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प्रश्न
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. |
उत्तर
| Stages | Evidence (lines from the poem) | |
| (a) the attempts by the peasants to help alleviate the mother’s pain. | A | "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 the 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" |
| B | "and they sat around on the floor with my mother in the centre, the peace of understanding on each face" |
|
| (b) the action of these same peasants to kill the scorpion | A | "With candles and with lanterns throwing giant scorpion shadows On the mud-baked walls" |
| B | "They searched for him: he was not found" | |
| (c) the reaction of the rational father. | A | "My father sceptic, rationalist, trying every curse and blessing, powder, mixture, herb and hybrid." |
| B | "He even poured a little paraffin upon the bitten toe and put a match to it" |
|
| (d) the various superstitions versus the ‘scientific’ | A | "and buzzed the name of God a hundred times to paralyse the Evil one" |
| B | "With every movement that the scorpion made his poison moved in Mother's blood, they said" |
|
| C | "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 the 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" |
|
| D | "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" |
|
| E | "I watched the holy man perform his rites to tame the poison with an incantation" |
|
| (e) evil versus good. | A | "I remember the night my mother Was stung by a scorpion." |
| B | "flash of diabolic tail in the dark room" | |
| C | "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 the 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" |
|
| D | "I watched the holy man perform his rites to tame the poison with an incantation" |
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
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.
Brainstorm what you know about Scorpions. Use the points given below.
Complete the following table.
|
Imagery |
|
| Look at the description of the village peasants. What does the imagery suggest about them? |
|
| The Images | What images suggest |
| They came like swarms of flies. | |
| They buzzed the name of God. | |
| They threw giant scorpion shadows on the mud-baked walls. | |
| They clicked their tongues. | |
Choose the correct alternative.
The child is afraid but admires ____________.
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 poem is titled ‘Night of the Scorpion’, for, the major part of the poem _______________.
Choose the correct alternative.
The click of tongues reflects their __________ to the predicament.
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) ___________ |
