ENGLISH FIRST LANGUAGE
POEM: - C.L.M
POEM: - C.L.M
JOHN MASEFIELD
Masefield was born on 1st June, 1878 in Ledbury, Herefordshire, England. His mother died when he was only six years old. He lived with his aunt and father but later his father, who was a solicitor, died due to a mental breakdown. Masefield was not happy with his education at King’s School in Warwick, where he lived as a boarder and left to join the British naval ship HMS Conway to be trained at sea. He spent many years on the ship and spent a lot of time in reading and writing. During his time on HMS Conway, Masefield developed a passion for storytelling. In 1894, on his first voyage, he went to Chile and experienced sea sickness. He recorded all his experiences about sailing and extreme weather conditions in his notebooks. The beauty of nature inspired him greatly. In 1895, Masefield went to New York on board a large sailing ship – a windjammer. His strong desire to become a writer and his feeling of hopelessness in sailing overtook him and he decided to desert the ship. He remained a vagrant for many years.
V. Question & Answers
1. The Second Line "My mother's life made me a man"
a. Just states a natural phenomenon of a mother giving birth to a son
b. has a hint that he was born at the cost of his mother's life
Ans: - (b) has a hint that he was born at the cost of his mother's life.
2. The phrase "Her beauty" in line 4 refers to
a. The physical beauty of his mother
b. The 'beauty' of his mother's physical and emotional trauma at the birth of the child
Ans: - (b) The 'beauty' of his mother's physical and emotional trauma at the birth of the child.
3. Why does the poet use the present tense in lines 5 and 6?
a. to emphasize that his very existence now is made possible by the death of 'some of her'
b. to emphasize that every movement of his in his mother's womb destroyed a part of her life
c. to show that his very birth and life are responsible for his mother's partial death
Ans: - (a) to emphasize that every movement of his in his mother's womb destroyed a part of her life.
4. What does 'it' inline 10 refer to?
Ans: - 'It' refers to the life the mother gave to the boy.
5. "Her beauty" in line 12 refers to
a. his mother's physical beauty
b. her son, the poet
Ans: - (b) her son, the poet.
6. "dusty in the mind" in line 12 refers to
a. the fading memory of his mother in his mind
b. the state of his dead mother's mind which has forgotten the dear ones left behind
Ans: - (a) the fading memory of his mother in his mind.
7. "I am so grown" in line 15 means
a. that he has grown so much physically that she would not be able to recognize him
b. that he has grown so unworthy of all her sacrifice that she would not be able to recognize him
c. both a and b
5. "Her beauty" in line 12 refers to
a. his mother's physical beauty
b. her son, the poet
Ans: - (b) her son, the poet.
6. "dusty in the mind" in line 12 refers to
a. the fading memory of his mother in his mind
b. the state of his dead mother's mind which has forgotten the dear ones left behind
Ans: - (a) the fading memory of his mother in his mind.
7. "I am so grown" in line 15 means
a. that he has grown so much physically that she would not be able to recognize him
b. that he has grown so unworthy of all her sacrifice that she would not be able to recognize him
c. both a and b
Ans: - (c) both (a) and (b).
8. Which line in stanza 3 suggests that the poet is totally unworthy or ungrateful?
Ans: - 'She would not know her little son, I am so grown.'
9. Which phrase in stanza 4 suggests that his concern goes beyond his personal experience?
Ans: - 'What have I done to keep in mind my debt to her and womankind?’
8. Which line in stanza 3 suggests that the poet is totally unworthy or ungrateful?
Ans: - 'She would not know her little son, I am so grown.'
9. Which phrase in stanza 4 suggests that his concern goes beyond his personal experience?
Ans: - 'What have I done to keep in mind my debt to her and womankind?’
10. "Providing a happier life to one's mother will repay for all her sacrifice." Is this what the poet says in lines 21 and 22?
Ans: - The poet says this and also something more. He means that a person should repay his mother not just by making her life better, but by making other women's lives also better.
11. Stanza 4 has some very powerful and forceful images.
a) What is compared to a — leech?
Ans: - The baby inside the mother's womb...
b) How is it a leech?
Ans: - It sucks on the life of the mother.
c) What is unusual about the use of the word 'leech'd'?
Ans: - The word 'leech'd is used for a parasite-like creature which feeds on the other and destroys it. Usually, babies who are entirely dependent on their mothers are referred to as leeches. But here the poet feels his mother has suffered a lot with every baby she carried, and hence he has been like a leech when he was in her womb.
d) Why is B in 'Birth' capitalized? (line 24)
Ans: - Birth is a very significant moment in the life of a baby or an individual because it signifies the separation of the baby from the mother and the need for the baby to- fend for itself to a certain extent. It has come out of a warm, protective cave into a cold, harsh world.
e) For whom is birth a hell
a. for the mother (for all her pain and suffering during the birth of her child)
b. for the son (who feels that it was because of his birth that his mother died, though partially)
c. for both
Ans: - (c) for both.
