MY MOTHER AT SIXTY SIX

KAMALA DAS

Kamal Das, a prominent feminist post-colonial Indian writer, has to her credit many accolades
across languages and genres. Her writings are a reflection of her own experiences. The poem `My Mother at
sixty-six` deals with the themes –the inescapable reality of death, isolation, fear of death, and separation.
The poem portrays the poet`s fear, feelings, and concerns for her mother as she grapples with the fear of
losing her. It becomes her emotional journey as it throws light on her deep connection with her mother and
concludes with her coming to terms with the fact that ageing and death is a natural process and no one - not
even herself can escape it.
-The poet is on her journey to the Cochin airport from her parent`s home one Friday morning.
-Her mother accompanies her to the airport in the car and is seated next to her.
- Mother dozes off during the journey and is sleeping open-mouthed.
-Her pale face made her realize that she has aged. She looked her age- sixty-six years old.
-Her posture and pale look reminded the poet of a corpse
-To put away the depressing thought, she looks out through the window and gets the refreshing sight of
young, green trees moving speedily backward as the car sped ahead and the sight of merry children spilling
out of their homes. The images outside the window were the images of youthfulness, vitality, and happiness
and formed a stark contrast to the mother, who is old, weak, and pale.
- After the security check, she looked at her mother and saw that she looked extremely pale and tired and
looked just like a late winter`s moon - foggy, hazy, and obscure, devoid of the sheen. similarly, mothers face
has lost all the glory and charm of youthful days and looks similar to the winter's moon
- The poet felt the pangs of childhood, the familiar pain of separation, but she hides her true feelings and
pretends cheerfulness to bid her goodbye by saying,` See you soon Amma` and smiles away, ending the
poem on a positive note. The poet realizes that everyone has to go through this phase of life and comes to
terms with death which is a reality, and understands that one should accept old age and nobody can escape
from it.

MY MOTHER AT MY MOTHER AT Mind Map.docx

SIXTY SIX- Crossword Labs.pdf
SIXTY SIX WORKSHEET.pdf

Explain with reference to the Context

Driving from my parent’s home to Cochin last
Fridaymorning, I saw my mother,beside me,
doze, open mouthed, her faceashen like that
of a corpse and realized with pain that she was as old as
she looked but soon
put that thought
1.Choose the option that best applies to the given extract.
1) An order
2) an argument
3) a request
4) a strategy
5) a recollection
6) a direction
a) 1, 3 & 6
b) 2, 4 & 5
c) Only 5
d)Only 1
Ans: c) Only 5
2. Choose the option that displays the same literary device as in the given linesof the
extract.
her face ashen like thatof a corpse…
a) I like it when its raining ……
b) She said that he liked her presentation at the seminar
c) My love is like a red rose….
d) I like to listen to soft music especially when I am driving …..

Ans:c) My love is like a red rose….

EXTRACT 2
I looked out at Young
Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes, but
after the airport’s security check, standing a few yards away, I
looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s moon and felt that oldfamiliar ache…
1.Choose the option that appropriately describes the relationship between the two statements given below.
Statement 1: Mother did not seem to look at the prime of health
statement 2: . The poet is traumatized to leave her mother alone.
a) Beginning – Ending
b) Cause – Effect

Ans: b)Cause – Effect

2.. Choose the option that completes the sentence given below.
Just like the moon has lost its lustre and is hazy and foggy the mother, .
a) has lost her relationship with her daughter.
b) has lost the appeal and her glory of youthful days .
c) has lost touch with others and is lonely.
d) has lost her memories of the past

Ans: b) has lost the appeal and her glory of youthful days

EXTRACT 3
old familiar ache,

my childhood's fear, but all

I said was, see you soon, Amma,

all I did was smile and smile and smile......

1. What was the poet's childhood fear?

(a) losing her childhood innocence.

(b) scared of losing her youth.

(c) fear of separation from her mother.

(d) The fear of losing her belongings.

Ans: (c) fear of separation from her mother.

6. Choose the option that appropriately describes the reason why the poet smiled .

Statement 1: The poet smiled as she remembered with joy the beautiful vacation she spent with her mother.

Statement 2: The poet smiled because she wanted to hide her fears from her mother and reassure her that all
is well with her .

According to the context:

(a) Statement 1 is correct but statement 2 is not.

(b) Statement 2 is correct but statement 1 is not.

(c) Both statement 1 and statement 2 are correct.

(d) Both statement 1 and statement 2 are correct

Ans :(b) Statement 2 is correct but statement 1 is not.

MCQs for Practice

1What do the poetess' parting words suggest? The words suggest the ___________ of the poetess

(a) will power

(b) negativity

(c) optimism

(d) anxiety

2 ....And looked at the young sprinting trees..." Which poetic device has the poet used in the above line?
(a) Onomatopoeia

(b) Personification

(c) Simile

(d) Hyperbole

3. The phrase 'merry children' symbolizes

1. Pain

2. Nostalgia

3. Happiness

4. Sluggishness

5. Vitality

6. Exuberance

(a) 3, 5 and 6

(b) 1, 2, and 4

(c) 4 and 5

(d) only 6

4. Choose the option which is not correct as per the above stanza.

(a) As the car travels, the daughter observes her aging mother.

(b) The mother's face appears like ashen.

(c) The pale complexion of the old woman seems her similar to that of a corpse.

(d) The thought of the corpse forces the poet to think of her mother's young age.

5. And I realized with pain……

Why was the realization painful? The realization was painful because

(i) It brought with it the distressing thought that she was also nearing the death.

ii) The poet started thinking about the separation from her mother.

(iii) The poet has not seen anybody dying before.

(iv) The poet was not that close to her father as she was with her mother.

(a) (i), (ii) and (iii)

(b) (ii), (iii), and (iv)

(c) only (iv)

(d) both (i) and (ii)

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

ANSWER IN 30-40 WORDS

1.Why does the poet look at the trees and children?

The poet is sad seeing the state her mother is in. To distract her mind from the unhappy thoughts looming
large in her mind, she tries to find some solace by looking out of the window. The trees and children give
her a feeling that this is the cycle of life- at one end, it fades while on the other, it grows. The freshness of
life she witnessed out of the window helped to uplift her mood.

2. What is the childhood fear the poet is talking about?

The poem captures the poet`s concern and realization of the mother`s mortality as they embark on their
journey. She realizes that her mother will grow old and weak, and one day, she will lose her to death. The
posture in which she sat in the car and her colorless, pale face added to her fears.

3. Imagery was an effective literary device to bring out the contrast between the “merry children” and
mother. Comment.

The poet uses visual imagery to paint a vivid picture that creates a vibrant and lively image that signifies
youth and vitality. In contrast, the imagery emphasizes her ageing and vulnerability. The word `merry
children` brings to our mind sounds of laughter and shouting. The contrast in the imagery accentuates the
vivacity of the children against the mother, who is presented in a subdued state. Similarly, the image of
merry children spilling brings in a powerful contrast with the mother, who is sitting in a car, suggestive of
her limited mobility and restriction.

4. Why has the poet referred her mother to a late winter`s moon?

Arriving at the airport, she looks at her mother, who is standing far away. She realizes that her mother seems
so vulnerable and weak. She looked very pale. She compares her mother to the image of a late winter`s
moon to bring out the extent of the loss of youthfulness and the glory associated with it. She is like a moon
in the late winter season that is hazy and lacks lustre.

5.`My parent`s home ` Was the poet possessive in her thought ? If so, why?

The possessive thought about ` my parent`s home' in the poem highlights the emotional connection between
the protectiveness and sentimentality towards her parents and the place. It reverberates on her attachment
and the desire to hold on to her memories and emotional significance associated with her ancestral home.

Practice questions

1. Why did the poet suddenly recall `last Friday morning’?

2. What do the parting words and smile signify?

3. What child hood fear the poet is referring to in the poem? How does she try to overcome the fear?

4 Why is the trees described as sprinting?

5. What were her feelings at the airport and how does she cover up her feelings and why?
 Long answer questions

1. Through the thoughts of the poet how does the poem complete a full cycle?

In "My Mother at Sixty-Six," the poem completes a full cycle by exploring the themes of life, death, and the
passage of time through the thoughts and emotions of the poet. The poem begins with the poet describing
her mother, who is sixty-six years old, sitting beside her in a car. The journey to the airport serves as a
metaphor for the journey of life. By observing her pale face and her aged look she understands her physical
and emotional vulnerability. She realizes that sooner or later death could separate her from her mother. The
poet holds a deep reverence and love for her and want to protect her from her own anxieties. She also
contemplates the changing dynamics of their relationship as her mother grows older, and the poet becomes
more aware of her own mortality as well. The poet acknowledges that ageing is a natural process and death
and an eventual separation is inevitable She accepts the passage of time and resigns herself to the fact that
life moves on, and individuals must confront the transient nature of existence. The poem concludes by
circling back to the present moment, where the poet and her mother reach their destination. The journey
serves as a metaphorical representation of the cycle of life, with its beginnings and endings. The poem
comes full circle as the poet contemplates the fleeting nature of life and the profound impact of her mother's
aging on her own understanding of mortality.

2. The poet in my mother at sixty six does not directly mention the fear of her mother’s death and yet she is
successfully able to convey the same through different poetic techniques. Discuss

The poet does not explicitly state that she is traumatized by the fear of her mother's death. Using various
poetic techniques, the poet effectively conveys a sense of fear and mortality surrounding her mother and
utilizes contrasting imagery to evoke a sense of vulnerability and mortality. The description of her mother's
face as "pale" suggests the physical signs of ageing and frailty. The car ride is metaphorically representing
the poet's emotional journey, as well as the realization of her mother's journey toward death. The tone and
the mood are somber and reflective. The poet employs contrast to emphasize the fear of mortality. The poet's
choice of language and diction contributes to the conveyance of fear. Words such as "pale," corpse and "
winter`s moon" carry emotional weight and evoke a sense of fragility and mortality. These carefully chosen
words, combined with the poet's skillful arrangement, create an atmosphere of apprehension and unease.
Thus the poetic devices create an atmosphere permeated with a sense of fear and apprehension surrounding
the inevitable reality of death.

