Balbharati solutions for English - Kumarbharati 10 Standard SSC Maharashtra State Board chapter 3.1 - Night of the Scorpion [Latest edition]

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.

Brainstorm what you know about Scorpions. Use the points given below.

After reading the poem, complete the following. What happens? There are three main parts of the poem. Do you know what they are about? The first one is done for you.

Complete the following table.

Complete the following table.

Complete the following table.

Choose the correct alternative.

The child is afraid but admires ____________.

Choose the correct alternative.

His father and the villagers panic and hastily suggest _____________.

Choose the correct alternative.

The poet seems to see the villagers as impractical and almost irritating which suggests that ________________.

Choose the correct alternative.

This is a _____________ poem as it tells a story.

Choose the correct alternative.

Using the first person gives the feeling that it is told from ______________.

Choose the correct alternative.

‘The scorpion picked on me. And spared my children’ depicts ____________.

Choose the correct alternative.

The poem does not have a rhyme scheme, which means the poem is a perfect example of a ___________.

Choose the correct alternative.

The poem is titled ‘Night of the Scorpion’, for, the major part of the poem _______________.

Choose the correct alternative.

The peasants chant the name of God to _______________.

Choose the correct alternative.

The click of tongues reflects their __________ to the predicament.

From the poem provide evidence for the following:

Read the poem and complete the table showing the qualities of the father and mother giving sufficient evidence from the poem.

Match the Figures of Speech with the correct definition.

Find examples from the poem that contains:

Similie : _______________________________
Metaphor : ___________________________
Onomatopoeia : _____________________

Expand the flow-chart in writing a paragraph in your own words.

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.

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. 

Prepare a Presentation (on paper or on a PC) as a piece of reference to other students. Make use of the following points.