My Mother At SixtySix

Summary:
While driving from her parents home to Cochin, Kamala Das notices that her mother who was
sitting by her sleeping with her mouth open. Her mothers face was colourless like a dead body
and her thoughts far away. There was a sudden fear and pain which crops up in the poets mind
and she realizes that her mother is old now and could pass away leaving her all alone. The
reality is hard to accept and at the same time, the realization is alarming.
The poet puts her thoughts aside and looks out to see the trees scurrying down. The trees racing
past and the speeding car are just grim reminders that time has flown by. She looks at the
children playing outside which gives her a respite and probably she is reminded of her childhood
and when her mother was young.
After the security check at the airport, Kamala Das looks back at her mother standing a few yards
away looking pale and grey like the winter moon. The poetess senses a familiar pain and
childhood fear of the thought of losing her mother. Beset with sorrow and fear, she bids her old
mother goodbye and keeps smiling to hide her real feelings.
Themes:
Fear of loss: The poem composed in blank verse expresses the anguish of a daughter over her
mothers advancing age and the fear of permanent separation from her. My Mother at Sixty Six
symbolizes the fast running of life and the inevitable death of our childhood and youth. The poet
is

agonized

by

her

mothers

advancing

age

and

her

imminent

death.

Nostalgia: The poet is carried away by the childhood premonition of losing her mother.

Solved Question and Answers:

1.

Driving

Morning,

from
I

doze,

open

Of

my
saw
mouthed,

corpse

parents
my
her
and

home

to

Cochin

mother,
face
realized

last

beside
ashen

like
with

Friday
me,
that
pain

That

looked

as

old

as

she

was

But soon put that thought far away.

a.

Where

is

the

poet

at

present?

The poet is on her way to Cochin Airport from her ancestral home. She is travelling in a car with
her mother sitting beside her.
b.

How

does

she

describe

her

mother?

Kamala Das describes her mother as old, pale and senile. As she was asleep, the poet noticed
that her mother looked very pale and colourless like a dead body. She seemed to have lost the
vitality

of

c.

What

thoughts

life.

had

she

given

away?

The poet has put away the haunting thoughts of losing her mother.
2.

But

security

after

check,

away,

the

standing
looked

airports

again

few
at

yards

her,

wan,

pale as a late winters moon

a.
Her

Who

is

is

the

her

here?

poetess

Why
Kamala

does

the

Das

poet

sixty

look
six

at

year

her
old

again?
mother.

The poetess looked at her again for the last time to reassure herself that her mother is well. She
drove away her thoughts of pain and fear at seeing upon her mothers old age. It was a look of
reassurance to meet her again.
b.

Explain

pale

as

late

winters

moon

This is an example of a simile. The poet has compared her mothers face to a winters moon.
Winter symbolizes death and a waning moon symbolizes decay. Just like winter loses its
magnificence and beauty when covered with fog and mist, similarly the poets mother has lost
her youth, vitality and have become inactive and withered.

An
Elementary
SchoolClassroom In A Slum
An elementary school classroom in a slum was published by Stephen Spender in 1964. The
poem resonates the poets political views and brings forth the difficulties faced by the kids in
slums. This poem was written to highlight the social injustice prevailing at that time in the world.
The following article summarizes his views and is divided stanza-wise for ease in understanding.

Stanza 1
The poet says that the condition of the children in a slum school is pathetic. Their world is far
removed from the open, healthy environment. They are as unwanted as the rootless weeds.
Their hair is unkempt and they have pale faces which clearly indicate their deprived and undernourished condition. These children, as the tall girl, are stressed by the burden of their
circumstances. They are exhausted both physically as well as emotionally. The paper thin boy is
skinny. His eyes have a scared look. These unfortunate beings have inherited only disease and
bad luck from their parents. One of diseased ones cant even get up from the desk to recite his
lesson. However, there is one child at the back of the class who is younger than the others. His
inexperienced eyes are full of hope and he is dreaming about playing games in the open.
Apparently gloom has still not enveloped him.