3. Comment on the tone of the poem with references to “My Mother at Sixty- Six

The tone of "My Mother at Sixty-Six" is of introspection, contemplation, and a mix of tender concern and
acceptance. It reflects a deep emotional connection to her mother and an awareness of the transitoriness of
life.

The poet's tone carries a sense of concern for her mother's aging and vulnerability. In the journey by car to
the airport , she observes her mother's physical fragility and expresses a deep sense of empathy.

The tone of the poem also exhibits a contemplative and reflective quality as she contemplates the changes in
her mother's appearance and behavior. The tone of contemplation adds depth and introspection to the poem.
In the last few lines of the poem, we can witness an underlying tone of acceptance and resignation. The
poet acknowledges the inevitability of aging and the passage of time.The combination of concern,
contemplation, and acceptance creates a poignant tone in the poem.

Questions for Practice

1. Imagine the mother gets to know of the poet persona’s fears. Write a letter, as the mother, telling the
daughter why she must not dwell on these fears.
You may begin this way:
 Pallipuram Cochin, Kerala

22 August ‘60 My dear Kamala

I am writing to you because when you left me at the airport, I felt something wasn’t right. Judging by
how little you spoke that day ……………………….
………………………………………(continue)…………………………………

With loveAmma

2. Imagine you are the poet’s friend.Write a dialogue exchange between yourself and the poet where the
latterconfides in you about her fears and asks for your advice.
What would your advice be –to face her fears, to ignore them or something else?
3.Ageing is a natural process; write in your own words how difficult it was for the poet to come to terms
with this realization ?
Reference:
https://cbseacademic.nic.in/web_material/QuestionBank/ClassXII/EnglishCoreXII.pdf

KEEPING QUIET
SYNOPSIS
POET
• Real Name – Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto
• Pen Name – Pablo Neruda
• Born on – July 12, 1904 Parral, Chile
• Occupation – Poet, Diplomat
• Notable award(s) – Nobel Prize in Literature (1971)
• Died – Sept 23, 1973 (aged 69) Santiago, Chile

THEME
• Conveys the message of universal peace, tranquillity.
• Creating a feeling of mutual understanding among human beings.
• Emphasizes the necessity of quiet introspection

POINTS TO LEARN

➢ The poet wants the mankind to count twelve and keep quiet.

➢ He does not want the people to speak in any language.

Such silence would be ‘an exotic moment’ with the body coming to static level – state of mental
tranquillity, - ‘a sudden strangeness.’

➢ State of mind shall make the people immune to their physical troubles

➢ The Fisherman would not harm whales.

➢ The man gathering salt would not feel pain in his hurt hands.

➢ Waging wars with ‘gas’ or ‘fire’ aiming at victory with no survivors shall be in utter peace and they shall be
affectionate to their fellow beings.

➢ It is not ‘total inactivity’ – the poet doesn’t wish any ‘truck’ with death.
➢ Keeping quiet shall enable the anti-humanity people to understand themselves and others.

➢ The life goes on as it does – people should try to understand themselves and love fellow beings.

➢ Keeping quiet shall reveal to them essence of life.

➢ The earth becomes a great teacher to teach this lesson - there seems no activity on it, yet everything is alive
and lives on and grows.
 Keeping Quiet
GLOSSARY
1. Any Language: Language here refers to people discriminating others on the basis of cultural and social
differences.
2. Arms: Weapons, Violence, Physical destruction
3. Exotic: Foreign, imported, Strangely beautiful
4. Rush: Daily hustle & hurry in the materialistic world
5. Engines: Vehicles, machines
6. Sudden strangeness: Introspecting our actions by stopping our usual activities, realising the actual value of
togetherness and protecting peace.
7. Fishermen: Symbolises the man-kind exploiting the nature for selfish wants.
8. Cold sea: Death, decay, destroying the environment with vested interests.
9. Whale: Refers to the aquatic life on the verge of extinction; Humans killing animals & ending the biotic life
on earth.
10. Hurt hands: Men who gather salts have hands that are peeled off of their skin due to continuous contact with
the various types of salts.
11. Green wars: Deforestation
12. Wars with gas: Chemical wars, pollution, etc.
13. Wars with fire: Bombings, explosions, man-made forest fires, etc.
14. Victories with no survivors: There would be no one left to celebrate victories of the wars that damage peace
& cause death. The planet would be converted into a dead one.
15. Clean clothes: Refers to peace and getting rid of the thoughts & clothes that are stained with blood and hurt
of other people.
16. Their brothers: All the people of the world as one family
17. Doing nothing: Not planning & plotting against others
18. Inactivity: Not just sleeping but meditating & introspecting on our mistakes.
19. No truck: Does not want lifelessness or forces that cause death
20. Single minded: Selfish, intolerant
21. Huge silence: Introspection, meditation, realisation
22. Sadness: Destruction caused by humans
23. Threatening ourselves with death: Man has no time for introspecting & is causing death and destruction
24. Dead: Autumn season; when everything falls; trees & plants shed leaves & flowers
25. Alive: Spring season when life blossoms again
26. I will go: The objective of the poet is fulfilled and the poet talks about moving on to another world & start
preaching again.

POETIC DEVICES

• ALLITERATION - Occurrence of the same sound of closely connected words.

We will, Sudden Strangeness

His hurt hands
Clean clothes
• PUN – Words sounding alike but with different meanings

‘Arms’ is an instance of pun. In puns, duplicity of sense is created because of the unity of sound. Arm here
stands for a body part as well as weaponry
• SYMBOLISM – Using symbols ton represent ideas or qualities

Fisherman and whale stands for the oppressor and oppressed respectively.
Salt gatherer is symbolic of humanity
‘clean clothes’ symbolize peace.
• PERSONIFICATION – Attributing human characteristics to something non-human.

The Earth can teach us. (Human attribute of teaching).

• IRONY –Saying one thing while meaning another thing

Victory with no survivors

• ASSONANCE – repetition of same vowel sounds in immediate sequence

Repetition of ‘o’ and ‘e’ (Now we will count to twelve, not move our arms so much)
• ANAPHORA -Two consecutive lines starting with the word ‘Let’s’

• REPETITION - use of ‘war

• ENJAMBMENT - is a term used in poetry to refer to lines that end without punctuation and without
completing a sentence or clause. Ex. and for once could perhaps a huge silence……..of threatening
ourselves with death.

KEEPING QUIET

I. Read the following extract and answer the following

questions:

What I want should not be confused

with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death

1. The phrase ‘Life is what it is about' signifies______________

a) living life miserably
b) living life ridiculously
c) living life carefully
d) living life as it is meant to be

2. ‘I want no truck with death’ indicates that the poet________________

a) wants a truck for death
b) does not mean that inactivity is life
c) assures people that they would not face death at all
d) does not want a truck

3. Which of the following is not correct?

a) The poet wants all people to be idle doing nothing
b) The poet wants all people to keep quiet to introspect
c) The poet wants all people to be like brothers
d) The poet wants all people to love one another

4. Statement 1: The poet cautions that one should not mistake doing nothing for total inactivity
Statement 2: The poet confirms that he does not mean to associate life with death.
a) Statement 1 is true but Statement 2 is false.
b) Statement 1 is false but Statement 2 is true.
c) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 are true.
d) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 cannot be inferred

5, The word “inactivity” in the above lines suggests ______________________.

6. The theme of the poem “Keeping Quiet” is ______________

 Answers:
1. d
2. b
3. a
4. c
5. mankind to not involve in anything
6. Introspection

II. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with
death.

1.‘We’ in the first line refers to…………………..

2. Why does the poet want us to ‘do nothing’ for once?

3. What could the ‘huge silence’ signify?

a) melancholy b) understanding c) discomfort d) flexibility

4. What good can the huge silence do to us?

a) Attaining wealth
b) Becoming famous
c) Achieving inner peace to overcome sadness
d) Create a silent world

5. Choose the option that best describes these statements, with reference to the poem.
Statement I – The poem ‘Keeping Quiet‘ calls for change as much in the individual as human society at
large.
Statement II – The poem ‘Keeping Quiet‘ implies that individual change will lead to bigger societal
change.
Statement III – Neruda believes that when people come together as a community, they will be able to
bring a transformation in each person.
a) Statement I is True, Statement II is False, and Statement III cannot be inferred.
b) Statement I and II cannot be inferred, Statement III is True.
c) Statement I is True, Statements II and III cannot be inferred.
d) Statement I cannot be inferred, Statement II cannot be inferred, Statement III is False.

6.The antonym of the word “interrupt” is __________________

Answers:
1.‘We’ refers to the human beings, who are selfishly thinking about their own
progress.
2.The poet wants us to ‘do nothing’ for once so that our mind can be at peace and we are able to
introspect and analyse our actions.
3. b
4. c
5. a
6. Continuation/ continuity

III. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
 Now we will count upto twelve and we will all keep still.
For once on the face of the
Earth Let’s not speak in any
language, Let’s stop for one
second,
And not move our arms so much

1. An example of anaphora in thee above lines is _______________

2. Two activities the poet wants us to stop are____________

a. Speak and Move
b. Move and Eat
c. Speak and Dance
d. Move and Sleep

3 What does the poet mean by ‘let’s not speak in any language’?
a. To be silent
b. To be dumb
c. To be unconscious
d. To forget your language

4. Choose the pun in the word ‘arms’ from the given options.
a. Human organ/limbs
b. Weapons of destruction
c. Both (a) and (b)
d. None of these

5. Assertion: The poet wants everyone to remain quiet for sometime.

Reason: Silence will allow to listen to the voices of quiet and serene nature
a) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
b) Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
c) Assertion is true and reason is false.
d) Assertion is false and reason is
true.

6 .Why is the poet suggesting to count twelve?

Answers:
1. Let’s not speak in any language, Let’s stop for one second
2. a
3. a
4. c
5. b
6. To calm the mind to enable it to introspect

IV. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
‘Those who prepare green wars,
Wars with gas, wars with fire,
Would put on clean clothes
And walk about with their brothers
In the shade, doing nothing.’

