- National University
- Honours 4th Year
- Session: 2017-18
- Course: American Poetry
- Previous Years Brief
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2013
(a) To whom does Walt Whitman pay his respect in ‘O Captain, My Captain’?
Ans: Abraham Lincoln.
(b) What is an elegy?
Ans: An elegy s a lyric poem mourning for the death of an individual or lamenting over a tragic event.
(c) What does “Wild Nights” symbolize?
Ans: The “Wild Nights” is the symbol of unbounded sexual pleasures.
(d) What does the phrase ‘Lover’s Port’ suggest in ‘Wild Nights, Wild Nights’?
Ans: In Emily Dickinson’s ‘Wild Nights Wild Nights!’, the speaker expresses the loneliness of having no one to love. Without a lover, the speaker’s heart is metaphorically stuck in port. This metaphor, or explicit comparison. indicates that even the winds cannot move this heart in the harbour.
(e) In ‘The Death of the Hired Man’, a cloud obscures the moon. What does it symbolize?
Ans: The moon being obscured by a cloud in “The Death of the Hired Man” symbolizes the death of Silas.
(f) How does Dickinson describe her experience of going outdoors in summer in the poem ‘I Taste a Liquor’?
Ans: In the poem “I Taste a Liquor”, Dickinson describes her exhilaration of going outdoors in summer in terms of getting drunk in a tavern.
(g) How does Whitman welcome death?
Ans: The poet welcomes death through enchantment of songs(L)/ The poet welcomes death, inviting her to come upon all. He chants a song for death, and invites her to come as a ‘strong deliverers’. He offers glad serenade, and proposes saluting and adornments and feastings for death(FBC)
(h) What do you understand by “The Blues”?
Ans: “The Blues” refers to sad feelings from the soul of a “Negro”.
(i) Why is it impossible for African Americans to dream or aspire to great things?
Ans:
(j) Who is the speaker in the poem ‘Harlem’?
Ans: The speaker could be Hughes or any dreamer.
(k) How was, in the early 1950’s, the social fabric of America which was comprised of a black population?
Ans:
(1) What is Harlem and why is it famous?
Ans: Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City, is famous for being the centre of the Harlem Renaissance.
2014
(a) Who is Walt Whitman?
Ans: Walt Whitman is an American poet, essayist and journalist.
(b) What does the poet offer to the coffin of Lincoln?
Ans: The poet offers to the coffin the lilac he picked from the lilac-bush in the dooryard(L)/ The poet gives to the coffin the spring of lilac that he broke from the lilac-bush in the dooryard(FBC).
(c) Why does Whitman address Abraham Lincoln as ‘Captain’?
Ans: Whitman addresses Abraham Lincoln as captain as he imagines America as a ship and Abraham Lincoln as its captain.
(d) What does the lilac-bush look like?
Ans: The lilac-bush is tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich-green. Many a pointed, delicate blossom rises from it with the perfume the poet loves.
(e) Who was Silas?
Ans: Silas was their old servant, and he went away, leaving his job with warren, a farmer, in search of a new job. He returned from his vain search for a job.
(f) Why wasn’t Warren satisfied with Silas?
Ans: Warren was not satisfied with Silas on account of the fact that he left his job when Warren needed him most.
(g) What does the tree in ‘Tree at My Window’ stand for?
Ans: The tree in the poem Tree at My Window’ stands for an object of nature subject to suffering by “outer weather”.
(h) Why did the poet take the other road?
Ans: He took the other road because it had better claim; it was grassy and untrodden so far.
(i) What do you mean by the expression “Good fences make good neighbors”?
Ans: This means that it is better for people to mind their own business and to respect the privacy of others(L)/ It has meaning in the context of quarrels between neighbors which usually take place on account of damage to or encroachment on their properties by the animals or other agents of each other. Good fences prevent such damage or encroachment, so good relations exist between neighbors(FBC)
(j) What inspired Langston Hughes to write the poem ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers’?
Ans: The beauty and majesty of the Mississippi River inspired him to write the poem(L)/ the sight of the Mississippi, when he was crossing the river on a train, inspired him to write the poem(FBC).
(k) What attitude to America does the poet express by “I, Too, Sing America”?
Ans: An attitude of deep love and patriotism is expressed by the line, “I, too, Sing America”.
(l) What is New Orleans?
Ans: New Orleans is one of the states in America.
2015
(a) How does Whitman welcome death?
Ans: The poet welcomes death, inviting her to come upon all. He chants a song for death, and invites her to come as a ‘strong deliverers’. He offers glad serenade, and proposes saluting and adornments and feastings for death.
(b) What is the earth right place for?
