AMBER INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

ACADEMIC YEAR 2021-22

NOTES

GRADE: XII SUB: ENGLISH

(FLAMINGO)

Poem. 1. My Mother at Sixty-Six

- Kamala Das

Poem and Summary

Driving from my parent’s home
To Cochin last Friday morning,
I saw my mother beside me.

Beside: alongside

Summary
The poetess explains that once she visited her parent’s house in Cochin. It was a
Friday when she was driving back to the airport, her mother was sitting beside
her at the back of the car. The poet looked at her mother.
Literary Devices:
Assonance: Here we see the use of vowel sound that is ‘o’.(To Cochin last Friday
morning)

doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that

of a corpse and realised with pain
Doze: nap
Ashen: pale
Corpse: dead body
Summary
She saw that her mother was sleeping and her mouth was open. She further
explains that the colour of her mother’s face was like that of ash. (This means
that there was some smoky appearance on her face). She looked like a dead
body.
Literary Devices:
Assonance: Use of vowel sound ‘o’,’a’, ‘e’ (doze, open mouthed, her face ashen
like that
of a corpse)
Simile: The colour of the mother’s face has been compared to that of a corpse -
ashen. use of ‘like’  (her face ashen like that of a corpse)
that she was as old as she looked but soon
put that thought away, and looked out at Young
Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes,
Spilling: let out
Sprinting: Moving fast

Summary
The poetess realized that her mother had grown old. She felt pain for her. But
soon she tried to get rid of this sad thought by diverting her thoughts towards the
trees outside. The young trees although stationary seemed to be running very
fast as though they were sprinting. She also saw children running out of their
houses, into the playground. All these things were full of life and energy, contrary
to her mother who sat next to her.
Literary Devices:
Consonance: use of the sound ‘s’ and ‘t’
imagery: when the poet say trees sprinting, merry children spilling
Repetition:  Repeated use of ‘looked’

but after the airport’s

security check, standing a few yards
away, I looked again at her, wan, pale
Wan: dim, weak
Pale: dull, colourless

Summary
The poet continues that when she reached the airport, she finished with the
security check and stood a few yards away from her mother. She noticed her
mother’s ageing face which looked so dull, weak and pale.
as a late winter’s moon and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear, but all I said was, see you soon,
Amma, all I did was smile and smile and smile......

Summary
The poet compares her mother to a late winter’s moon as the moon in winters is
not shiny and even her mother’s face had also lost her youth and shine. As her
mother was getting older and weak.The poet feels the fear of separation just as
she used to feel during her childhood. As a child, she could not bear the pain of
separating from her mother. But now as her mother has grown old and is about to
die, the poet feels that may be this is the last time that she is seeing her mother.
She tries to hide her fear. She then says that she would soon see her mother
again. She says so because she doesn’t want to lose her mother.
Literary Devices:
Repetition: use of ‘smile’
Rhyme scheme - The poem does not follow any rhyme or rhythm. It has been
written in free verse.
Simile: Mother’s face is compared to the late winter’s moon - both are dull and
lifeless. use of ‘as’ (as a late winter’s moon).

I. EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

1. ……..I saw my mother,

beside me,
doze, open mouthed, her face
ashen like that
of a corpse and realised with
pain…….

2. Who is ‘I’?
3. What did ‘I’ realise with pain?
4. Why was the realisation painful?
5. Identify and name the figure of speech used in these lines.

Answer:
1. ‘l’ refers to the poet ‘Kamala Das’.
2. The poet realized with pain that her mother had become rather old and
looked almost like a corpse.
3. The realisation was painful because it brought a fear of separation from her
mother and a sense of helplessness at her inability to do anything for her
mother.
4. A simile is used in these lines, ‘her face ashen like that of a corpse’.

QUESTION TO BE SOLVED BY THE STUDENTS:

2. Old
Familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,
but all I said was, see you soon,
Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and smile

1. What does the phrase, ‘familiar ache’ mean?

2. What was the poet’s childhood fear?
3. What do the first two lines tell us about the poet’s feelings for her
mother?
4. What does the repeated use of the word, ‘smile’ mean?

 
II. SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (30-40 WORDS)

1. Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?

Answer :
The young trees are personified in the poem. They seem to be running
speedily in the opposite direction of the moving car. The movement is
juxtaposed with the expression on the mother's face i.e. ashen like a corpse
and signify the passing time and age.

2. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children spilling out of their
homes?
Answer :

The poet has brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their
homes’ because this image helps to bring out the contrast between childhood
 and old age. While childhood is a period of care free merrymaking, old age is
a period of death like sadness. With childhood, the journey of life begins, and
with old age, the journey ends.

 3. How does Kamala Das try to put away the thoughts of her ageing mother?
Answer :

The poet (Kamala Das) started looking out of the car-window because she
wanted to drive away the pain and agony she was experiencing on seeing her
aged mother. She looked outside at the world which was full of life and
activity. She saw young trees running past her and merry children sprinting
out of their homes to play.

4. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?
Answer :
The mother has been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’ because the moon
in the winter season is dim and appears lifeless, it doesn’t look shiny.
Similarly, the poet’s mother, due to ageing, has become dull, her colour is
similar to that of ash. It looks dull and has lost its youth. She looks like a
corpse.
 
5. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
Answer :
The parting words, "See you soon, Amma", of the poet, Kamala Das and her
continuous smile signify the hope to meet again. But she smiles and looks at
her mother to give her ailing mother assurance that she will meet her soon.
Here one can easily see that she is trying to hide her real feelings of pain and
fear from her mother and tries to console herself and her mother that they
both will be able to see each other again.
QUESTIONS TO BE SOLVED BY THE STUDENTS:

6. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?
 7. All I did was smile and smile and smile. Why does the poetess repeat the
word smile thrice?

III. LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS (120-150 WORDS)

1. Bring out the significance of the smile of the poet as she bade farewell to her
mother.
Answer :
The poet smiles as she bids farewell to her mother and assures her that they
would meet again. As she looks at her mother, who looks pale and weak due to
old age, her heart is pained to think that her mother might not live long. She
smiles, but her smile is only an effort to cover up the hidden fear and pain in
her heart.

It is a smile put on deliberately to hide her tears. Her situation is quite

ironical. Though she tells her mother that she’ll see her soon, she doubts if she
will ever see her alive again. The repetition of the word ‘smile’ shows that it is
a long and cheerful one. The smile is also significant because it must have
comforted both the mother and the daughter and kindled in them the hope
that the mother would survive long enough for the two to meet again.

2. Bring out the poetic devices used in the poem.

Answer :
The poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’ captures the complex subtleties of human
relationships in a texture of symbols, imagery and other poetic devices.

The entire poem is structured in the frame of a single sentence, punctuated by

commas. It indicates a single string of thought that runs throughout. There is
a simile in the explicit comparison of the ashen face of her mother to that of a
corpse. We find another simile in the comparison between the pale visage of
her mother and the late winter’s moon, as her face has lost its brightness.

There is the use of personification in the line “Trees sprinting’, where trees
are attributed with the quality of running swiftly, for enhancing the poetic
effect. The poet has used alliteration in the use of the words ‘familiar’ and
‘fear’ with the repetition of the consonant sound |f|. It also suggests the poet’s
familiarity with her childhood fear and the sorrow of losing her mother to
death.

QUESTIONS TO BE SOLVED BY THE STUDENTS:

3. Ageing is a natural process; have you ever thought what our elderly parents
expect from us?

4. Give the theme of Kamla Das’ poem ‘My Mother at Sixty Six’?