1. What do ‘green wars’ mean?

A) Wars with gas
B) Wars with fire
C) Wars with biochemical weapons
D) Wars to destroy environment

2. What activity should the war-mongers do?

a) They should keep quiet
b) They should make peace
c) They should have a new perspective of life
d) None of the above

3. Name the different kinds of wars mentioned in the above lines.

a) Wars with gas
b) Wars with fire.
c) Green wars
d) All of the above

4. What kind of victory is this?

a) Meaningless.
b) bloodshed
c)None to celebrate
d) All of the above

5. What statement does Neruda make about wars?

a) Wars are of varied kinds – internal, green wars, wars with gas, with fire etc.
b) Wars cause irrecoverable loss and damage to property and life.
c) Wars never yield any winners, and the loss is far greater than what can
bemeasured.
d) Wars are unavoidable in the enduring struggle for human dignity and
power.
6, Who are the “brothers” referred to in the above lines?

Answers:
1. d
2. c
3. d
4. d
5. c
6. Fellow human beings

V. Read the extract to attempt questions that follow:

It would be an exotic moment without
rush, without engines,
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.

1. The ‘exotic moment‘ that the poet refers to is, when

a) the whole world is destroyed
b) all the people divided
c) all the people are together with oneness
d) all the people speak only in one language

2. State whether the given statement is TRUE or FALSE

The other word for exotic is non-native
3. “Sudden strangeness‘ is an example of
a) Metaphor
b) Simile
c) Oxmoron
d) Alliteration
4. Who is the poet speaking to?
5. How can we all be together according to Pablo Neruda?
6. The poet means ____________________ by “without Engines”
Answers
1. c
2. True
3. D
4. To mankind who has no time to introspect.
5. When we all join the silence and find time to think and introspect.
6. Without noise and machinery
VI. 1. Choose the option that best describes these statements, with reference to the
poem.
Statement I – The poem ‗Keeping Quiet‘ calls for change as much in the individual as
human society at large.
Statement II – The poem ‗Keeping Quiet‘ implies that individual change will lead to bigger
societal change.
Statement III – Neruda believes that when people come together as a community, they will
be able to bring a transformation in each person.
a) Statement I is True, Statement II is False, and Statement III cannot be
inferred.
b) Statement I and II cannot be inferred, Statement III is True.
c) Statement I is True, Statements II and III cannot be inferred.
d) Statement I cannot be inferred, Statement II cannot be inferred, Statement III is
False.

What I want should not be confused with total inactivity.

Choose the option that draws the most accurate parallel.
Keeping quiet: total inactivity = :
a) reflection and death
b) silence and chaos
c) stagnation and introspection
d) mindfulness and fear
3. What statement does Neruda make about wars?
a) Wars are of varied kinds – internal, green wars, wars with gas, with fire etc.
b) Wars are wasteful and cause irrecoverable loss and damage to property and life.
c) Wars never yield any winners, and the loss is far greater than what can be
measured.
d) Wars are unavoidable in the enduring struggle for human dignity and power.

Now I‘ll count up to twelve and you keep quiet and I will go. Why does the poet wish to
go at the end of the poem?
 a) The poet does not believe people will be quiet.
b) The poet has already invested enough time.
c) The poet will move on and seek to inspire others.
d) The poet is marking the end of the poem by leaving.

Answers
Q.1 –a
Q.2 –a
Q.3 –c
Q.4 –c

VII. Read the extract to attempt questions that follow:

Perhaps the Earth can teach us

as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.

1 What can we learn from the Earth?

a) No hope for life after such large scale destruction of the planet
b) Hope for life in spite of the wars of all kinds referred to by the poet
c) No scope for life on the planet
d) Hope for life on other planets, after complete destruction of the Earth

2 The words ‘everything seems dead’ refer to _______________.

a) animals‘ life
b) plants‘ life
c) flora and fauna
d) none of the above

3 The last line of poem ends on a/an ______________ note.

a) pessimistic
b) optimistic
c) disillusioned
d) imaginary

4, The figure of speech in ‘the Earth can teach us” is ______________.

VI1. b
2. b
3. b
4. Personification

UNSOLVED

I. Read the extract to attempt questions that follow:

For once on the face of the Earth

 let‘s not speak in any language,
let‘s stop for one second,
and not move our arms so much.
It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines,
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.

1. The poet uses the word ―let‘s to

a) initiate a conversation between the poet and the readers.
b) invite readers as part of the poem‘s larger call to humanity.
c) welcome readers into the world of the poem and its subject.
d) address readers as fellow members of the human race.

2. Why do you think the poet employs words like ―exotic and ―strangeness?
a) To highlight the importance of everyone being together suddenly for once.
b) To emphasize the frantic activity and chaos that usually envelops human life.
c) To indicate the unfamiliarity of a sudden moment without rush or withoutengine.
d) To direct us towards keeping quiet and how we would all be together in thatsilence.

3. Choose the option that correctly matches the idioms given in Column A with their
meanings in Column B.
Column A Column B
1. On the face of the earth (i) In existence
2. What on earth (ii) To do all possible to accomplish
something
3. Move heaven and earth (iii) To express surprise or shock
4. The salt of the earth (iv) To be good and
worthy
a) 1 – (i); 2 – (iv); 3 – (iii); 4 – (ii)
b) 1 – (i); 2 – (iii); 3 – (ii); 4 – (iv)
c) 1 – (ii); 2 – (i); 3 – (iv); 4 – (iii)
d) 1 – (iv); 2 – (ii); 3 – (iii); 4 – (i)
4. The poetic device in the last line is ___________________.
5. Why is Pablo Neruda insisting on being together?
6. What does ‘arms’ signify?

Read the extract to attempt questions that follow:

If we were not so single-minded

about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.

1. What do you think is the mood of the poet in the above extract?
a) gloomy, cynical
 b) reflective, inspired
c) introspective, aware
d) critical, demotivated
2. Pick the option that DOES NOT complete the given sentence suitably, as per the extract. Threatening
ourselves with death
a) feeds on the fear of death.
b) challenges finiteness of life.
c) keeps us rushing through life.
d) makes us restless and impatient.

3. What might the ―huge silence signify?

a) melancholy
b) understanding
c) discomfort
d) flexibility
4. Name the Poet.
5. What is the sadness referred in the above lines?
6. We are single-minded about __________________.

III. Read the extract to attempt questions that follow:

Those who prepare green wars,

wars with gas, wars with fire, victory
with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes and walk
about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.

1. According to the poet wars would result in

a) the victory of none

b) the death of all
c) complete annihilation of the world
d) above all
2. The phrase ‗clean clothes‘ symbolises

a) Peace
b) Well ironed clothes
c) New clothes
d) Spotless clothes
3.___________________walk about in the shade _____________
a) people who hate one another, singing
b) people who love one another dancing
c) people who wage wars, doing nothing
d) none of the above

4. The poetic device used in the fourth line of the extract is

a) Alliteration
b) Personification
c) Transferred epithet
d) None of the above
5. What are the kinds of wars mentioned in the above lines?
6. The poetic device used in “ Victory with no survivors” is______________

IV. Read the extract to attempt questions that follow:

What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity. Life is
what it is about;
I want no truck with death.
1. Which of the following is not correct ?
a) The poet wants all people to be idle doing nothing
b) The poet wants all people to keep quiet to introspect
c) The poet wants all people to be like brothers
d) The poet wants all people to love one another

2. The phrase ‗Life is what it is about‘ means

a) living life miserably
b) living life licentiously
c) living life carefully
d) living life as it is

3. ‘I want no truck with death‘ indicates that the poet

a) wants a truck for death
b) does not mean that inactivity is death
c) assures people that they would not face death at all
d) does not want a truck

4. The above extract is taken from ________written by ______________.

a) ‗Keeping Quiet‘ by John Keats

b) ‗My Mother at Sixty Six‘ by Pablo Neruda
c) ‗Keeping Quiet‘ by Pablo Neruda
d) ‗My Mother at Sixty Six‘ by John Keats

5. The confusion that the poet wishes to throw light on, is ______________.
6. The word “inactivity” in the above lines suggests ___________________.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

SOLVED
1. What according to the poet will counting up to twelve and keeping still help us achieve?
2. What would fishermen and salt gatherers start doing after they keep ‘still’?
3. What would the war mongers do when they introspect for a few moments?
4. What does the poet actually mean by ‘keeping quiet’ when he says that it ‘should not
be confused with total inactivity?
5. What would have happened ‘if we were not so single-minded about keeping our lives
moving…’?
6. What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem?
7 What importance does the poet give to ‘the Earth’ when he says that it can
teach us an essential meaning of life?

Answers
1. Shall be ‘an exotic moment’. No activity. Mankind will be united in a sudden strangeness.’
We shall get time to introspect.
2. Fisherman would not harm whales – the man gathering salt would realize the pain due to cuts
in salt gathering – introspect and see and realize the purpose of life.
3. When the war mongers keep quiet, they would realize the newness of life. They would put
on new clothes and crave for meeting and harmonizing with their fellow-brothers.
4. ‘Keeping Quiet’ does not mean ‘total inactivity’ or resignation to life. By keeping quiet, we
get time to introspect. He means that life should be lived as we mean it.
5. We all are single-minded in keeping our lives moving and do not introspect
to know what we are all about. If we were not single minded, perhaps there would
have been a huge silence and we would not have understood the essence of life and the
impact of death.
6. The ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem is of never understanding what we are
as a phenomenon of nature. This ‘sadness’ is also of threatening ourselves with death.
7. He says that when everything seems dead on the surface of the earth, there pulsates and
throbs life underneath. It sustains life even though on the exterior it all seems dead.

Unsolved
1. What does the poet mean by ‘a huge silence’? How could this ‘ huge silence’ interrupt the
‘sadness’?
2. What symbol from Nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under
apparent stillness?
3. What does the poet suggest to create a feeling of mutual understanding and communion
among fellow beings?
4. What does the poet mean when he says ’I want no truck with death’?
5. How could a huge silence interrupt the sadness?

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Solved
1. What moral lesson should we draw from the Earth about living life as a whole?
2. List the different types of wars mentioned in the poem and Neruda’s attitude towards these
wars?
3. Why does one feel ‘a sudden strangeness’ on counting to twelve and keeping quiet?