Ans: The earth is right place for love.
(c) Where is Harlem?
Ans: Harlem is in New York City. It is the name of a neighborhood there, inhabited mostly by the African-Americans.
(d) Who does Whitman call ‘Captain’?
Ans: Whitman calls Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of America, as ‘Captain’.
(e) What was Mary’s idea about the return of Silas?
Ans: Mary’s idea about the return of Silas was that he came “home” in his weak and helpless condition.
(f) What forced the branches of Birches to bend?
Ans: Icestorm forced the branches of Birches bend.
(g) What do you understand by ‘The Blues’?
Ans: ‘The Blues’ means sad feelings, or feelings of despair or sorrow.
(h) What was Dickinson’s idea about liquor?
Ans: Dickinson’s idea about liquor is that though it was not brewed, it was superior to the finest Rhine wine(L)/ Dickinson imagined a liquor that had never been brewed in large cups of pearl. Such a liquor was not available even from all the vats upon the river Rhine(FBC).
(i) Whom did Dickinson feel moving ‘to and fro’ in ‘I Felt a Funeral in My Brain’?
Ans: Dickinson felt the mourners ‘to and fro’ in ‘I felt a Funeral in My Brain'(L)/ Dickinson felt that a funeral ceremony was taking place in her brain. The mourners kept treading “to and fro”(FBC).
(j) Who was Langston Hughes?
Ans: James Mercer Langston Huges was an American poet, novelist, writer and playwright.
(k) Why does the poet call grass as ‘hoary grass’?
Ans: The poet calls grass as ‘hoary grass’ to focus on the uselessness of grass compared with the valuable apples(L)/ The poet means to make an implied comparison between the apples and grass, and by calling grass as “hoary” he wants to convey his idea of uselessness of grass compared with the highly valuable fruit—apples(FBC).
(l) Did Langston Hughes love America?
Ans: Yes, Langston Hughes loved America very much.
2016
(a) What does ‘Wild Nights’ symbolize?
Ans: The ‘Wild Night’ is the symbol of unbounded sexual pleasures.
(b) What is an elegy?
Ans: An elegy is a poem or song that expresses sorrow for someone who is dead(L)/ An elegy s a lyric poem mourning for the death of an individual or lamenting over a tragic event(FBC).
(c) What does the poet dream of in the ‘Birches’?
Ans: The poet dreamt of going back to childhood to swing on birches(L)/ The poet himself had once been a swinger of birches, and he dreams of going back to be a swinger or birches(FBC).
(d) Why was Mary waiting for her husband?
Ans: Mary was waiting for her husband to give him the news, “Silas is back”.
(e) What does the poet mean by ‘deferred dream’ in Harlem?
Ans: By a deferred dream the poet means the dream that is not realizes shortly, but is postponed or belayed in realization.
(f) What does the poet mean by ‘Rowing in Eden’ in ‘Wild Nights, Wild Night’? Ans: The poet imagines that the sea is her Paradise—Eden, and rowing in the sea would be like rowing in Paradise.
(g) What do you understand when the speaker says “I am the darker brother”? Ans: The speaker means to say that he is a negro, and a brother to all the Americans, white or black.
(h) What does Whitman offer to the coffin?
Ans: The poet gives to the coffin the spring of lilac that he broke from the lilac-bush in the dooryard.
(i) Whom did the poet hear playing a piano in ‘The Weary Blues’?
Ans: In the poem ‘The Weary Blues’, the poet heard a Negro playing a piano.
(j) How did Mary define home?
Ans: Mary defined home as “something you somehow haven’t to deserve”.
(k) What does Frost mean by the “Two Roads”?
Ans: By the phrase “Two Roads” Frost means two or more paths a man finds in every critical condition, out of which one must be taken as the right one.
(l) What and where is New Orleans?
Ans: New Orleans is a city of Louisiana on the bank of the Mississipi, near the Gulf of Mexico.
2017
(a) What does wall symbolize in the poem ‘Mending Wall’?
Ans: In the poem ‘Mending Wall’, the wall symbolizes the political, social, physical and emotional walls that we face in our lives(L)/ The wall can represent separation or alienation(FBC).
(b) Why did Silas leave his job with Warren?
Ans: Silas left his job with Warren because Warren refused to enhance his salary when he demanded it for a little more tobacco.
(c) What does ‘fearful trip’ refer to in the poem ‘O Captain! My Captain!’?
Ans: In the poem ‘O Captain! My Captain!’, by the phrase ‘fearful trip’ Whitman refers to the risky steps taken by Abraham Lincoln to remove slavery from America(L)/ The poet metaphorically refers to Lincoln’s adventurous steps as President towards the abolition of slavery in America. The steps were indeed very risky(FBC).
