they do not know the pretended behavior. Okara feels that colonization of Africa
by European countries (England, France and others) has spoilt the native African simplicity and
sincerity.

5. Listening Activity

First read the questions given below. Next, listen to an excerpt from a poem read out by your
teacher or played in a recorder. Note how a child admires and praises the abilities of his/her
father. Then tick the right answers from the options given.

i) When the _________needs to be repaired, they have to hire a man.

a) heater b) furnace

c) stove d) oven

ii) Father knows no word like_________.

a) fail b) frail

c) jail d) snail

iii) It is certain that the father would restore the _______of the family members.

a) glory b) prosperity

c) confidence d) happiness

iv) The father will not be able to mend a broken________.

a) table b) bench

c) chair d) stool

v) The children expect their _________ to guide them in action.

a) mother b) father

c) teacher d) guardian

6. Parallel Reading:

In the poem Once Upon a Time, a parent wishes to shed falsehood and regain true ways as a child.
Here is a poem where a woman longs to become a child once again to enjoy the comfort, warmth
and love she received as a child from her mother, once upon a time.

Poetic Devices:

1. Repetition: "Once upon a time" in the 1st and last lines

2. Simile: Like dresses – home face (Line 21)

3. Simile: "..conforming smile like a fixed portrait smile." (Line 24)

4. Simile: When I was like you. I want (Line 35)

5. Simile: once upon a time when I was like you. (Line 43)

6. Metaphor: "Ice-block cold eyes" (Line 5)

7. Sarcasm:"feel at home!" "come again" (Line 13)

What literary devices are used in Once

Upon a Time by Gabriel Okara?
1. Alliteration- It is the occurrence of the same
sound at the beginning of closely connected
words. Examples- “So show me, son”,
“But believe me”
2. Simile- A simile is a figure of speech that
directly compares two things. Examples- “with
all their conforming smiles/ Like a fixed portrait
smile”, “Shows only my teeth like a snake’s
bare fangs”
3. Enjambment– It is the continuation of a
sentence to multiple lines. Many of the
sentences in this poem span multiple lines and
are therefore of this nature.
 4. Metaphor- A metaphor directly refers to one
thing by mentioning another. Example- “ice-
block-cold eyes”.
eep –End Analysis
Once upon a time, son,

they used to laugh with their hearts

and laugh with their eyes;

but now they only laugh with their teeth,

while their ice-block-cold eyes

search behind my shadow.

symbol: heart/eyes (represent genuine emotions)

metaphor: ice block cold eyes (void of emotions) search behind my shadow
(looking for hidden secrets)

visual imagery: laugh with their eyes

contrast: genuine emotions vs fake emotions

irony: only laugh with their teeth (laughs for the sake of laughing without any
emotions)

internal rhyme: see the alliteration and assonance which make the poem a
lyrical one.

repetition: laugh, they (emphasizes the contrast)

Here “they” represent the native Africans. Poet contrasts how they had been
and how they have changed with the transformation of the society. He recaps
how the people in his generation showed their emotions genuinely. As he
shows, there had been the true happiness and innocence inside humans in the
past. He views the people now laugh just to showcase a laugh that too with
dark intentions inside their hearts. When they meet a person, they search
whether he is alone or someone else is behind him or try to probe into the
private background of the person. The icy cold eyes and laughing only with
teeth is a vivid portrayal of mistrust built among each-other in the society.

There was a time indeed

they used to shake hands with their hearts;

but that’s gone, son.

Now they shake hands without hearts

while their left hands search

my empty pockets.

metaphor: shake hands with their hearts (genuine sharing of emotions)

symbol: left hand (intended intention/ while right hand shows the genuine and
spontaneous intention) empty pocket (poor financial condition)

enjambment: (can see throughout the poem) run on line shows his stream of
consciousness and continuity of the deterioration of social values.

caesura: (breaking down lines in the middle this is too visible throughout the
poem) shows the pauses of the speaker, great way to show the speakers
nostalgic feelings.

This peculiar gesture points to another interesting idea. It is materialism and

selfishness. Now, people only think about what the other person has for them.
If they don’t have what they need they feel like ignoring the person even if they
were in touch in the past. they'll shake your hand; all they want to know is your
financial status.

‘Feel at home’. ‘Come again’,

they say, and when I come

again and feel

at home, once, twice,

there will be no thrice-

for then I find doors shut on me.

This is another realization of the modern and Westernized society. People love
to lead a life of isolation. In the past, people welcomed strangers too to their
houses. However, with the changes of the society, people hated their personal
life to be disturbed by guests. This stanza reveals the poet’s nostalgic feelings
about this disconnection of social relationships.

So I have learnt many things,

I have learned to wear many faces

like dresses – home face,

office face, street face, host face cock-

tail face, with all their conforming smiles

like a fixed portrait smile.

coin words: home face, office face… (invented words to deliver a certain idea)
These are metaphors for different social occasions.

simile: wear many faces like dresses

symbol: portrait smile (a smile which represents a social practice rather than
projecting emotions)

The poet satirizes the plastic nature of sophisticated society. He shows how
the smile has been branded according to different social occasions. He
confesses that he had to change himself to be conformed with the social
norms in order to survive.

And I have learned too

to laugh with only my teeth

and shake hands without my heart.

I have also learned to say ‘Goodbye’

when I mean, ‘Good riddance!’

to say ‘Glad to see you,’

without being glad; and to say ‘it’s been

nice talking to you,’ after being bored.

antithesis: Goodbye when I mean Good riddance (a form of contrast)

satire: uses humour in an ironical way to criticize the Western social norms

The ideas of the first stanza “smiling with teeth” and “shaking hands with
heart” reappear in this stanza. But, the context is different. Previously, the
speaker criticized such attitudes. Now he has shaped himself in society’s
order. He smiles by showcasing his teeth and shakes hands just for the sake
of it. He satirizes the fake emotions demonstrated by the society to maintain
the sophisticated social decorum.

But believe me, son,

I want to be what I used to be

when I was like you. I want

to unlearn all these muting things.

Most of all, I want to re-learn

how to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror

shows only my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs!

metaphor: muting things (the good values submerged by Western norms)

simile: my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs

visual imagery: teeth like snake’s bare fangs

symbol: snake (wickedness)

This stanza shows his nostalgic feeling of his past life and his dissatisfaction
of pretence at present in order to survive. He views himself as a vicious
portrait in front of the mirror. He requires to be genuine again, but remember
he makes this confession to a child which shows this is his fantasy to live in
the fairyland which is obviously not possible.

So show me, son,

how to laugh; show me how

I used to laugh and smile

once upon a time when I was like you.

He wants to be a child again like his son and relearn the art of innocence and
pure happiness. As everyone knows, a child at young age is true to their
emotions when they grow in the society they have to change according to the
society.

This is the reality of most of you and me in our societies, isn’t that so. Most
people love to live in the past but as poem reveals, it is a fantasy, it is very
hard to relive the past but to adapt to the present social atmosphere whether
one likes it or not.

So, what is your views on the poem? Let’s leave a comment on your
experience. Share the post if you find it useful.