12. Note that lines 19 to 26 introduce a series of rhetorical questions. (A rhetorical question is asked for effect rather than to obtain an answer. The answer is very much implied in the question itself.) Lines 19-20 are a good example of a rhetorical question. The meaning of the two lines is," I have done nothing worth remembering to show my debt to my mother and womankind."
a) Identify 2 more examples of rhetorical questions.
Ans: - Lines 21-22: "What woman's happier life repays / her for those months of wretched days?" Lines 25-26: "What have I done, or tried or said / in thanks to that dear woman dead?"
b) Write down the actual meaning of each of them.
Ans: - Lines 21-22: "I have not repaid my mother for those months of wretched days by making a woman's life. happier. Lines 25-26: "I have not done or tried or said anything to express my thanks to that dear dead woman."
13. "man's lust" in line 29 refers to
a. man's beastly sexuality
b. man's lust for power over women
c. both a and b
Ans: - (c) both (a) and (b).
14. The poet has used many poetical devices in the last line in order to draw the reader's attention to it.
a) What typographical deviation is used in the last line?
Ans: - It is a single exclamatory sentence, unlike the rest that are in stanzas and is written as observations and rhetorical questions.
b) Why, do you think, has he used this deviation?
Ans: - He has used that form as an answer to all those questions and feelings he has outlined in the stanzas.
c) What figure of speech is used in this line?
Ans: - A hyperbole. It's an exaggerated statement highlighting the shame the poet is experiencing. Surely, a grave will not open and his mother will not come to life to put him to shame.
d) Why does the poet want the grave to keep shut?
Ans: - If his mother was to see him now, or women were to see mankind now, she/they would be ashamed.
e) How does the line end?
Ans: - The line ends with a regretful plea that the grave should remain shut.
15. The most dominant feeling of the poet in this poem is:
a. a feeling of guilt
b. a sense of ingratitude
c. a sense of shame
Ans: - (c) a feeling of shame.
11. Stanza 4 has some very powerful and forceful images.
a) What is compared to a — leech?
Ans: - The baby inside the mother's womb...
b) How is it a leech?
Ans: - It sucks on the life of the mother.
c) What is unusual about the use of the word 'leech'd'?
Ans: - The word 'leech'd is used for a parasite-like creature which feeds on the other and destroys it. Usually, babies who are entirely dependent on their mothers are referred to as leeches. But here the poet feels his mother has suffered a lot with every baby she carried, and hence he has been like a leech when he was in her womb.
d) Why is B in 'Birth' capitalized? (line 24)
Ans: - Birth is a very significant moment in the life of a baby or an individual because it signifies the separation of the baby from the mother and the need for the baby to- fend for itself to a certain extent. It has come out of a warm, protective cave into a cold, harsh world.
e) For whom is birth a hell
a. for the mother (for all her pain and suffering during the birth of her child)
b. for the son (who feels that it was because of his birth that his mother died, though partially)
c. for both
Ans: - (c) for both.
12. Note that lines 19 to 26 introduce a series of rhetorical questions. (A rhetorical question is asked for effect rather than to obtain an answer. The answer is very much implied in the question itself.) Lines 19-20 are a good example of a rhetorical question. The meaning of the two lines is," I have done nothing worth remembering to show my debt to my mother and womankind."
a) Identify 2 more examples of rhetorical questions.
Ans: - Lines 21-22: "What woman's happier life repays / her for those months of wretched days?" Lines 25-26: "What have I done, or tried or said / in thanks to that dear woman dead?"
b) Write down the actual meaning of each of them.
Ans: - Lines 21-22: "I have not repaid my mother for those months of wretched days by making a woman's life. happier. Lines 25-26: "I have not done or tried or said anything to express my thanks to that dear dead woman."
13. "man's lust" in line 29 refers to
a. man's beastly sexuality
b. man's lust for power over women
c. both a and b
Ans: - (c) both (a) and (b).
14. The poet has used many poetical devices in the last line in order to draw the reader's attention to it.
a) What typographical deviation is used in the last line?
Ans: - It is a single exclamatory sentence, unlike the rest that are in stanzas and is written as observations and rhetorical questions.
b) Why, do you think, has he used this deviation?
Ans: - He has used that form as an answer to all those questions and feelings he has outlined in the stanzas.
c) What figure of speech is used in this line?
Ans: - A hyperbole. It's an exaggerated statement highlighting the shame the poet is experiencing. Surely, a grave will not open and his mother will not come to life to put him to shame.
d) Why does the poet want the grave to keep shut?
Ans: - If his mother was to see him now, or women were to see mankind now, she/they would be ashamed.
e) How does the line end?
Ans: - The line ends with a regretful plea that the grave should remain shut.
15. The most dominant feeling of the poet in this poem is:
a. a feeling of guilt
b. a sense of ingratitude
c. a sense of shame
Ans: - (c) a feeling of shame.
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