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Question
Read the following extract from Maya Angelou’s poem, ‘When Great Trees Fall’ and answer the questions that follow:
| When great trees fall in forests, small things recoil into silence, their senses eroded beyond fear. |
- What effect does the falling of a ‘great tree’ have on the creatures of the forest? [3]
- How does the death of a great soul affect the lives of those left behind in the immediate aftermath of their passing? [3]
- What long-term effect does the death of a ‘great soul' have? [3]
- What feeling is being expressed by the following lines/phrases? [3]
- small things recoil into silence
- kind words/unsaid,
- Beand be/better. For they existed
- What is a ‘Great tree’ a metaphor for? [4]
What is the central message of Angelou’s poem, “When Great Trees Fall"?
Solution
- Lions burrow down, elephants lumber and little things recoil into stillness.
- Breathing becomes difficult due to rarefied and sterile air, emotional choking, clear vision, and remorse for unfulfilled promises.
- Breathing becomes difficult due to rarefied and sterile air, emotional choking, stinging clarity, and remorse over unfulfilled promises.
- (a) little things recoil into silence—shock, numbness, startled.
(b) Kind words and unsaid remorse
(c) Be and be better. They existed: optimism, hope, and happy acceptance. - The tree represents a great soul. 'Losing a loved one is both devastating and inevitable. 'The memories and influence of the magnificent soul will continue to positively alter our lives. It gives us hope and healing to become better versions of ourselves.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
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a strong desire arising from within : _________
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The tense forms that have been practised and discussed in this chapter, allow
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1. I llli!¥ tennis 1. I have played tennis
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1. I knew about it 1. I had known about it
2. You took it away 2. You had taken it away
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1. I am reading a book. I was reading a book.
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The black man's face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.
The last man of this forlorn group
Did nought except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game.
Their logs held tight in death's still hands
Was proof of human sin.
They didn't die from the cold without
They died from the cold within.
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Discuss personification as used by the poet.
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What was Purcell’s source of earning?
Describe the various sights that one comes across in the meadows.
Multiple Choice Question:
When is beauty heard?
What does the author tell about mongooses?
Multiple Choice Question:
When do strange questions strike the poet?
