1. A Photograph (Shirley Toulson)
1. What does the word ‘cardboard’ denote in this poem? Why has this word been used?
Ans.
In the poem, the word 'cardboard'
means a frame which supports the
photograph. This word had been used in the poem because the picture is
very old when the cardboard was used as a photo frame.
2. The poet’s
mother laughed at the snapshot. What did this laugh indicate?
Ans.
The
poets mother laughed
at the snapshot while recalling her joyful moments of her past. She looks at
the photograph and recollects her innocent joys. In the photograph she as well
as her two little cousins stood at the beach.
3. What is the
meaning of the line ’Both wry with the labored ease of loss’?
Ans.
The
poetess is sad about the fact that her mother's laughter is history. Her mother feels the same for her childhood days. The word 'wry'
here means disappointment.
4. What is the
meaning of the line, ‘Washed their transient feet.’?
Ans.
This phrase means that human life is
not permanent. The human beings have to die one day but the sea is permanent.
As in this poem, 'feet' is used to describe the whole human beings.
5.
Explain, ‘The sea holiday was her past, mine is her laughter.’
Ans.
The sea holiday was a part of the
mother's childhood, her past and the mother's laughter is the poet's past
as her mother is no
more. 'Both' refers to the mother's laughter and the poet's memory of her
mother. Both were tinged with loss-the mother had lost those happy childhood
days and the poet had lost her mother.
2.
The Laburnum Top (Ted Hughes)
Short
Type Question
*1. What do you notice
about the beginning and the ending of the poem?*
Ans. At the beginning of
the poem, the laburnum tree was empty and silent. When goldfinch came the
silence turned into thrills and excitement. After some time the mother
goldfinch flew away which again made the tree silent and empty.
*2. To what is the
bird’s movement compared? What is the basis for the comparison?*
Ans. The Goldfinch in
the poem has been compared to a lizard that is always alert from all the
dangers. This comparison is made to show the movement of Goldfinch when it
enters and comes out of the Laburnum Tree.
*3. Why is the image of
the engine evoked by the poet?*
Ans. The engine is the
source of energy to run machine. It is compared to bird; it is also a source of
energy for her family. As without engine a machine can't work in the same way
without a bird her family can't survive.
*4. What does the phrase
‘her barred face identity mask’ mean?*
Ans. The striped face of
the goldfinch is its mask. She remains hidden in 'thickness' and show her
striped face when comes out and this face becomes her identity mark.
*5. Write in brief the
thoughts expressed in the poem.*
Ans. Goldfinch in the
poem is a sign of happiness. The arrival of goldfinch made the laburnum top
lively. It spreads the message to the readers that we must always spread
happiness in life of other people. All people are directly or indirectly
dependent on each other.
3. The
Voice of the Rain (Walt Whitman)
Short Type
Q-Ans.
1. There are two
voices in the poem. Who do they belong to? Which lines indicate this?
Ans.
The two voices in the poem
are the voice of the poet and the
voice of the rain. The lines that indicate the voice of the poet and the
rain are, “And who art thou? Said I to the soft-falling shower,” and the lines
that indicate the voice of the rain are, “I am the Poem of Earth, said the
voice of the rain”.
2. What does the
phrase ‘strange to tell’ mean?
Ans.
The phrase “strange to tell”
means that it is quite strange for
the poet to believe and express in words that the soft-falling rain replied to
his question.
3. How does rain
give back life to the earth?
or
What functions are performed by the rain on
the earth?
Ans. From the sky Rain comes down on earth
and washes the dust layers of the earth. The rain helps the unborn seeds
to sprout. Rain makes the environment clear.
4. Explain the
words: ‘reck’d or unreck’d.
Ans.
Reck'd or unreck'd in the
poem by Walt Whitman means whether you cared for the sound of the rains or not,
whether somebody listened to the sound the rain made or not, it does not affect the rains and neither does
it affects the poet.
4.
Childhood (Markus Natten)
Short Type
Q-Ans.
1. Why does the poet
think that heaven and hell are not real places?
Ans. The poet feels that Hell and
Heaven are not real places as he could not find them in geography book. The poet has come to
the age to understand and differentiate between real and unreal. So the poet
realises that hell and heaven are not real places.
2. What do adults
usually talk and preach of? How do they differ in their actions?
Ans. The speaker says that the adults are hypocrites and fail to
do what they preach and teach. He says that though adults say that we should
love each other but do not act lovingly.
3. Why does the poet say
that his childhood has gone to ‘some forgotten place’?
Ans. When the poet crossed the age
of eleven years, he realised that he had lost his childhood and had developed a mind of his own. The poet
thinks that his childhood is hidden in the face of an infant child.