Answers.
1. Earth can teach a lesson to mankind on the preservation and resurrection of life and how
new life is believed to rise from the ashes of the dead remains. The Earth never attains total
inactivity. Nature remains at work under apparent stillness and keeps the Earth alive.

2. Green wars, wars with gas, wars with fire. By green wars,he means to say that the people
who destroy forests also wage a war against their own coming generations. There are wars
with fire, chemical weapons and poisonous gases. The wars bring so much destruction that no
side could be called victorious. The poet wants that all these wars should be stopped. These
wars bring nothing but destruction.
 3. The absence of hustle and bustle of life would create feeling of peace and quietness, which
would make us united in our natural commitment. It will create a strange feeling of universal
brotherhood.

Unsolved

1. What can be the consequence of the war in our lives?

2. What harm do the fishermen do and why do the salt gatherers hands hurt?
3. What kind of activity does the poet feel is a man involved in?
KEEPING QUIET
BY
PABLO NERUDA
Choose the right answer from the given options of the following questions
Q1- What does the title of the poem suggest?
A) Inactivity
B) noise
C) unhappiness
D) Maintenance of silence

Q2- What does the poem speak about?

A) the necessity to be happy
B) the necessity to introspect, understand and have feelings of brotherhood
C) the necessity to work quietly
D) none

Q3- What does counting up to 12 signify and how will it help?

A) hours of the day
B) months of a year
C) it will help to create peace and harmony
D) all

Q4- What is poet’s pen name?

A) Neruda
B) Pable
C) Pablo
D) Pablo Neruda

Q5- What does the style of the poem symbolise, that the poet used to write with?
A) desires
B) happiness
C) hope
D) desire and hope

Q6- What is the essence or message of the poem?

A) introspection and retrospection to be more peaceful and be in harmony
B) to prosper
C) to be happier
D) to reach out more people

Q7- What does the poet feel is needed to be at peace?

A) meeting with people
B) talking with people
C) interaction with the people
D) Soul searching

Q8- According to the poet what creates barriers?

A) interactions
B) reactions
 C) fighting
D) languages

Q9- Why does the poet ask people not to speak?

A) because it creates noise
B) he doesn’t like noise
C) it makes things unpleasant
D) because it creates barriers or obstacles in the form of misunderstanding amongst people

Fill in the blanks with suitable answers.

1.We shall keep still all keep to______________
2. We shouldn’t speak in any language because______________
3. ________________ would be an exotic moment.
4. ‘without engines’ implies___________.
5. ‘sudden strangeness’ implies___________________.
6. The fishermen in the cold sea would not harm whales when___________________
7. Those who prepare green wars would _________________when they introspect.
8. The symbolical meaning of ‘clean clothes’ is_____________________

Answer the following questions in about 40 words

1. What does the poet want that should not be confused with total inactivity?
2. Explain: ‘Life is what it is about’.
3. What does the poet actually want to say in ’I want no truck with death’?
4. How could a huge silence interrupt this sadness?
5. What actually is meant by ‘this sadness’ here?
6. What does the poet mean by ‘of threatening ourselves with death’?
7. Why does the poet write Earth with ‘E’ capital?
8. What can the Earth teach?
9. What moral lesson should we draw from the Earth about living life as a whole?
10. What is the indirect inference of the poet that he gives us as a teaching?

Keeping Quiet :Pablo Neruda https://www.topworksheets.com/en/english-

language/vocabulary/keeping-quiet-pablo-neruda-64afc1959af00

A THING OF BEAUTY

John Keats

THEME:

"A Thing of Beauty" is an excerpt from John Keats' poem "Endymion: A Poetic Romance." It
is based on a Greek legend. In this poem, the poet speaks about love, beauty, and youth. This
poem is largely about nature, and the poet claims that nature's beauty is intransient. It brings
us eternal joy and never fades away. The beauty of nature is what keeps us cheerful and
content in this sad, monotonous world. It also has the ability to unite people and generate a
sense of harmony and oneness. The poet feels that nature has a therapeutic effect that eases
the mind. We constantly remember whatever is beautiful since it provides us with eternal and
everlasting enjoyment. The pleasure that a beautiful object provides never fades but increases
many times over every time we think of it.

EXPLANATION:

A thing of beauty is a joy forever

Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness; but will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

➢ Throughout the stanza, the poet emphasizes the importance of beautiful things. He
thinks that a wonderful object of nature can provide eternal happiness. Its appeal
keeps growing rather than diminishing. Nature's beauty is like a shaded grove where
we can sit, and enjoy a restful night's sleep full of wonderful dreams, as well as
excellent health and calm. It creates a soothing and revitalizing environment around
us.

Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing

A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and over-darkened ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits.

➢ The poet claims that we experience numerous issues, failures, tragedies, depressions,
and so on every day, but it is the thing of beauty that works to eliminate all gloomy
dark clouds from our existence. He also says how the abundance of lovely things
around us acts as a garland to bind us and bring us closer to the Earth.

Such the sun, the moon,

Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
Gainst the hot season; the mid forest brake

➢ The poet discusses the amazing things that exist on Earth. The sun, moon, trees,
flowers (daffodils), and rivers are examples. According to the poet, all of these things
are like a favour granted by Mother Nature to all human beings. He goes on to say
that trees provide us with shade, flowers with beauty, and rivers with cool water
during the scorching summers. All of these are natural wonders that are a blessing to
us.

Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;

And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have heard or read;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink

➢ The poet then goes on to describe some of the more delightful things on Earth. Such
as the lovely musk roses, which have a lovely aroma. Then he tells the stories of great
warriors who gave their lives for their countries or humanity. He claims that these
lovely things are God's gifts to all of us. They are like nectar given to us by God, and
if we keep focusing on the nectar of beauty that God pours from above, it will give us
a reason to survive on this earth despite our many sufferings.

IMPORTANT POETIC DEVICES:

1. Alliteration: Use of consonant sound at the start of two words which are close in
series
• (Sleep-Sweet)
• (‘b’ in Band Bind, ‘n’ in Noble nature, ‘s’ in some shape).
• (‘s’ in Sprouting Shady, Simple sheep, ‘c’ in cooling covert)
• (‘h’ in have heard)

2. Metaphor:
• bower Quiet (calmness of the bower is compared to the calming effect of a beautiful
thing)
• wreathing a flowery band (the beautiful things of our life bind us to the earth)
 • Immortal drinks (beautiful objects of nature are forever like a never-ending portion of
a drink)

3. Imagery:
• creating a sensory effect of beautiful things lined up in a string (A flowery band to
bind us)
• Trees giving shade (sprouting shady boon)
• growing process of daffodils (daffodils with the green world they live in)
• clean river streams (Clear rills)
• Bushes full of musk roses (sprinkling of fair musk rose blooms)
• books describing valour of fighters (grandeur-..Mighty dead)
• god providing us with best things (pouring from the heaven’s brink)

Reference to context Exercises:

I. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:

1. A thing of beauty is a joy forever

Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness, but will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

a. Why does the poet state that a thing of beauty is joy forever?

i. Because it gives us eternal and everlasting happiness

ii. Because it leaves an impact on our mind
iii. Because we are able to relive the wonderful feeling, we get from it whenever
we think about it
iv. All the above

ANSWER: iv.all the above

b. Explain: “Nothingness”

i. Beauty never goes off with the passing time

ii. Beauty fades away with time
iii. Refers to a freedom of the soul
iv. None of the above

ANSWER: i. Beauty never goes off with the passing time

c. “A bower quiet for us”, What does it mean?

i. The stillness of the night sky

ii. Nature’s beauty performs like the shade of a tree,soothing and relaxing
 iii. The quiet afternoon breeze that helps the creatures sleep
iv. The quietness of nature

ANSWER: ii. Nature’s beauty performs like the shade of a tree, soothing and
relaxing

2. Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing

A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways
Made for our searching:

a. What does “spite of despondence” mean?

i. Mind filled with ill willand hatred for others
ii. Mind full of dreams for the future
iii. Desperate to get fame and recognition
iv. Desire to do noble deeds

ANSWER: i.mind filled with ill will and hatred for others

b. What are the flowery bands that bind us to the earth?

i. The beautiful things present in nature like flowers that we wreathe into a band
ii. The beautiful “flowery bands” that keeps us connected to the earth
iii. Both i and ii
iv. None of the above

ANSWER: iii.Both i and ii

c. What does the poet mean by over darkened ways?

i. Refers to the trials and tribulations of life

ii. The path darkened by clouds
iii. Course of life full of dependence, sadness, cruelty
iv. Both i and iii

ANSWER: iv.Both i and iii

3. yes, in spite of all,

Some shape of beauty moves away from the pall,
From our dark spirits.Such the sun, the moon,

a. What do dark spirits refer to?

 i. Our spirits are dejected due to extreme sadness and disappointment
ii. Suffering and pain caused my man’s evil ways
iii. Both i and ii
iv. None of the above

ANSWER: iii.Both i and iii

b. Explain:Moves away the pall

i. Moving towards our destination

ii. Beauty has the power to uplift and elevate our spirits
iii. Moving towards success and achievement
iv. Both i and iii

ANSWER: ii.beauty has the power to uplift and elevate our spirits

c. Why has the poet mentioned the sun and moon?

i. The poet wants to be the sun which lights up the dark

ii. They are the beauty of nature
iii. The poet wants to shed light over darkness
iv. All the above

ANSWER: iiThey are the beauty of nature

4. but will keep

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet
breathing

a. What is a bower?
i. A river
ii. A stream
iii. A big tree
iv. A shady tree
ANSWER: iv.They are the beauty of nature

b. How does a thing of beauty provide shelter and comfort?

i. By giving a sense of joy and happiness
ii. By removing pain and suffering
iii. Like a bower
iv. All the above
ANSWER: iv.All the above

c. Who is the poet of this poem?

i. John Donne
 ii. William Blakes
iii. William Wordsworth
iv. John Keats
ANSWER: iv.John Keats

