Read the extracts and answer the questions:

'Goodbye'

There is no touch now. The wave has broken.'

i) Quote the line which states that the two people who are separating are not within touching distance anymore.

ii) What does the word 'wave' symbolise?

iii) Which one word in the above extract describes the theme of the poem?

Collocation is the co-occurrence possibilities of words. Cup and saucer, chair and table are acceptable collocations. But poets use marked collocations. Poets take liberties and use unusual collocations for effect. 'Clinic heart' (line 15) is an example of this. The poet uses it to describe the emotionless state of the heart.

In the table below are listed a few more instances of such collocations in the poem. Write down the effect of each in the space provided. Write the effect this has on the poem.

Read the extracts and answer the questions:

'Already division piles emphasis like bullets, Already the one dark air is separate and strange'.

i) Which words describe the 'dark air'?

ii) Explain 'Already division piles'.

iii) What effect does the repetition of the word 'Already' have on the poem?

Read the extracts and answer the questions:

'That in the small white murder of one kiss

Are born two ghosts, two Hamlets, two soliloquies.

Two worlds apart, tomorrow?'

i) Explain the comparison in the poet’s reference to the ‘two Hamlets’ in your own words.

ii) Murder normally leads to death, but here, murder leads to the birth of two worlds. This is ironical. Explain the irony.

iii) 'Two worlds apart'. How does this expression focus on the title of the poem, 'Curtain'.

'Separation' is always painful. Separation from a loved one when death snatches him/her away, from someone very dear (a parent, brother or sister), from the country/region you grew up in - every separation makes you a stronger person from within.

Write a story of a separation which led to an individual emerging as a character of strength. Add suitable quotes from the poem to highlight your message. [150 words]