Stanza 2
The classroom walls have a dirty appearance as they havent been painted for a long time. In
other words, these children inhabit a world which is dreary and depressing. On the walls are
displayed the names of people who have given donations. The bust of Shakespeare with the
background of a clear sky at the time of sun-rise is also displayed. The walls also have scenic
pictures of Tyrolese Valley with its beautiful flowers presenting a world of the heavenly splendour.
Apart from all this, the walls also have a map revealing the world which they view from the
classrooms windows which is foggy and harsh. It represents a dark and bleak future with no
hope for amelioration. Their eyes can only view a narrow road which is enclosed with a dull sky.
The poet suggests that these children are trapped in a hopeless situation and their reality is far
removed from the literary world which glistens with the beauty of nature such as the rivers and
the high land jutting from the sea.

Stanza 3
The pensive poet suddenly turns belligerent (aggressive) and feels that Shakespeare is wicked.
This is because he misleads the children. He shows them a beautiful world of ships, sun and love
which is not only unreal for them but it has a corrupting influence on these children and instigates
them to steal and try to escape from their cramped holes. Their existence is indeed, very sad.
These emaciated children are so thin that it appears that they are wearing skins. The spectacles
they are wearing have glass which has been broken and mended. Their entire appearance reeks
of their deprivation. The poet shows his outrage by suggesting that the maps on their walls
should show huge slums instead of beautiful scenic graphics.

Stanza 4
In a conciliatory tone the poet appeals to the governor, inspector and visitor to do something to
improve their condition. If there is political will this map showing the beautiful world outside can
become their reality too. The poet hopes the authorities would realize their moral responsibilities
and free these children from their grave-like entrapments. He wants all the barriers to be pulled
down; barriers that keep away true education from them. The children must be given freedom to
experience the wholesome bounties of nature-view the green fields and run on gold sand. Let
them read books and let them breathe in fresh air. Let them discover themselves and let them be
creative so that their names can also enter the books of history. Let them find their place in the
sun.

Keeping Quiet
The poem was originally written by Pablo Neruda in Spanish but later translated to English. Its
main thrust was the significance of mindfulness, introspection and retrospection as these lead to
attention, unity and brotherhood.
It was an appeal to pause and really see that set in a mundane flurry of human habit; people are
led to blindly perform what is expected of them while sadly not perceiving the impact to nature
and society.

Poem Summary

Stanza 1
By asking the reader to count to twelve, the poet calls for a time to be tranquil and unmoving. His
use of the number twelve could be associated to the clock hours or possibly, even the number of
months in a year. Both attributions however, effectively depict how our hours and months pass by
before us, as we continue to chase after them without so much as a pause in between.
Stanza 2
Again, the poet reinforces his call not to take a step further, move nor speak. The appeal to not
speak in any language is symbolic of asking people to now speak in one language silence.
This would bring everyone together and lead us to introspection.
In this view, symbolism may also be seen in the use of the phrase, move our arms so
much which in this context, if taken lightly can be considered as merely brisk walking, but could
also be signifying violence or our selfish pursuits. It is to be noted as well how the poet mentions
once and one second in this stanza. The appeal is set on the premise that humans are
constantly speaking and constantly moving- again, a reinforcement of his earlier hedge on the
lack of time to be still and introspective.
Stanza 3
Here, the poet introduces the impact of such behaviour. The poet then proceeds to ask the
reader to ponder, consider and bask on the glory of this rare occurrence: where the usual flurry of
diverse human activity is now silenced to a standstill and in surprising unity. As humans are
perceived to be unique in their own ways and possess free will, a complied deliberate silence of
all shall create this mysterious yet wonderfully unusual unanimity.
Stanza 4
Here, the poem develops by providing what ensues through this quietness. The poet shows how
because of this, humans would now have more time to think about their actions and how they
would have the time to notice the details that surround their daily lives. Knowing the power they
have over nature but also being aware of where they stand, humans now demonstrate their free
will not to harm nature. Mentioning about the man gathering salt who notices that his very hands
are hurt displays the result of retrospection.