5. All lovely tales that we have heard or read;

An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink
a. What does 'brink' mean?
i. Tree top
ii. A rocky space
iii. Mountain top
iv. An edge at the top
ANSWER: iv. an edge at the top
b. What is the endless fountain of immortal drink?
i. Rivers and lake
ii. Flowing streams and forest
iii. Sunlight
iv. All the things of beauty
ANSWER: iv.All the things of beauty

c. What is the effect of immortal drink?

i. No one is thirsty and sick
ii. Everyone is happy and healthy
iii. Provides immense joy and happiness
iv. Beauty never moves away
ANSWER: iii. provides immense joy and happiness

II. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

1. Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;

And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have heard or read;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink

a. Pick the words from the poem which mean: stories, magnificence.
i. Tales and grandeur
ii. Old, and young
iii. Green world and clear rills
iv. Sweet dreams and health
b. Who are the mighty dead?
i. All the people who are dead and gone
ii. Great men of history who sacrificed their life for a cause
iii. Those who have tasted the immortal drink or nectar
iv. The sick and the dying

c. What does the immortal drink refer to?

i. A cold soothing drink on a hot summer day
ii. A refreshing mocktail
iii. The nectar that nature provides her in the form of her bounties
iv. All the above

2. With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
Gainst the hot season; the mid forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms

a. Who said that a thing of beauty is a joy forever?

i. John Millet
ii. Christopher
iii. A young shepherd
iv. John Keats

b. Name the figure of speech in 'cooling covert'.

i. Simile
ii. Alliteration
iii. Metaphor
iv. Hyperbole

c. Mid forest brake refers to:

i. A thick mass of ferns and bushes growing in the midst of the forest
ii. An oasis
iii. A canopy of trees
iv. Cactus

3. Such the sun, the moon,

Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in;

a. Explain:With the green world they live in;

i. Moss covered green house

ii. Greenhouse effect
 iii. Green surroundings in which the daffodils grow
iv. A green garden

b. Sprouting means---

i. Growing, giving out new leaves

ii. Fading away
iii. Withering
iv. None of the above

c.The poetic device used in Shady Boon is….

i. Imagery
ii. Personification
iii. Simile
iv. Alliteration

4. Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth

Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways
Made for our searching:

a. ‘Spite of despondence ‘refers to:

i. Sadness, disappointment anddepression
ii. Guilt and anger
iii. uncontrollable rage
iv. Hallucination

b. ‘Inhuman dearth’ refers to:

i. Lack of human beings with good values
ii. Most people are self -centered
iii. People pursue evil ways
iv. All the above

c. What is the cause of gloomy days and dark spirits?

i. Sufferings and pain caused by man’s evil ways
ii. Man lacks noble quality
iii. Man’s hostile and inhuman nature
iv. All the above

5. ….it will never Pass into nothingness;

but will keep A bower quiet for us,
and a sleep Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
a. What will never pass into nothingness?
i. Beauty of nature that leaves a lasting impression on man’s life
ii. Man’s soul will never pass into nothingness
iii. The process of self-discovery
 iv. All the above

b. What will a quiet bower lead to?

i. Peaceful sleep and sweet dreams
ii. Rain followed by rainbow
iii. Dark cloudy sky
iv. None of the above

c. What image does the poet use to convey that beauty is everlasting?

i. A bower quiet for us

ii. Some shape of beauty
iii. Endless fountain of joy
iv. Sprouting a shady boon

III. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS: (SOLVED)

1. Mention any six things of beauty that brings joy to our life.(CBSE 2015)

Ans. Any object from nature is a thing of beauty, and the joy it brings surpasses eternity.
The sun, the moon, the old and young trees, the daffodils, the ferns, the flowering
musk rose, and the streams with clear water are all items of beauty, that provide
delight and pleasure.

2. Can “mighty dead” be a thing of beauty.How?

Ans. In this poem, grandeur and beauty are associated with the powerful dead. Our
mighty ancestors' courageous actions are truly magnificent. Their unbreakable
character and heroic acts revealed their physical and spiritual beauty.

3. Explain: “Therefore are we wreathing a flowery band to bind us to earth”.

Ans. Man's connection to nature cannot be severed. Everything beautiful in nature is like a
flower wreath. We,as humans, appear to be wrapped in a flowery band, which keeps
us connected to the wonders of nature. The exquisite bounty of nature all around us
assists us in living a happy and joyful life.

4. What spreads the pall of despondence over our dark spirits? How can it be removed?

Ans. Various difficulties, suffering, lack of faith, and disappointments caused by our own
unhealthy and unwanted behaviours produce melancholy and make us gloomy. Only
the lovely things of nature make life worth living. These things, by providing us with
permanent delight, lift the veil of sadness and make room for hope.

5. Why does Keats refer to the ‘immortal drink’? What does ‘immortal drink’ mean?
Ans. The celestial nectar is referred to as an "immortal drink. This makes one immortal.
The joy of observing nature's beauty is so divine that it provides eternal happiness to
the soul. Nature's beauty, according to Keats, is an infinite fountain of immortal drink.

IV. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. What philosophy of life is highlighted in the poem?

2. In spite of the troubles they face, what makes human beings love life?
3. What picture does the poet use to describe the earth's incredible bounty?
4. What evils do we humans endure over time?
5. What kind of sleep does a thing of beauty provide?

V. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS: (SOLVED)

1. Rationalise why Keats uses the metaphor, “ an endless fountain of immortal drink”
in his poem “A thing of beauty”? (CBSE 2023)
Ans. People's lives are filled with sadness as a result of disappointments and frustrations.
Nature's lovely objects, on the other hand, bring us eternal joy. Things of beauty are
like the immortal wine or nectar from heaven that raises people's spirits. It never
stops flowing and never dies. Keats depicts a permanent spring that continually
pours out riches on the land in the shape of an immortal drink from the heavens into
our hearts. He uses it because God's beauty is eternal and permanent, and men can
bask in its splendour eternally. He describes it as a divinely granted, precious elixir
of life. It brings us great joy. The beauty never fades. It continues on indefinitely.

2. There are a number of things that we need to keep ourselves happy. Is a thing of
beauty enough to give us joy?

Ans. I agree with Keats that an object of beauty is a source of eternal joy. Nature heals our
damaged souls and infuses us with hope and optimism. However, beauty alone will
not make us happy. If we are anxious because of a problem and cannot find a
solution to it, simply looking at beauty will not bring us joy. Nothing can make us
happy as long as we don't find a solution to the problem. A beautiful thing cannot
make us happy if we have conflicts with one another. If we worked hard to succeed
in our examination but were unable to obtain the scores we wanted, and those marks
weren’t enough to get us into college, a thing of beauty can’t give us happiness. So,
apart from beauty, there are many other things that are essential to giving us joy.

3. The poem “A thing of Beauty” stimulates the readers inner sight as well as the sense
of touch. Explain.

Ans. In his poem, John Keats, a prominent Romantic poet, conveys the concept that an
item of beauty is a joy eternally. When we read it, we see the lovely things as well as
the comfort they give us. The poetry excites both our inner vision and our senses of
touch and smell. We believe that a piece of beauty is a source of eternal joy.
 The sun, the moon, old and young trees, daffodil blossoms, small streams with clear
water, masses of ferns and flowering musk-roses, wreaths of exquisite flowers, and
all the wonderful things in our world arouse our imagination, hearing, touch, and
fragrance. Keats' poetic descriptions are full of beauty that delights our senses.

VI. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS :(130 to150 Words).

1. You are a travel blogger who enjoys documenting your experiences. You just
visited a beautiful location and were captivated by its beauty. Write a blog entry
that vividly describes the natural beauty of this location. Add Keats' views about
beauty to your writing.
2. "Beauty is best when left undefined." Support your viewpoint on this statement
with your reasoning and ideas from the poem.

3. The adage "Beauty is only skin deep" is well-known. Despite this, we frequently
find people idolising good-looking and handsome stars and celebrities. You have a
discussion about it with a friend who feels that physical beauty defines a person.
Write down that conversation.

WORKSHEET

➢ Read the poem carefully

Now match the words with their meaning: This worksheet will help you
revise the glossary of vocabulary in this poem.

1. Bower A) a process to slow down

2. Brake B) depressed

3. Brink C) The following day

4. Despondence D) A shady place under the tree

5. Grandeur E) enormous

6. Immortal F) high rank or socially important

7. Mighty I) surround, encircle

 8. Morrow J) a small stream

9. Rills K) edge

10. Wreathing L) never dying

ANSWER KEY:

10-I 9-J, 8-C, 7-E, 6-L, 5-F, 4-B, 3-K, 2-A, 1-D,

A Roadside Stand
------Robert Frost

THEME
A Roadside Stand deals with the lives of poor, underprivileged people. The poet compares the
hardscrabble lifestyles of country dwellers with the indifferent lives of city dwellers. The city
people are unconcerned about the tough living conditions of individuals who set up a
roadside stall for survival. They don't consider the difficulties these people must face in order
to sell their wares. These poor people have nothing to do but wait for passing motorists to
stop and buy their goods. City dwellers who go through the countryside rarely stop at
roadside stands. If a car does come by, it is usually to ask for directions or to complain about
something. They disparage both the location and the people. Frost recounts the lives of the
impoverished with pitiless precision, compassion, and humanity. The poet sympathises with
and feels compassion for these destitute people. The poignant depiction of the roadside stand
exemplifies this sympathy.

EXPLANATION
The little old house was out with a little new shed
In front at the edge of the road where the traffic sped,
A roadside stand that too pathetically pled,
It would not be fair to say for a dole of bread,
But for some of the money, the cash, whose flow supports
The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint.
The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead,
Or if ever aside a moment, then out of sorts
At having the landscape marred with the artless paint

➢ There was a small house with a new shed outside. The road was congested, with cars
and other vehicles zipping around. The shed was constructed to display objects for
sale, and the owner anticipated passing automobiles stopping to buy or at least look at
them. The state of the shed was pitiful since it revealed the owner's sorrowful
thoughts, who was trying to earn some money. They were not looking for a favour or
a piece of bread from the city dwellers, but rather some money because the flow of
money allows everyone to use and benefit from it.

