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I. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words.
Stanza 1
NCERT Kaveri page 127
1. The poet remembers his mother while he
__________
.
View Answer
How to answer:
Find the moment in Stanza 1 (“in the midst of my play”) and fill in “plays / is playing”.
1. The poet remembers his mother while he
plays / is playing
.
Why:
In Stanza 1 the poet says “in the midst of my play”, so the memory comes while he is playing.
NCERT Kaveri page 127
2. The poet remembers the
__________
but not the
__________
.
View Answer
How to answer:
He recalls the tune but not the mother.
2. The poet remembers the
tune (the song / lullaby)
but not the
mother (her face)
.
Why:
He clearly recalls the tune she hummed, but cannot remember his mother herself.
Stanza 2
View Answer
How to answer:
Pick the season named in Stanza 2 - autumn.
1. The poet remembers his mother in the
autumn
season.
Why:
Stanza 2 says “in the early autumn morning”.
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2. The poet remembers his mother by the smell of
__________
.
View Answer
How to answer:
Name the smell (shiuli flowers / temple).
2. The poet remembers his mother by the smell of
the shiuli flowers (and the temple)
.
Why:
The shiuli smell and temple scent connect his mother with an autumn morning.
Stanza 3
NCERT Kaveri page 127
1. The poet feels that his mother
__________
at him from the
__________
.
View Answer
How to answer:
He feels her gaze from the sky.
1. The poet feels that his mother
gazes / looks
at him from the
sky
.
Why:
He feels his mother’s gaze spread across the sky,
II. The senses of olfactory (smell), auditory (hearing), and visual (sight), are three of the five basic senses in humans. Give examples of references to senses from the poem. Complete the table given below.
| Stanza | Lines from the Poem | Senses |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | ||
| 3. | ...the tune of some song that she used to hum while rocking my cradle | |
| 2. | olfactory |
NCERT Kaveri page 127
II. The senses of olfactory (smell), auditory (hearing), and visual (sight), are three of the five basic senses in humans. Give examples of references to senses from the poem. Complete the table given below.
View Answer
How to answer:
Match each line to its sense: the tune = auditory (hearing), the shiuli smell = olfactory, the blue sky = visual.
The completed table:
| Stanza | Lines from the Poem | Senses |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “the tune of some song that she used to hum while rocking my cradle” | auditory (hearing) |
| 3. | “my eyes into the blue of the distant sky” | visual (sight) |
| 2. | “the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air” | olfactory (smell) |
III. Read the poem silently once again and complete the following.
NCERT Kaveri page 127
1. Two examples of alliteration from the poem are (i) __________ and (ii) __________.
View Answer
How to answer:
Find two places where the same starting sound repeats - the ‘s’ in scent/service and stillness/spread/sky.
Answer:
(i) “
s
cent of the morning
s
ervice” and (ii) “
s
tillness ...
s
pread ...
s
ky” (the repeated soft ‘s’ sound).
Why:
Alliteration is the repeat of the same beginning sound. The ‘s’ sound repeats clearly in “scent…service” and “stillness…spread…sky”.
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2. An example of onomatopoeia is __________.
View Answer
How to answer:
Pick a word that copies a sound - “hum” imitates the soft humming.
Answer:
“
hum
” - the word sounds like the soft humming it describes.
Why:
Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates the sound it names. “Hum” copies the soft humming sound of the mother’s song.
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3. The poem uses imagery extensively. Explain.
View Answer
How to answer:
Say the poem appeals to sound, smell and sight; name one image for each.
Answer:
The poem uses many
sense images
. It uses
sound
(the tune she hummed),
smell
(the shiuli flowers and the temple), and
sight
(the wide blue sky). These images let the reader hear, smell and see what the poet feels, and they bring his mother’s memory alive.
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4. Although the poem does not have a rhyme scheme, it is enjoyable because ______________.
View Answer
How to answer:
Do not invent a rhyme scheme. Mention free verse, repetition, rhythm and imagery.
Answer:
Although the poem does not have a rhyme scheme, it is enjoyable because of its
gentle rhythm, repeated refrain, and rich sensory imagery
.
Why:
The poem is free verse. Its music comes from the repeated line and the soft flow of sound, smell and sight images.
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5. What is the tone of the poet? Why do you say so?
View Answer
How to answer:
Name the tone first, then prove it with one line or image from the poem.
Answer:
The poet’s tone is
tender, nostalgic and gently sad
. He says he cannot remember his mother, which creates sadness. But the tune, flowers and sky show that he still feels her love peacefully around him.
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6. What impact does the title of the poem have on the overall mood of the poem?
View Answer
How to answer:
Explain the first feeling created by the title, then connect it to the poem’s soft memories.
Answer:
The title
I Cannot Remember My Mother
makes the mood
sad and tender
from the beginning. It tells us that the poet has lost a clear memory of his mother. At the same time, the poem shows that her presence still remains through sound, smell and sight, so the mood becomes calm and loving too.
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7. The poet uses ‘I cannot remember my mother’ as a refrain because __________________.
View Answer
How to answer:
Link the repeated line to loss, memory and emotional unity.
Answer:
The poet uses ‘I cannot remember my mother’ as a refrain because it
repeats his sense of loss and joins all three memories together
.
Why:
The line returns at the start of every stanza and reminds us that every memory begins from the same absence.
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8. The poet uses symbolism to indicate the memory of his mother’s presence. Identify the symbols used in the poem.
View Answer
How to answer:
Name the symbol and then say what it stands for.
Answer:
The symbols are the
tune
, the
shiuli flowers and temple scent
, and the
wide blue sky
. The tune stands for the mother’s lullaby and care. The flowers and temple scent stand for her pure, peaceful presence. The sky stands for her calm, endless gaze and love.
Book definition: Symbolism is a literary device in which a writer uses a tangible object, abstract idea, or phenomenon that represents something beyond the literal meaning.
It helps the poet convey deeper meanings and to connect with readers on an emotional level.
Book definition: Refrain is a poetic device defined as a line or a group of lines that is repeated at regular intervals in a poem.