Stanza 5
In this part, the poet references wars and those that participate in it, to drive his point home.
Because there is now a time to breathe in and out, without being required to do what is usually
done, or blindly follow orders, there will also be time for introspection. And through this, humans
are now able to see how in a war, there really are no winners. This is where he continues to
show the critical impact of allowing time for introspection: a conscious effort not to contribute or
be part of dissension. Another symbolism can be spotted when the poet mentions put on clean
clothes. This is not just to emphasize how with war, there is the shedding of blood, but rather the
very act of putting on new clothes can be seen as taking on a different role, a different persona,
and basically having a different take on the matter at hand.
Stanza 6
The poet then divulges to clarify that his plea for stillness, for a moments pause, is not to be
mistaken for the mere act of doing nothing or death. He mentions to truly look at life as it is:
which is of living while experiencing the beauty of quietness and the moments that go through it.
Note how he used no truck with which is an idiom meant to connote not having association
with. The poet considers going through the hustle and bustle of life without pausing, as death.
The poet then proceeds to give the reader a conditional statement to allow him to consider what
would happen if humans had not been slaves to time, routine and habit. He presents the bearing
this unforeseen single iota of change, rubbing off on the majority of people, would ultimately
result to a much needed introspection. The poet further injects irony when he mentions death in
this stanza again as he goes to show how humans are terrified of eventually dying. This, while
not noticing that the life they are actually living is merely existing, without truly being aware of
what they are doing and becoming. Also, the poet asks us to learn from earth which seems to be
still when seen from far away but is burstling with life with all the flora and fauna within.

Stanza 7
Having presented the dilemma, the poet effectively passes the baton to the reader and has now
given him the power and the choice to be still and begin his own introspection and retrospection.
As with the central idea of his poem, the call to pause and be mindful of ones own self and ways,
resonates to the very conclusion of the poem.

A Thing On Beauty

A Thing of Beauty is a poem written by the famous romantic poet, John Keats. The poem tells
about how nature and its wonder mesmerize us and take away all the sorrow that surrounds us
from time to time. The following explanation might aid you in understanding this exceptional
piece of work in poetry.

Explanation
A beautiful thing is a source of eternal joy, its attractiveness grows with the passage of time and
its impact never fades away. It is as pleasant as a cool quiet bower or sound sleep with sweet
dreams; or robust health and mental peace. It provides the beholder with a haven of tranquillity
and solace.
It is the beauty of nature that keeps us attached to this earth. Every morning we collect fresh
lovely flowers and prepare garlands. The fascination for flowers is our bonding with the earth. It
helps us steer clear of despondency and disappointments. We forget all our despair, of acute
shortage of noble souls, of misfortunes that overtake us to test our forbearance. Life is full of
trials and tribulations and we often find ourselves in the midst of gloom. It is at such depressing
moments that a sight full of beauty dispels the pall of sadness from our spirits making room for
hope and optimism.
The objects of beauty are countless. These include heavenly bodies like the sun and the moon,
the old and young trees that provide cool shelter to sleep, the daffodil flowers encased in green
leaves, the streams that flow through a shady passage which they make themselves with plants,
and the bushes that bear fragrant flowers. These simple and even commonplace things lift the
human spirit filling it with joy and delight. In addition to these objects of nature, there are
wonderful tales of our legendary heroes, who lived and died heroically, which inspire us with their
matchless beauty. These beautiful things are metaphorically an endless source of nectar that
pours down to us from heaven bringing eternal joy for the souls grandeur. They are like an elixir
of life, a never diminishing source of pleasure and delight, an endless fountain of joy that seems
to be a precious gift from Heaven.

Aunt Jennifers Tigers

Aunt Jennifers tigers is a poem by Adrienne Rich illustrating her feminist concerns. In the male
dominant world, a woman of her time was only supposed to be a dutiful homemaker. This poem

through the world of Aunty Jennifer, tells us about her inner desire to free herself from the
clutches of abusive marriage and patriarchal society.

Poem Summary

The first stanza opens with Aunt Jennifers visual tapestry of tigers who are fearless of their
environment. "Bright topaz denizens of a world of green" evoke an image that these regal tigers
are unafraid of other beings in the jungle. Bright here signifies their powerful and radiant
personality. There is a sense of certainty and confidence in the way these tigers move as can be
seen in the line "They pace in sleek chivalric certainty".

In the second stanza, the reality of Aunt Jennifer is revealed as she is feeble, weak and
enslaved, very much the opposite of the tigers she was knitting. Her physical and mental trauma
is depicted in the line "find even the ivory needle hard to pull". Even though a wedding ring
doesnt weigh much, "the massive weight of uncles wedding band, sits heavily upon Aunt
Jennifers hand" signifies the amount of dominance her husband exercised over her. This also
means that her inner free spirit has been jailed by the patriarchal society [4].

The last stanza starts on a creepy note about Aunt Jennifers death. Even her death couldnt free
her from the ordeals she went through which can be seen in "When Aunt is dead, her terrified
hands will lie still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by". But her art work which was her
escape route or in a way, her inner sense of freedom, will stay forever, proud and unafraid.