Important Questions of Poetry | Class XII | Flamingo | English Core |

Q.1 Who are mighty dead? Why is grandeur associated with mighty dead in ‘A Thing of Beauty’?

Ans. Mighty dead refers to those powerful people who are no more with us but they deserve ‘grandeur’ because of their sacrifices to nature and mankind which inspire us to do good deeds. Their stories inspire us to become selfless human being in order to help others.

Q2. What are ‘Catacombs’? Why does the poet compare children’s life to it in ‘Elementary Classroom in a slum’?

Ans. Catacombs refer to burial chambers or tunnels where bodies were buried in ancient time Rome. According to Stephen Spender (Poet) both places are same where darkness prevails, where they don’t have freedom, good surroundings to study, two square meals per day to eat and somebody to look after them. Due to their similarities, catacombs are compared with children’s life.

You May Also Read

• My Mother at Sixty Six by Kamala Das
• An Elementary School Classroom School in a Slum
• Keeping Quiet by Pablo Neruda
• A Thing A Beauty by John Keats
• A Roadside Stand by Robert Frost
• Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers by Adrienne Rich

Q3. What does keeping quiet mean? Explain its importance. Does the poet advocate total inactivity in ‘Keeping Quiet’?

Ans. The term ‘keeping quiet’ means to stay calm and composed for a little time. It helps us to achieve peace, solace, love, brotherhood and to eradicate enmity from our lives. We can introspect ourselves if keep quiet, and evaluate our deeds whether they are good or bad. The poet never advocates total inactivity or death. He does not want human to stay free altogether or to die. All he wants is activity which is full of optimism and energy without fearing of death.

Q4. What does earth teach us according to poet in ‘Keeping Quiet’?

Ans. According to poet, earth which seems dead from outside has a life inside. It seems unmoving externally but it’s an abode for innumerable creatures beneath. It shows its real face according to seasons. We should learn quietness from it which is mandatory to evaluate our deeds.

Q5. What does the parting words of poet “See you soon, Amma” symbolize in ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’?

Ans. The poet (Kamala Das} is extremely grieved & helpless in this poem due to ageing of her mother. She knows very well that ageing is a natural process which is out of human’s reach. At Cochin airport, she smiles at her mother which is an attempt to conceal her real feelings of losing her mother soon. Her words show that she is hopeful to see her mother but on the contrary she knows, she might not be able to see her again.

Q6. Explain ‘History theirs whose language is the sun’.

Ans. Those people create history who are free to do anything and have freedom to excel. Through this statement, Strphen Spender feels people who have courage can easily make history. In order to write new chapter one should have access to sun and its warmth which children these don’t have.

Q7. How is ‘map’ a bad example in ‘Elementary Classroom in a slum’?

Ans. Map is a bad example because it allures children towards theft. They have never seen such things which are present on that map. That’s why it has been called useless.

Q8. Explain ‘like bottle bits on stones’ in ‘Elementary Classroom in a slum’?

Ans. This simile refers to the pathetic condition of those children who are unaware of good and bad. They are always sitting on the heap of wastage. Their life is completely crashed which does not let them survive.

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