Read the following extract and answer the following questions briefly:

What I want should not be confused

with total inactivity.

Life is what it is about;

I want no truck with death.

(i) Name the poem and the poet of the above stanza.

(ii) What does the poet mean by “inactivity‟?

(iii) Explain what life is all about, according to the poet?

(iv) What is the ultimate expectation of the poet from all human beings?

OR

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) Name the poem and the poet of the above stanza.

(ii) What lies in store for the Aunt?

(iii) Explain “ringed with ordeals”.

(iv) Identify and name the poetic device used in the last line of the above stanza.

(i) This extract is taken from the poem ‘keeping Quiet’ written by ‘Pablo Neruda’.

(ii) This poem emphasizes on the importance of being calm and keeping quiet. The poet feels that all our problems exist because of the rush in our life. But his view shouldn’t be confused with total inactivity. His perception of ‘keeping quiet’ is of silence and not inactivity, lethargy and idleness. He wants active life but it must be calm and peaceful. He advises all to take a break from the world frenzy activity. He believes that observing stillness once in a while helps people to spring back in action, rejuvenated.

(iii) The title of the poem suggests the importance of silence. The poem is about the importance of self-examination and introspection. It is also an appeal for universal harmony. It conveys the message of peace and tranquillity to be acquired through leisurely introspection.

(iv) According to the poet, taking a break from our monotonous routine by ‘counting up to twelve’ and ‘keeping still’ will help us understand ourselves and those around us better. The quietness will aid our understanding of the significance of peace and tranquillity in this age of futile activities. Thus, they will help us in introspection and self-analysis.

OR

(i) This extract is taken from the poem ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tiger’ written by ‘Adrienne Rich’.

(ii) Women who are dominated by their husbands live their lives in a state of mental confinement. In the poem “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” the poet Adrienne Rich expresses the life Aunt Jennifer wishes to lead through artistic creations as she is trapped in an abusive marriage. Her tapestries portray her inner feelings conveying the constant terror she’s living in. She would die as an oppressed and subdued woman and will remain caught in the ordeals of her marriage till her death.

(iii) Aunt Jennifer has been living her life in fear of her controlling husband. The massive weight of Uncles’ wedding band is not the actual ring that places this weight upon her, but the life that has become as a result of Aunt Jennifer’s accepting of the ring. Her ‘terrified hands’ shows how her husband terrorizes her. She is mastered by the ordeals as if she’s his prisoner under his control and ruling.

(iv) Alliteration is the poetic device used in the words ‘prancing, proud’. Alliteration is the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.