Class-10th Poem- Amanda

By Robin Klein

Summary of the Poem Amanda

The poem Amanda is a brief expression of the little girl's state of mind, which is stuffed with instructions- the
do's and don'ts by her mother. The poem revolves around a little girl named Amanda and her mother, who keeps
instructing and irritating her for her mistakes. Her mother's constant instructions like not to bite her nails, or not
to bend her back and shoulders, or not to hunch her shoulders but sit up straight deprive Amanda of her freedom
of life in the open. 

To her mother's persisting instructions, Amanda imagines herself as a Mermaid swimming joyously and freely in
the deep green ocean enjoying the calming and relaxing life. She even imagines how blissful her life would be if
she would be a sea god having a fishtail instead of legs and enjoying the calming effect of the sea waves and
moving along with the waves, up and down in the water. The act of escapism is interrupted by her mother, who
drags her out of the blissful dream with endless questions.

At this moment, little Amanda visualizes herself as an orphan wandering freely, barefoot in golden silence and
uninterrupted freedom in the streets. She enjoys the thought of being an orphan as she can have a quiet, peaceful
life full of space by making the patterns of her bare feet on the sand. Her mother's nagging complaints about her
hygienic and healthy life or her restrictions towards chocolates not only break her daydream but also snatches her
freedom. 

Counter to her mother's words, Amanda slides into another dream where she fantasies herself as Rapunzel,
captured in a tower by a witch. She dreams that she will never let down her hair from the tower like Rapunzel to
allow the witch to climb in, thus living a calm and quiet life in a pleasant environment. 
Finally, Amanda's mother warns her about her moody and odd behavior as it might develop into a habit, and the
result would be people thinking that she is harassing her little daughter. Here, the poet wants to convey that
Amanda is restricted to reacting to her feelings and the constant complaints and nagging. This pushes Amanda to
stop escaping into her dreams as her mother would take it up against her sense of pride and scold her to behave
appropriately as other children. Amanda uses this to escape from the continuous harassment and dominance of
her mother.
Following poetic devices have been used in the poem Amanda:

1. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action for
comparison to which it is not literally applicable. In the poem, Amanda imagines herself as mermaid and
Rapunzel.
2. Repetition: It is a literary device in which a word or phrase is repeated two or more times. In the poem,
words like Amanda, Don’t etc are repeated again and again for poetic effect.
3. Alliteration: It is the repetition of the same letter or consonant sound in the line of poem. e.g. “Stop
that slouching and sit up straight”, “Did you tidy your room” etc.
4. Allusion: It is a literary device in which the writer or speaker refers either directly or indirectly to a
person, event, or thing in history or to a work of art or literature. In the poem, Amanda imagines herself
to be mythological characters like mermaid and Rapunzel.

Questions Q1. Comment on the title of the poem

Ans. The title of poem 'Amanda' is quite apt. The poem is about Amanda, a girl who is constantly nagged. Our
interest is in Amanda and how she feels, and not in the other character - Amanda's mother or aunt - who
continues to nag her.

Q2. What is the message of the poem ?

 Ans. The message of the poem is that the elderly people should let their children have some freedom. They
should not criticize them continuously or issue do, and don'ts regularly. Children resent being nagged all the
time. The continuous nagging may hinder the proper growth of a child.

Q.3. What kind of poem is 'Amanda'?

Ans. Amanda' has two characters. There is one unnamed person Amanda's mother, aunt or governess - who is the
speaker, and the listener is Amanda, a girl, who does not speak a word as she is lost in her thoughts. Thus, the
poem has a dramatic quality about it, and may be thought of as a dramatic monologue.

Q4. How does the speaker in the poem nag the little girl, Amanda ?
Ans. The speaker in the poem keeps on nagging Amanda for every little thing. Sometimes she says "Don't bite
your nails, Amanda ! Sometimes she says "Don't hunch your shoulders. Amanda ! She keeps on asking questions
like: "Did you finish your homework ? Did you tidy your room?" etc.

Q5. How do we know that Amanda wants to escape from her real world?
Ans. Amanda is sick of constant nagging. That is why, she wants to escape and be transformed into a mermaid.
As a mermaid, she would be able to drift with the sea waves in a carefree manner. She also expresses a desire to
be an orphan so that nobody could scold her. She wants to live like Rapunzel in a fairy-tower.

