List of practice Questions

When Shaw makes a statement he supports it with a number of examples. Identify two sections in the text which explain a statement with examples. Write down the main statement and the examples.
Notice how this contributes to the effectiveness of the writing.
Is it ‘selfishness’ and ‘callousness’ that makes the poet break her childhood promise to her grandmother of renovating the house? Why does she do nothing about rebuilding the house?
List the common misconceptions about ‘freedom’ that Shaw tries to debunk.
What are the ways in which people are subjected to greater control in the personal spheres than in the wider political sphere?
What do you understand of the conflict in the poet’s conscience?
Which lines reveal the poet’s criticism of class distinctions?
While the poet respected her grandmother’s sentiments of royal grandeur, we can also see that she revolts against it. Identify the lines which bring this out.
Why, according to Krishnamurti, are the concepts of freedom and discipline contradictory to one another?
Does the poem bring out the contrast between tradition and modernity? Illustrate your answer with examples from the poem.
From which line does the import of the title strike the reader?
Is the poet’s attitude a representation of how the average Indian feels both towards human violence and nature’s fury?
What aspects of Indian society and history get highlighted in the poem?
What did you think the poem was about when you read the first few lines?
What makes for the differences between the timekeeping of the various clocks? What is the implicit comparison?
What makes the depiction of a crumbling village house so authentic in the poem? Is this a common feature of most village houses in the context of rapid urbanisation? Is the poet speaking from actual experience?
Which of the following reflects the poet’s attitude towards communal disharmony
1. Critical condemnation
2. Helpless acceptance
3. Wistful lament
Why is the act of nature described as ‘precise’?
Give examples from the poem to show that great poetry is a result of close observation of natural phenomena.
How do the ‘trees in their autumn beauty’, ‘dry woodland paths’, ‘October twilight’, ‘still sky’ connect to the poet’s own life?
How would you explain the image of the ‘Hindered Flags’?
In which lines are creatures attributed with human qualities? How does this add to the beauty of the Summer’s day?
What contributes to the beauty and mystery of the swans’ lives?
What do ‘the light tread’ and ‘the sore heart’ refer to?
What do you understand by ‘Psalteries of Summer’?
What imagery does the poet use to delineate Summer’s day more picturesquely than any painter could?