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प्रश्न
Choose the correct alternative.
The peasants chant the name of God to _______________.
विकल्प
nullify the stinging experience
praise God.
appease God.
उत्तर
The peasants chant the name of God to nullify the stinging experience.
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
Read the following extract and do the activities.
I remember the night my mother
was stung by a scorpion. Ten hours
of steady rain had driven him
to crawl beneath a sack of rice.
Patting with his poison – flash
Of diabolic tail in the dark room -
he risked the rain again.
The peasants came like swarms of flies
And buzzed the name of God a hundred times
to paralyse the Evil One.
With candles and with lanterns
throwing giant scorpion shadows
on the mud-baked walls
they searched for him: he was not found.
They clicked their tongues.
With every movement that the scorpion made his poison
moved in Mother’s blood, they said.
(A1) Choose the correct option for the following.
(1) The incident in the poem took place in
(i) the morning (ii) the night
(iii) the afternoon (iv) the evening
(2) ‘The Evil’ mentioned in the poem was
(i) the peasant (ii) the God
(iii) the scorpion (iv) the mother
(3) The scorpion crawled beneath a sack of
(i) sugar (ii) a wheat
(iii) corns (iv) rice
(4) The peasants are compared with
(i) flock of sheep (ii) group of monkeys
(iii) swarms of flies (iv) herds of cattle
(A2) Write the reactions of the people when they knew that the mother was stung by a scorpion.
(i)..................................................................
(ii)................................................................
(iii)...............................................................
(iv)...............................................................
(A3) Write down the rhyming words from the stanzas for the following.
(i) fight - (ii) clash -
Read the following poem and write an appreciation of it with the help of the given points in paragraph format.
Night of the Scorpion
I remember the night my mother
was stung by a scorpion. Ten hours
of steady rain had driven him
to crawl beneath a sack of rice.
Parting with his poison – flash
of diabolic tail in the darkroom –
he risked the rain again
The peasants came like swarms of flies
and buzzed the name of God a hundred times
to paralyze the Evil One.
With candles and with lanterns
throwing giant scorpion shadows
on the mud-baked walls
they searched for him: he was not found.
They clicked their tongues.
With every movement that the scorpion made his poison
moved in Mother’s blood, they said.
May he sit still, they said
May the sins of your previous birth
be burned away tonight, they said.
May your suffering decrease
the misfortunes of your next birth, they said.
May the sum of all evil
balanced in this unreal world
against the sum of good
become diminished by your pain.
May the poison purify your flesh
of desire, and your spirit of ambition,
they said, and they sat around
on the floor with my mother in the center,
the peace of understanding on each face.
More candles, more lanterns, more neighbors,
more insects, and the endless rain.
My mother twisted through and through,
groaning on a mat.
My father, sceptic, rationalist,
trying every curse and blessing,
powder, mixture, herb, and hybrid
He even poured a little paraffin
upon the bitten toe and put a match to it.
I watched the flame feeding on my mother.
I watched the holy man perform his rites to tame the
poison with an incantation.
After twenty hours
it lost its sting.
My mother only said
Thank God the scorpion picked on me
And spared my children.
-Nissim Ezekiel
you can use the following points while appreciating the given poem:
i. Title
ii. Poet
iii. Theme/Central idea
iv.Rhyme scheme
v. Figures of speech
vi. Special features (type the poem, imagery, implied meaning if any,etc.)
vii. Favorite lines
viii. Why I like/don’t like the poem.
Get into pairs and discuss the following with your partners and complete the table.
Many people are superstitious. This means that they have a belief for which they have no logical reason.
An example of superstition is that - walking under a ladder brings bad luck. In pairs, list any superstitions that you know of.
| Superstition | What it implies |
| (1) Smashing a mirror | Brings seven years of bad luck. |
| (2) | |
| (3) | |
| (4) | |
| (5) |
Complete the following table.
| Background/setting of the poem | |
| Type |
Evidence (Quote lines from the poem |
| Rural/Urban | ______________________ |
Choose the correct alternative.
The child is afraid but admires ____________.
Choose the correct alternative.
This is a _____________ poem as it tells a story.
Choose the correct alternative.
The click of tongues reflects their __________ to the predicament.
From the poem provide evidence for the following:
| Stages | Evidence (lines from the poem) |
| (a) the attempts by the peasants to help alleviate the mother’s pain. | |
| (b) the action of these same peasants to kill the scorpion | |
| (c) the reaction of the rational father. | |
| (d) the various superstitions versus the ‘scientific’ | |
| (e) evil versus good. |
The poet has used various kinds of imagery to create an image that appeals to our senses. Pick out various kinds of imagery and complete the table.
| Visual imagery appealing to the eye | Tactile imagery (sense of touch) | Sound imagery | Internal sensations, feelings, and emotions |
| (1) Scorpion crawling beneath a sack of rice | (1) _________ ____________ ___________ |
(1) buzzed the name of God | (1) fear |
| (2) ___________ ___________ ___________ |
(2) Father pouring paraffin on the toe | 2) ___________ ___________ ___________ |
2) ___________ |
Read the following poem and write an appreciation of it with the help of the given points in a paragraph format:
|
Night of the Scorpion I remember the night my mother |
Points:
- The title and the poet of the poem
- Rhyme scheme
- Figures of speech
- Central Idea/Theme
