Poem 1 My Mother at Sixty-six
My Mother at Sixty-six
GSEB Class 12 English My Mother at Sixty-six Text Book Questions and Answers
Think it Out:
1.What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?
Answer:
When the poet sees the pale and corpselike face of her mother, her old familiar pain or the ache returns. Perhaps she has entertained this fear since her childhood. Ageing is a natural process. Time and ageing spare none. Time and ageing have not spared the poet’s mother and may not spare her as well. With this ageing, separa¬tion and death become inevitable.
2.Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?
Answer:
The poet is driving to the Cochin airport. When she looks outside, the young trees seem to be walking past them as in a race. With the speed of the car they seem to be running fast or sprinting. The poet presents a contrast-her ‘dozing’ old mother and the ‘sprinting’ young trees.
3.Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes?
Answer:
The poet has brought in the image of merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’ to present a contrast. The merry children coming out of their homes in large numbers present an image of happiness and spontaneous overflow of life. This image is in stark contrast to the ‘dozing’ old mother, whose ‘ashen’ face looks lifeless and pale like a corpse. She is an image of ageing, decay and passivity. The contrast of the two images enhances the poetic effect.
4.Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?
Answer:
The poet’s mother is sixty-six years old. Her shrunken ‘ashen’ face resembles a corpse. She has lost her shine and strength of youth. Similarly, the late winter’s moon looks hazy and obscure. It too lacks shine and strength. The comparison is quite natural and appropriate. The simile used here is apt as well as effective.
5.What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
Answer:
The poet’s parting words of assurance and her smiles provide a stark contrast to the old familiar ache or fear of the childhood. Her words and smiles are a deliberate attempt to hide her real feelings. The parting words: “See you soon, Amma” give an assurance to the old lady whose ‘ashen face’ looks like a corpse. Similarly, her continuous smiles are an attempt to overcome the ache and fear inside her heart.
Reading Comprehension (Textual)
Read the following stanzas and answer the questions given below them:
1.Driving from my parents home to Cochin last Friday morning, I saw my mother, beside me, doze, open-mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpse and realised with pain that she was as old as she looked…’
Questions:
(1) Where was the poetess driving to? Who was sitting beside her?
(2) Why was the face of the poetess’s mother looked like that of a corpse?
Answer:
1. The poetess was driving from her parent’s home to the Cochin airport. Her mother was sitting beside her.
2. The face of the poetess’s mother looked pale, faded and lifeless like a dead body because she had grown old.
2.‘…she looked but soon put that thought away, and looked out at Young Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes, …….’
Questions :
(1) What did the poetess realise? How did she feel?
(2) What did she notice in the world outside?
Answer:
1. The poetess realised that her mother was lost somewhere else in thoughts. It pained her.
2. The poetess noticed that the young trees growing outside went past as if they were sprinting, happy children were coming out of their houses.
3.……… 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 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
Questions:
(1) What did the poetess do after the security check?
(2) Why did the poetess compare her mother’s face to a late winter’s moon?
(3) What is her childhood fear? ,
(4) How do the parting words of the poet and her smile present a contrast to her real feelings?
Answer:
(1) After the security check, the poetess stood a few yards away from her mother and looked at her face again.
(2) The poetess compares her mother’s face to a late winter’s moon as the late winter moon lacks brightness as well as strength. The pale and colourless face of the mother resembles the late winter moon.
(3) The fear of ageing and ultimate death/separation.
(4) The poetess’s parting words of assurance and her smiles present a stark contrast to the old familiar ache or childhood fear. Her words and smiles are a deliberate attempt to hide what is going on inside her mind.
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