Just like money with city dwellers helps them live a better life, money with shed
owners will benefit their lives as well. The automobiles passing by are gleaming, yet
they never see the shed. They are just concerned with their destination. If they do
happen to stop by the shed, they simply grumble at the shabby paint on the huts and
talk about the shed, which has ruined the beauty of the area.

Of signs that with N turned wrong and S turned wrong

Offered for sale wild berries in wooden quarts,
Or crook-necked golden squash with silver warts,
Or beauty rest in a beautiful mountain scene,
You have the money, but if you want to be mean,
Why keep your money (this crossly) and go along.
The hurt to the scenery wouldn’t be my complaint

➢ The poet claims that because the individuals who live in these shelters are poor, their
surroundings are neglected. The signboards showing north and south directions are
pointed in the wrong positions. Farm produce is available for purchase in the sheds,
including wild berries and golden squash fruit with silver-coloured markings housed
in wooden baskets. The scenery is breathtaking, and visitors should pause here to take
it all in. If they have money, they should spend it and buy something, but if they are
selfish, they should keep their money to themselves and not spend it. The poet says
that he has no objection to the sheds destroying the scenery of that region.

So much as the trusting sorrow of what is unsaid:

Here far from the city we make our roadside stand
And ask for some city money to feel in hand
To try if it will not make our being expand,
And give us the life of the moving-pictures’ promise
That the party in power is said to be keeping from us.

➢ According to the poet, those who have opened the shed are holding on to a promise
that was never made to them. The promise here is their anticipation that motorists
passing by will stop and buy something from them. They built this shed far away from
the city, and they anticipate city dwellers pouring money from their pockets into the
 hands of the shed owner. The shed owner desires to hold the cash in his hands. They
have placed their belief in these ideas and hope to receive some money, just as they
see in photographs of people who work hard and earn instant success and money.

It is in the news that all these pitiful kin

Are to be bought out and mercifully gathered in
To live in villages, next to the theatre and the store,
Where they won’t have to think for themselves anymore,
While greedy good-doers, beneficent beasts of prey,
Swarm over their lives enforcing benefits
That are calculated to soothe them out of their wits,
And by teaching them how to sleep they sleep all day,
Destroy their sleeping at night the ancient way.

➢ According to reports, the government will soon purchase all of these shelters and huts
and move the residents to villages. A movie theatre and a grocery store will be located
near their homes. They will be so content there that they will not be concerned about
their future. The poet refers to greedy well-doers and beneficent creatures, i.e.,
individuals who appear to be doing good actions but are actually greedy, and
predatory animals who appear to assist others but in reality, destroy them. The rich
and politicians are portrayed as greedy good-doers and benevolent creatures because
they appear to help impoverished shed owners while, in reality, nothing is done.
Actually, they are encircling their lives and forcibly providing them with such perks,
which have been meticulously designed and would confuse these poor individuals.
These people can't tell what's healthy for them and what's bad for them. These selfish
folks tell the poor that they can now relax, yet they themselves sleep all day. Also,
they destroy their sleep at night, as has been happening in the past.

Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear

The thought of so much childish longing in vain,
The sadness that lurks near the open window there,
That waits all day in almost open prayer
For the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car,
Of all the thousand selfish cars that pass,
Just one to inquire what a farmer’s prices are.
And one did stop, but only to plow up grass
In using the yard to back and turn around;

➢ According to the poet, these shed owners' childish longing is pointless. He can't stand
their melancholy, which they experience when they open the shed window and wait
for a motorist to stop and buy anything. They appear to be praying the entire day as
they wait for a customer to pick up their items. They beg the vehicles to slow down
and hope to hear a car stop by. Many cars are transporting selfish individuals, but
hopefully, some will stop by simply to inquire about the costs of the produce grown
by the farmers there. One car did come to a halt there, but only to disturb the grass
before backing up and turning around.

And another to ask the way to where it was bound;

And another to ask could they sell it a gallon of gas
They couldn’t (this crossly); they had none, didn’t it see?
No, in country money, the country scale of gain,
The requisite lift of spirit has never been found,
Or so the voice of the country seems to complain,
I can’t help owning the great relief it would be
To put these people at one stroke out of their pain.
And then next day as I come back into the sane,
I wonder how I should like you to come to me
And offer to put me gently out of my pain.

➢ Some people come in to get instructions for their destination. Some cars stop by to get
petrol for their vehicles. The poet becomes irritated and claims that they have no
concept that these impoverished folks cannot afford to sell fuel. He goes on to say that
the type of employment and products sold by these villages will not result in the
necessary upliftment. The resources available to them are insufficient to assist them in
resolving their issue. Their circumstances necessitate such a solution, which would
come as a relief to solve all of their problems at once. The next day, the poet believes
that if he is realistic, then the rich should come and help them solve their problem in a
day. The poet will feel greatly relieved if all their pains and troubles are removed in
one stroke. Death is far better than their miserable lives.
IMPORTANT POETIC DEVICES:

• Alliteration and Oxymoron: “Greedy good doers”

“Beneficent Beasts”

• Personification: A roadside stand that too pathetically pled

• Transferred Epithet: “Polished Traffic”

“Selfish cars”
• Metaphor: “The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint.”

Reference to context Exercises:

I. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:

1. The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead,

Or if ever aside a moment, then out of sorts
At having the landscape marred with the artless paint
Of signs that with N turned wrong and S turned wrong
Offered for sale wild berries in wooden quarts,
Or crook-necked golden squash with silver warts,
Or beauty rest in a beautiful mountain scene,
You have the money, but if you want to be mean,
 Why keep your money (this crossly) and go along.’

a. The polished traffic refers to:

i. Educated city dwellers
ii. Brand new cars
iii. Wealthy people from the city
iv. Both i and iii
Answer: iv. Both i and iii

b. What has marred the landscape?

i. Squash with silver warts
ii. Tastelessly painted roadside stand
iii. Polished traffic
iv. None of the above
Answer: ii.Tastelessly painted roadside stand
c. What is being sold in the road side stand?
i. Wooden Quarts
ii. Wild berries and golden squash
iii. Painting of beautiful mountains
iv. All the above
Answer: ii.Wild berries and golden squash

2. The little old house was out with a little new shed
In front at the edge of the road where the traffic sped,
A roadside stand that too pathetically pled,
It would not be fair to say for a dole of bread,
But for some of the money, the cash, whose flow supports
The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint.’

a. What is a Roadside Stand in the poem?

i. A bus stop
ii. A waiting point
iii. A shed outside a roadside old house
iv. None
 Answer: iii. A shed outside a roadside old house

b. What does Frost present in the poem A Roadside Stand?

i. the lives of poor deprived people with understanding and in a sympathetic way
ii. the lives of people who stand on bus stand
iii. lives of travellers
iv. None
Answer: i. the lives of poor deprived people with understanding and in a
sympathetic way

c. What does “The flower of cities” refer to:

i. The flower of the cities are those who have the money and whose cash flow
supports the cities
ii. The withering flowers throw out of the cities into rivers
iii. The lush green meadows in the cities covered with exotic flowers
iv. All the above
Answer: i.The flower of the cities are those who have the money and whose
cash flow supports the cities
3. The hurt to the scenery wouldn’t be my complaint
So much as the trusting sorrow of what is unsaid:
Here far from the city, we make our roadside stand
And ask for some city money to feel in the hand

a. Why was roadside stand built?

i. So that people can wait there

ii. To make it a bus stop
iii. To earn money from polished city traffic
iv. None of the above
Answer: iii. To earn money from polished city traffic

4. What does “city money” refer to?

i. Money earned by people living in the city

ii. Villagers ask for city money so that they too can lead a life of happiness and
prosperity.
iii. Both i and ii
 iv. None of the above
Answer: iii. Both i and ii

5. To live in villages, next to the theatre and the store,

Where they won’t have to think for themselves anymore,
While greedy good-doers, beneficent beasts of prey,
Swarm over their lives enforcing benefits
That is calculated to soothe them out of their wits,
And by teaching them how to sleep they sleep all day,

a. Who are the greedy Doers?

i. The government
ii. Old people
iii. The Rural people
iv. The polished city folk
Answer: i.The government

b. Why are the city people called greedy?

i. Because of their appearance

ii. Because they did not stop at the stand
iii. Because of their behavior
iv. because of their selfish interests
Answer: iv because of their selfish interests

c. What is the meaning of swarm over their lives enforcing benefits?

i. The good doer's are the beneficent beasts of prey

ii. Swarm over the poor or working people's lives, enforcing benefits
iii. Greedy people who make money in the name of social, political and charitable
works.
iv. All the above
Answer: iv. All the above

II. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
1. The little old house was out with a little new shed
In front at the edge of the road where the traffic sped,
A roadside stand that too pathetically pled,
It would not be fair to say for a dole of bread,
But for some of the money, the cash, whose flow supports
The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint.’

a. “Pathetically Pled” is a
i. Simile.
ii. Metaphor
iii. Alliteration
iv. personification.

b. The new shade has been put up to

i. Adjust the increasing number of people.
ii. Invite people by catching their attention.
iii. Inviting people to sell their products and earn the money.
iv. To encroach the pavement so as to settle illegally.
c. What characteristic of the roadside stand setters has been presented by the poet? 1500
i. They are greedy.
ii. They have set up the roadside stand for the donations.
iii. They are self-respecting people who wish to sell their product and earn money.
iv. None of the above.

