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Question
Choose the correct alternative.
This is a _____________ poem as it tells a story.
Options
reflective
imaginative
narrative
Solution
This is a Narrative poem as it tells a story.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
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.
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.
| Lines | What is happening? |
| 1-7 | The scorpion comes into the home to escape the rain and stings the poet’s mother. |
| 8-33 | |
| 34-48 |
Complete the following table.
| Background/setting of the poem | |
| Type |
Evidence (Quote lines from the poem |
| Rural/Urban | ______________________ |
Complete the following table.
| Scorpion | |
| Many images of the scorpion contrast in the opening lines of the poem. Find examples of each and add them to the columns below. | |
| Timid | Dangerous |
|
(1) hides _________ (2) ___________ back |
(i) Diabolic ____________ (ii) ____________ |
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 _______________.
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. |
Prepare a Presentation (on paper or on a PC) as a piece of reference to other students. Make use of the following points.