(d) What is the dream of the speaker in the poem ‘I, Too, Sing America’?
Ans: To sit in the same table with the White guests is the dream of the speaker in the poem ‘I, Too, Sing America’./ He dreams that someday he will sit at the same table with the White guests.
(e) How does Mary define Home?
Ans: Mary defines “Home” as ‘something you somehow haven’t to deserve’.
(f) What are the rivers in the poem ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers!’?
Ans: The Euphrates, the Congo, the Nile and the Mississipi are the rivers in the poem ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers'(L)/ There are four rivers. They are: the Euphrates, the Congo, the Nile and the Mississipi(FBC).
(g) What do the Blues stand for in the poem ‘The Weary Blues’?
Ans: In the poem ‘The Weary Blues’ Blues stand for marks of woe and pain.
(h) What does Emily Dickinson mean when she says, “I taste a liquor”?
Ans: The poet does not use the word ‘liquor’ in the poem literal sense to mean any alcoholic drink. She uses the word to mean “beauty of nature”.
(i) What is Jazz music?
Ans: A traditional music of black American played on brass and woodwind instruments is called Jazz music(L)/ It is a type of music of black American origin which emerged at the beginning of the 20th century, characterized by improvisation, syncopation, and usually a regular or forceful rhythm(FBC).
(j) What happens when a dream is differed?
Ans: When a dream is differed, it explodes(L)/ When a dram is differed, it loses freshens and vitality(FBC).
(k) What does Frost mean when he says, “Your head so much concerned with outer, Mine with inner weather”?
Ans: Through the above expression Frost means that the tree outside his window is suffered by the natural weather but he is suffered by the natural weather psychologically(L)/ Here the poet points out the difference between man and nature. Nature is subject to outer circumstance while man is subject to the phenomenon going on inside the mind(FBC).
(l) Identify the relation between Mary, Warren, and Silas.
Ans: Marry and Warren are couple and Silas is their servant.
2018
(a) How does Whitman welcome death?
Ans: Whitman welcomes death by offering glad serenades, dancing and feasting(L)/ The poet welcomes death, inviting her to come upon all. He chants a song for death, and invites her to come as a ‘strong deliverers’. He offers glad serenade, and proposes saluting and adornments and feastings for death(FBC).
(b) What do you mean by the expression “Good fences make on good neighbours”?
Ans: This means that it is better for people to mind their own business and to respect the privacy of others(L)/ It has meaning in the context of quarrels between neighbors which usually take place on account of damage to or encroachment on their properties by the animals or other agents of each other. Good fences prevent such damage or encroachment, so good relations exist between neighbors(FBC).
(c) What is ‘Harlem’?
Ans: Harlem is the large neighbourhood of New York city(L)/ “Harlem” is the name of a neighborhood in New York city(FBC).
(d) How does the poet express her thoughts about the wild nights?
Ans: The poet expresses his thoughts about the wild nights that is she were with her awaited person the wild nights will luxury(L)/ She exclaims about the wild nights, saying that if she were with her desired person, wild nights would be a luxury.
(e) Why was there the possibility of Warren’s maltreating his old servant?
Ans: As Silas, the old servant of Warren left the job when Warren needed him most Warren might maltreat him(L)/ There was the possibility of Warren’s maltreating Silas because warren was annoyed with Silas on account of the fact that he left his job when warren needed him most(FBC).
(f) How does the poet react to the melancholy song of the Negro?
Ans: The poet reacts sentimentally/emotionally and utters “O Blues” in response to the melancholy song of the Negro.
(g) How does the lilac-bush look?
Ans: The lilac-bush is tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich-green. Many a pointed, delicate blossom rises from it with the perfume the poet loves.
(h) Where is the funeral taking place?
Ans: The funeral is taking place inside the brain of the poet(L)/ The poet imagines that a funeral is taking place inside her brain.
(i) Why did the poet take the other road in the poem ‘The Road not Taken’?
Ans. In the poem ‘The Road not Taken’, the poet took the other road as it had better claim; it was grassy and untrodden so far(L)/ He took the other road because it has better claim; it was grassy and untrodden so far(FBC).
(j) Where was the Negro playing on a piano?
Ans: The Negro was playing on a piano on Lenox Avenue in New York City in the faint light of an old gas light.
(k) Whom does Whitman call ‘Captain’?
Ans: Whitman calls Abraham Lincoln ‘Captain’.
(l) What do the mourners do after the funeral service is over?
Ans: The mourners lift a box after the funeral service is over(L)/ After the funeral service is over the mourners life a box(FBC)
2019
(a) What does the tree in ‘Tree at My Window’ stand for?