2. Or if ever aside a moment, then out of sorts

At having the landscape marred with the artless paint
Of signs that with N turned wrong and S turned wrong
Offered for sale wild berries in wooden quarts,
Or crook-necked golden squash with silver warts,
Or beauty rest in a beautiful mountain scene,

a. What is meant by “signs that with N turned wrong and S turned wrong”?
i. Signs showing direction
ii. Signs showing North and South
 iii. Both I and ii
iv. Neither i nor ii

b. What do people in vehicles think about the roadside stand?

i. A way of finding a route
ii. A curse.
iii. They find it a obstruction in beautiful landscape.
iv. They think that countryside people are mentally poor.

c. The voice of the farmer in ‘A Roadside Stand’ is rendered in which form

i. interior monologue
ii. monologue
iii. dialogue
iv. dramatic monologue

3. The hurt to the scenery wouldn’t be my complaint

So much as the trusting sorrow of what is unsaid:
Here far from the city, we make our roadside stand
And ask for some city money to feel in the hand
To try if it will not make our expanding,
And give us the life of the moving-pictures’ promise
That the party in power is said to be keeping from us.’

a. How are the false promises of people in power exposed?

i. They never turn up before the election.
ii. They turn up to enquire about the difficulties of people.
iii. They never turn up after the election.
iv. They always turn up to help the poor.

b. What is the importance of cash flow for city people?

i. They love it.
 ii. They earn it with their hard work
iii. They earn by befooling others.
iv. It runs their life so it is their life line.

c. Trusting sorrow is an example of.

i. Transferred epithet
ii. Personification
iii. Metaphor
iv. Simile

4. ‘Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear

The thought of so much childish longing in vain,
The sadness that lurks near the open window there,
That waits all day in almost open prayer
For the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car,
Of all the thousand selfish cars that pass,
Just one to inquire what a farmer’s prices are.
And one did stop, but only to plough up grass
In using the yard to back and turn around;
And another to ask the way to where it was bound;’

a. What is the open prayer from near the open window?

i. For money to fall from the sky
ii. For more number of people to stop
iii. For getting money from the government.
iv. For the sound of coming cars to stop at the road stand to help the owner to earn
money from them.

b. The cars are referred as Selfish because…………….

c. What do the various cars stop there for?

i. To buy the things for roadside.
ii. To ask for directions from the roadside vendors.
iii. To back their car for a U turn.
 iv. Both (ii) and (iii).

5. ‘And another to ask could they sell it a gallon of gas

They couldn’t (this crossly); they had none, didn’t it see?
No, in-country money, the country scale of gain,
The requisite lift of spirit has never been found,
Or so the voice of the country seems to complain,
I can’t help owning the great relief it would be
To put these people at one stroke out of their pain.
And then the next day as I come back into the sane,
I wonder how I should like you to come to me
And offer to put me gently out of my pain.’

a. The requisite lift of spirit has never been found.’ This line means
i. The rural folks have never got any.
ii. voice of the politicians.
iii. Voice of the urban elite
iv. Voice of the farmers only
b. ‘As I come back into the sane’. By this the poet means
i. When he comes back from the mental asylum.
ii. When he views the situation calmly
iii. When he realizes that he is mad.
iv. When he is able to understand mentally retarded people

c. ‘Voice of the country seems to complain’ means the

i. Voice of the rural people
ii. Voice of the rich people
iii. Voice of the politicians
iv. Voice of the farmers only

III. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS: (SOLVED)

1. In the poem, what is a roadside stand?

Ans. A little house on one side of the road was expanded, and a shed was erected to serve as
a roadside stand. It was set up to entice passers-by to purchase items from them to
enable them to earn money.

2. What exactly is the poet's 'childish longing'? What makes it 'vain'?

Ans. The shed owner's hope that some cars may stop by to buy something or inquire about
the prices of the farmer's produce is a juvenile wish or childish longing. It is pointless
or futile because no car comes by. They wait with the windows open and pray all day,
but their efforts are in vain.

3. What was the appeal of those who set up the roadside stand? (CBSE2012)
Ans. The poor villagers asked for money to flow from the pockets of city dwellers into their
hands so that they may put it to good use. They want to hold the cash in their hands.

4. What is the poet's tone at the roadside stand?

Ans. The poet is agitated because he expects too much from the city dwellers, knowing that
they will never keep their promises. With each passing car, optimism fades, as they
hoped that the city dwellers would buy something, but in vain.

5. Why are cars called "selfish"?

Ans. The cars have been labelled selfish because none of them care about the poor farmer's
predicament.

IV.ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. Why does sadness lurk near the open window of the Roadside stand?
2. What does the voice of the country people seem to say?
3. Why didn’t the “polished traffic” stop at the roadside stand?
4. What would give a great relief to the poet?
5. How can the problems of the rural poor be solved?

V. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS:(SOLVED)

1. Sympathy for the rural poor runs through the poem "The Roadside Stand". Explain
why Robert Frost feels an unbearable agony for the poor villagers? (DELHI, 2009;
OUTSIDE DELHI, 2011)
Ans: The condition of the rural poor, who are disregarded and mistreated by wealthy
leaders, breaks Robert Frost's heart. These people try to make a living by selling the
 crops they grow. They do not, however, have any buyers for their agricultural
products. There is a considerable disparity between rural and urban populations.
Their plight shouts out to the ruling party and administration, yet they are
unconcerned with their well-being. They deceive them by offering false promises,
which they finally abuse extensively for their own selfish benefit, leading Frost to
connect with the rural poor.

2. The word 'Pathetic' means something that causes pity and sadness. Why has this word
been used for the roadside stand which is situated in a salubrious surrounding?
(CBSE 2013)
Ans: In this poem, poet Robert Frost discusses the cold behaviour of society's rich people
towards poor farmers and other underprivileged groups. He uses a picture of a
roadside stand and its associated individuals to illustrate this point. The poem begins
with a description of an old, modest house near the roadside, with a small new shed
added to it from the outside. The shed was constructed at the front half of the house,
which was on the roadside. There were numerous automobiles and motor cars
travelling up and down the route. The new hut was set up as a little stand (store), but it
was not appealing at all. According to the poet, the stall was set up to make a little
money. The word 'pathetic' is used for the roadside stand because it is totally
unattractive and has no appeal to passers-by.

3. Though money holds the same value everywhere, the poet draws a distinction
between city money and country money. Explain.
Unlike the city dwellers, the people who run the roadside stand are impoverished and
destitute. As a result, they need city funds in order to live a happy and prosperous life.
This much-needed city money can provide them with the life that the ruling party has
promised them. Cities rely on money and currency to survive. The money that the
poor villagers would earn from the wealthy would enable them to live a better life.
While money in the countryside was only fit for a hand-to-mouth existence, city
money could bring in lavish rewards in excess. Frost presents the city's money as an
incentive for the growth and upkeep of the city in the poem.

VI. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS :(130 to150 Words).

1. Consider a child from a farmer's family moving to the city to further their education.
As a child, write back to your family and tell them if you want to become a city
dweller or not. When you write this letter, keep the context of the poem "The
Roadside Stand" in mind.
2. Consider a car stopping and purchasing something from a roadside stand. Write a
diary entry as a farmer about your experience and afterthoughts on earning some "city
money."
3. The government and other social service organizations appear to help poor rural
people but actually harm them. Explain. Is the poet able to provide a conclusive
solution to the problem at hand? Discuss.

WORKSHEET

➢ Read the poem carefully.

Now match the words with their meaning: This worksheet will help you revise
the glossary of vocabulary in this poem.

1. Beneficent A) One’s family and relation

2. Dole of Bread B) a fruit

3. Kin C) required / needed

4. Lurk D) perplexed or terrified state

 5. Marred E) remain hidden so as to wait in ambush

6. Out of their wits F) move is a fast uncontrolled manner

7. Pathetically I) spoilt

8. Plow J) a tiny portion of bread

9. Requisite K) generous or doing good

10. Squash L) That arouses pity, sadness

10-B 9-C, 8-F, 7-L, 6-D, 5-I, 4-E, 3-A, 2-J, 1-K,

Answer Key:

Poem-Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

-Adrienne Rich
Click here to get the text-
https://ncert.nic.in/textbook.php?lefl1=15-13
Synopsis
The poem seems to be very simple literally but metaphorically has
a great meaning and gives us a message about marital life. The
quote of Leo Tolstoy is given below as a reference to study the
poem.
 “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in
its own way.”
― Leo Tolstoy , Anna Karenina
The poem deals with the pathetic marital-life of Aunt Jennifer. Aunt
Jennifer has been struggling in her life. Jennifer is not happy and she
has problem with her husband. She does her best to manage the life as
she has been in the marriage bond.

Aunt Jennifer cannot face the husband and she depicts her inner voice
on a canvas. She expresses herself with the help of tigers. The tigers
are very symbolic of her inner self. She embroiders the tigers on a
panel. The tiger motif is used to represent Aunt Jennifer’s ferocious
personality and her need for freedom and self-expression. The poem
also considers the limitations and restraints placed on women by
society, especially in terms of gender roles and expectations. The
speaker implies that although Aunt Jennifer struggles to fully express
herself in her daily life, she is able to do so only through her
embroidered art.

The art is very effective telling us the intension and wish of Aunt
Jennifer even after her death. We can feel it by seeing the lively as
well as a wonderful presentation. Jennifer has fulfilled her wish
through the art.

EXCTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

Poem-Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers- Adrienne Rich
1. Read the given extract to attempt the questions with reference to
context. 6*1=6
Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green
They do not fear the men beneath the tree
 They pace in sleek chivalric certainty

i. Why do the Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen? Choose the

correct option-
a. Because the tigers feel it difficult to roam
b. Because the tigers are not real and they are presented in a lively
manner by the Aunt
c. Because the tigers want to find food
d. Because the tigers are very meek and do not want to trouble people
ii. The phrase ‘Denizens of a world of green’ means…
a. inhabitants of the forest
b. citizens sent to forest as a punishment
c. the citizens who struggle with wild animals
d. the wild animals troubled by human beings
iii. ‘Topaz’ is a/an
a. Tall tree in a jungle full of tigers
b. Tree guard installed in forest to catch animals
c. Efficient artist in embroidery
d. Precious stone usually yellowish brown in colour
iv. Find a word which means ‘smooth and shiny’ from the given
extract_____________________
v. Read the following statement and choose the correct option.
1.They do not fear the men beneath the tree
2.They are not real tigers to have fear
a. (1) is true but (2) does not the give the reason
b. (1) is false (2) is true
c. Both are wrong
d. (1) is true and (2) gives the reason

vi. Explain ‘They pace in chivalric certainty’ in a sentence

2. Read the given extract to attempt the questions with reference to

context. 6*1=6
Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull,
The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand.
i. Why are Jennifer’s fingers fluttering?

ii. The ivory needle is hard to pull- It reflects that

a. Ivory needle is literally heavy to do the embroidery work
b. Ivory needle is very light but she has got injured
c. Ivory needle is very light but metaphorically it is hard due to
disturbed family life

iii. ‘The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band’ is symbolic of

a. The burdensome family life of Jennifer
b. The broken marriage of Jennifer
c. The model family of the Uncle and Aunt
d. The heavy ring offered by the uncle to aunt

iv. What is Aunt Jennifer doing?

v. Find a word which means ‘flapping’ _____________

vi. Go through the statements and answer the question. Choose the
correct option.
1. Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool
2. The aunt has some health issues and the hands flutter
a. Both the statements are true
b. The second statement explains the first properly
c. The second statement is only true
d. The first statement is only true
 3.Read the given extract to attempt the questions with reference to
context. 6*1=6

When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie

Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.

i. The tigers are symbolic of ……

a. The hidden talent of the Aunt
b. The ferocious nature of the Uncle
c. The inner feeling of the aunt to face the world boldly
d. The calm and complacent Aunt

ii. Find a word which means ‘situation/experience which is difficult and

unpleasant’ __________________

iii. When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie still ringed with
ordeals she was mastered by- These lines suggest that-
a. The Aunt does have any fear after the death as he has become an
expert
b. The Aunt feels the heat of the sad state of her married life even after
death even she tried her best to manage
c. The Aunt gets relieved from the pain and torture of marriage
d. The Aunt’s spirit is very strong and bold now

iv. How are the tigers in the panel?

v. ‘Prance’ means ______________________________

vi. Choose the statement that is wrong

a. The tigers are the embroidery made by the Aunt
b. The tigers seem to be real, very active and lively
c. The tigers are very meek and don’t attack anybody
d. The tigers represent the spirit of the Aunt
Key/Answer for the Extract based questions

Q.1
i. c
ii. a.
iii. d
iv. Sleek
v. d
vi. The tigers are stepping politely, majestically and royally across the
screen as if they are real

Q.2
i. Aunt Jennifer is leading a very pathetic married life. She has the
fear of her husband and her hands are fluttering while getting engaged
in embroidery
ii. c
iii. a
iv. Aunt Jennifer is busy doing knitting/ embroidery
v. Fluttering
vi. d

Q.3
i. c
ii. ordeal
iii. b
iv. They are very beautiful, attractive and majestic and fearless (any
two)
v. Prance means spring/walk or behave in an elated or arrogant
manner
vi. c
 Extract Based Questions for practice
1.Aunt Jennifer’s finger fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.

i. How would you describe Aunt Jennifer based on the above extract?

a. oppressed
b. malnourished
c. ageing
d. diseased

ii. Uncle’s wedding band sits heavily on Aunt Jennifer’s hand because

a. it is an expensive and heavy ring

b. she was married against her will
c. she feels burdened in her marriage
d. their relationship is lacking in love

iii. Pick the option that displays the

image which correctly
corresponds to the type of task
Aunt is engaged in.
a. Option (i)
 b. Option (ii)
c. Option (iii)
d. Option (iv)

iv. Which of the following is an example of an alliteration?

a. finger fluttering through the wool

b. upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand
c. ivory needle hard to pull
d. massive weight of Uncle's wedding band

v. Why do the aunt’s fingers flutter through her wool?

vi. ‘Ivory Needle’ is literally __________ (heavy, light, hard, beautiful)

2.When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie

Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid

i.Aunt Jennifer’s plight is best explained by her hands, they hold

both her freedom and the instrument of her imprisonment. Choose the
option that best explains the above statement, as per the extract.

a. Aunt Jennifer’s hands are terrified, but when she is dead, her tigers
will roam free.
b. Aunt Jennifer knits her desires, but is overpowered by the wedding
ring she wears.
c. Aunt Jennifer’s tigers are proud and unafraid, but she is mastered
by ringed ordeals.
d. Aunt Jennifer makes panels of tigers when she has time
from her responsibilities.

ii. Which of the following CANNOT be inferred from the given

extract?

a. Aunt Jennifer’s tigers will keep her alive in everyone’s memory.

 b. Aunt Jennifer feels oppressed and constricted in her marriage.
c. Even in death, Aunt Jennifer cannot escape patriarchal subjugation.
d. Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance as a lasting symbol of her
desires

iii. What makes the tigers “proud and unafraid”?

a. They embody the grandeur and supremacy of animals in the wild.

b. They symbolise authority and are ‘topaz denizens of green’.
c. They represent Aunt’s repressed desires for freedom and power.
d. They are a product of Aunt’s imagination and colonial
experience
iv. Choose the option that DOES NOT reflect the movement implied
by ‘prancing’.
a. bounding
b. frolicking
c. strutting
d. shuffling
v. What do you mean by ‘Ringed with ordeals’ ?
vi. Write any two qualities of the tigers?
3.Bright topaz denizens of a world of green
They do not fear the men beneath the tree:
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty

i. ‘They’ refers to…………….

___________
ii. Why don’t ‘they’ have fear for the men?
iii. Sleek refers to
a. Beautiful
b. Glossy and Shiny
c. Attractive
d. Lovely
iv. What do you mean by ‘Chivalric Certainty’?
v. ‘Topaz’ is a/an _____________________
vi. ‘World of Green’ refers to
a. Forest
b. The dwelling place of animals
c. The agricultural field
d. None of the above

Short Answer Type Questions

Poem-Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers- Adrienne Rich
Answer the questions in about 30- 40 words. 2 Marks Each

1.How do ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ add to our understanding of

the tiger’s attitudes?
Ans. The word ‘denizens’ means that they are proud of their home,
they feel safe there and have a feeling of belonging attached to it.
The word ‘chivalric’ shows that they have a majestic and worthy
position like knights.

2.Why do you think Aunt Jennifer’s hands are ‘fluttering through

her wool’ in the second stanza? Why is she finding the needle so
hard to pull?
Ans. Her hands are fluttering probably because she is scared of her
husband who could come anytime and scold her for sitting idle and
wasting her time doing embroidery. She finds the needle so hard to
 pull because her fingers are tired of working endlessly all through her
life.

3.What is suggested by the image ‘massive weight of Uncle’s

wedding band’?
Ans. ‘Massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band’ suggest
symbolically, that the bindings and obligations of her marriage are so
much that they have put a lot of burden and stress on her.

4.What are the ‘ordeals’ Aunt Jennifer is surrounded by, why is it

significant that the poet uses the word ‘ringed’?

Ans. The ‘ordeals’ are obeying her husband’s orders, fear of men,
giving in to his dominance and fulfilling his commands. ‘Ringed’
indicates entrapment. As the ring encircles the finger, similarly, her
husband has encircled her in his clutches. Her body and soul are both
trapped, struggling for freedom and fearlessness.

5. Why do you think Aunt Jennifer created animals that are so

different from her own character?
Ans. I think that aunt Jennifer’s intense desire for freedom and
fearlessness came out through her creativity. Through this difference,
it is shown that the lady is not what she is. Her circumstances have
made her so but even she has a desire to live life with respect and
pride.

Short Answer Type Questions for Practice

1. What will happen to Aunt Jennifer’s tigers when she is dead?
2. Why did Aunt Jennifer choose to embroider tiger on the panel?
3. How does the poet describe Aunt Jennifer’s tigers?
4. How has Aunt Jennifer created tigers? What traits do they reveal?
5. Name any two symbols found in the poem and explain in brief ?
Long Answer Type Questions
Answer the questions below in about 120-150 words (5 Marks)
1.What is the focal point in the poem? Does the poet give any kind
of solution to the issue? Explain
Ans. The focal point of the poem is the plight of an innocent woman,
Aunt Jennifer. The main point is her problems in her married life. She
struggles to come over her problems but she fails to manage well to
lead the life happily. The protagonist is a very weak and decent
woman. She finds a way out to come over her burden of married life
through art that is embroidery or knitting. She finds to get solace by
depicting herself through the tigers. The aunt fails to come over the
ordeals of her married life. There is no peace of life for her.
The poet does not give any solution to the issue raised in the poem.
The aunt cannot come over the difficulties. She feels the heat of the
unhappy experience even after her death shows the height of her
predicament but the aunt is successful in her art by depicting her inner
feelings as well as her.
2. How are Aunt Jennifer’s tigers different from her?
Ans. Aunt Jennifer’s tigers are in a panel made by her. They are
symbolic of Strength, beauty and certainty. They pace in sleek
chivalric certainty. They are confident and impressive. Aunt Jennifer
is a weak, depressed and terrified person. Life has been a cup of woes
for her. She is still in the grip of those ordeals and terrors that she
faced and suffered in married life. Her fingers are so terrified that
they find it hard to pull even the ivory needle. Thus, the contrast is
amply highlighted.
Unlike her the tigers made by her are very active, energetic, fearless,
bold and lively. They are the representative of her inner spirit. She
expresses herself through the tigers. The tigers on the panel don’t
have any kind fear for anybody. They lead very royal and majestic life
with full enthusiasm about life.

3. What lies heavily on Aunt Jennifer’s hands? How is it associated

with her husband?
Ans. Aunt Jennifer works with ivory needles and wool. But she is
unable to move her fingers freely in the wool. She finds it hard to pull
even the ivory needle easily. Similarly, she has bitter experiences of
married life. She has unpleasant memories with her husband.
Therefore, it is like the heavy weight of the wedding band that lies
heavily on Aunt Jennifer’s hand. The chores of family stop her in the
middle to stop knitting.
Aunt Jennifer has a troubled married life since her husband has been a
man of domineering nature. So, she tries to find comfort in act but she
can’t leave the weight of her conjugal life. While weaving, her hands
quiver so much that she cannot pull the needles through the cloth.

Long answer Type Questions for

practice
1.‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ and ‘A Thing of Beauty’ can be read
together to show the permanence and everlasting impact of art and of
things of beauty. Comment (CBSE 2023)

2. How do the tigers dance to the tune of the aunt? How far the Aunt
is successful in her presentation of her art?
3. What do you comment on the marital life of Aunt Jennifer? How
does she lead the life? What kind of path she has chosen to escape
from the clutches of her husband?