Q.6. Why is every alternate stanza given in brackets? What does it convey to you?
Ans. The poem has a meaningful structure. Every alternate stanza is given in parenthesis (brackets). It is so
because the listener's reaction is given in these stanzas. The listener, who is a little girl named Amanda, does not
speak when something is pointed out to her by the speaker. She only starts thinking about something else.

Q.7. Give the sum and substance of the poem "Amanda" in your own words.
Ans. Amanda is a little, school-going girl. She yearns for total freedom and enjoyment. She is constantly nagged
for nail-biting, chocolate-eating, sulking, and so on. She is so sick of this that she wanders away to a dreamy
world of her own where there is total freedom and relaxation. She wants to be a mermaid or an orphan or a fairy
so that she could enjoy her life in her own way.

Q.8. Who is the mermaid in 'Amanda' ? What does she wish to do?
Ans. In the poem 'Amanda', Amanda imagines herself to be a mermaid - a creature with a woman's head and
body and a fish's tail instead of legs. She wishes to move about in the sea water.

Q.9. Why does Amanda dream that she is an orphan ?

Ans. Amanda is not an orphan. She imagines herself to be so because she thinks that an orphan leads a carefree
life. There is no one to pester an orphan.

Q.10. Explain: 'T'll certainly never let down my bright hairs.

Ans. In the story of Rapunzel, Rapunzel leads her life in a tower. She is quite unhappy. She lets down her long,
beautiful hair to escape from the tower with a prince. Unlike her, Amanda likes to live a peaceful life in the
tower, and will not let her hair down to escape.

Long Answers Questions

Q.1. The poem 'Amanda' is basically Amanda's monologue. Comment.

Ans. There are two characters in the poem titled Amanda - Amanda, a school-going girl and her mother or aunt
(her identity is deliberately not revealed). The speaker is the grown-up lady. She is representative of all those
elderly persons who continue to find faults with their children. As such, she is a nagging person, and is
insignificant. It is Amanda whose thoughts are revealed to us in parenthesis. Amanda utters no word. She seems
to speak to herself. Her monologue reveals the essentials of child-psychology. We learn about her yearning for
freedom. At first, she imagines herself to be a mermaid that drifts about the sea-water in a carefree manner.
Clearly, she desires to enjoy mermaid-like freedom. Then she imagines herself to be an 'orphan' in the sense that
there should be no one to check him from walking anywhere, even in the dust with her bare feet. She is, then,
reminded of Rapunzel, a fairy princess who lived in a tower. She imagines herself to be Rapunzel and wants to
lead a carefree life. Thus, the focus of interest in the poem remains Amanda's monologue. We come to know how
children feel upset at being scolded and nagged by their elders.

Q.2. Give the sum and substance of the poem ‘Amanda!' in your own words.
Ans. ‘Amanda!' is a poem about child psychology. It is true that children live in a world of dreams. The poem is
a beautiful conversation between a little girl Amanda and a grown-up lady. Amanda is a little, school-going girl.
She is a girl with romantic temperament. She yearns for total freedom and enjoyment. Unfortunately, she is
living in an unhealthy environment. She is constantly nagged for nail-biting, chocolate-eating, sulking, and so on.
She is so sick of this that she wanders away to a dreamy world of her own where there is total freedom and
relaxation. She wants to be a mermaid or an orphan or a fairy so that she can enjoy her life in her own way.

Q3. What do you think of nagging? Discuss it with reference to the poem 'Amanda!"
Ans. Nagging is to complain or criticize somebody's behavior. It is a negative quality. Sadly, most of the elderly
persons resort to nagging their children frequently. This causes irritation and resentment among children.
Children suffering from continuous nagging become rebellious or escapists. Sometimes parents are right in
criticizing their children. The only thing is that they need to change their way to bring about the desired change
in them. If children are persuaded and not nagged, they do change sooner or later. In the poem 'Amanda !
Amanda is a little, school-going girl. She is constantly nagged for nail-biting, chocolate-eating, sulking and so
on. This constant nagging makes her an escapist. She slips into a dreamy world of her own, where she enjoys
freedom and relaxation. She is sure to be cut off from reality.