Ans: The tree in ‘Tree at My Window’ stand for nature(L)/ The tree in the poem Tree at My Window’ stands for an object of nature subject to suffering by “outer weather”(FBC).
(b) What does Whitman offer to the coffin?
Ans: The poet offers to the coffin the lilac he picked from the bush in the dooryard(L)/ The poet gives to the coffin the spring of lilac that he broke from the lilac-bush in the dooryard(FBC).
(c) What does “Wild Nights” symbolize?
Ans: The “Wild Nights” symbolizes unlimited sexual pleasures.
(d) What are ‘Birches’?
Ans: Birches are thin-leaved deciduous trees(L)/ “Birches” refers to a tree with a smooth, often white bark and thin branches for swinging of boys and girls(FBC).
(e) How does the poet like to go toward heaven?
Ans: The poet likes to go towards heaven by climbing up the black branches of the birch trees.
(f) How did Mary define home?
Ans: According to Mary home is “something you somehow haven’t to deserve”.
(g) Where is Harlem?
Ans: Harlem is in New York City. It is the name of a neighborhood there, inhabited mostly by the African-Americans.
(h) Which of the two roads did Robert Frost take?
Ans: Of the two roads, Robert Frost took the untrodden one(L) Of the two roads, Frost took one which was grassy and frequented by less number of people(FBC).
(i) Who was Langston Hughes?
Ans: Langston Hughes was an American novelist, poet, writer and playwright.
(j) What kind of liquor does Dickinson prefer?
Ans: Dickinson prefers liquor that is never brewed(L)/ Dickinson prefers a liquor that has never brewed in a large cup of pearl and such a liquor is not available even form all the vats upon the river Rhine(FBC).
(k) Whom did Dickinson feel moving ‘to and fro’ in ‘I Felt a Funeral in My Brain’?
Ans: The mourners’ moving “to and fro” made the poet feel the existence of funeral in her brain(L)/ Dickinson felt that a funeral ceremony was taking place in her brain. The mourners kept treading “to and fro”(FBC).
(I) What inspired Langston Hughes to write the poem ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers’?
Ans: The beauty and majesty of the Mississippi River inspired him to write the poem(L)/ the sight of the Mississippi, when he was crossing the river on a train, inspired him to write the poem(FBC)
2020
(a) What does Dickinson mean by “Rowing in Eden”?
Ans: The poet imagines that the sea is her Paradise—Eden, and rowing in the sea would be like rowing in Paradise.
(b) What is the Euphrates?
Ans: The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia.
(c) What is Dickinson intoxicated about?
Ans: The poet’s intoxication is about air and being a libertine or debauchee of dew is remarkable here.
(d) Where is the funeral taking place?
Ans: The poet imaginatively visualizes a funeral occurring in her brain(L)/ The poet imagines that a funeral is taking place inside her brain(FBC).
(e) What is the earth right place for?
Ans: The earth is a right place for love.
(f) What does the poet mean by “deferred dream” in ‘Harlem’?
Ans: The poet means by “deffered dream” the dream that is put off, delayed or postponed by external influences(L)/ By a deferred dream the poet means the dream that is not realizes shortly, but is postponed or belayed in realization(FBC).
(g) What does the phrase “Lover’s port” suggests in ‘Wild Nights Wild Nights!’?
Ans: In Emily Dickinson’s ‘Wild Nights Wild Nights!’, the speaker expresses the loneliness of having no one to love. Without a lover, the speaker’s heart is metaphorically stuck in port. This metaphor, or explicit comparison. indicates that even the winds cannot move this heart in harbor.
(h) How does Whitman welcome death?
Ans: The poet welcomes death through enchantment of songs(L)/ The poet welcomes death, inviting her to come upon all. He chants a song for death, and invites her to come as a ‘strong deliverers’. He offers glad serenade, and proposes saluting and adornments and feastings for death(FBC).
(i) What does the poet mean by ‘fearful trip’?
Ans: In the poem ‘O Captain! My Captain!’, by the phrase ‘fearful trip’ Whitman refers to the risky steps taken by Abraham Lincoln to remove slavery from America(L)/ The poet metaphorically refers to Lincoln’s adventurous steps as President towards the abolition of slavery in America. The steps were indeed very risky(FBC).
(j) What did Mary request her husband about Silas?
Ans: Mary requested her husband to be sympathetic/kind to Silas.
(k) What is the relation among Marry, Warren and Silas?
Ans: Marry and Warren are couple and Silas is their servant.
(l) What does the poet hear when the mourners lift the box?
Ans: The poet feels a creak in her soul.
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