Special Brief Suggestion of 20th Century Poetry
W.B. Yeats
1. What is Innisfree?
Ans: Innisfree is a tiny island located on Lake Lough Gill near Sligo, the home of the poet.
2. What is the theme of the poem “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”?
Ans: The theme of the poem is human’s returning to nature.
3. What will the poet build on the Lake Isle of Innisfree?
Ans: The poet will build a small hut on the Lake Isle of Innisfree.
4. How will the poet build a small cabin on the Lake Isle of Innisfree?
Ans: The poet will build up the hut with clay and wattles.
5. Why does the poet want to visit the Lake of Innisfree?
Ans: The poet wants to go to Innisfree to escape the harsh reality of worldly life.
6. Why was W.B. Yeats called the national poet of Ireland?
Ans: As he wrote about Irish culture and tradition, he was called the Irish national poet.
7. When did Yeats win Nobel Prize?
Ans: He won the prize in 1923.
Easter 1916
1. What is the theme of the poem Easter 1916?
Ans: The theme of the poem is about the Irish revolution against British rule on Easter Day of 1916.
2. When did the historical Easter Rising take place?
Ans: In 1916, the historical Easter Rising took place.
3. What does the stone symbolize?
Ans: The stone symbolizes unity and firmness.
4. What is terrible beauty?
আরো পড়ুনঃJustify the Novel’s Title, ‘The Grass is Singing.’(বাংলায়)
Ans: Terrible beauty is a heroic achievement that involved many people’s deaths. Xpres
5. Who is MacBride in the poem Easter 1916?
Ans: John MacBride is the husband of Maud Gonne and one of the leaders of the Irish national army.
6. Who is Maud Gonne?
Ans: Maud Gonne is one of the three women who has romantic affairs with W.B. Yeats.
The Second Coming
1. What is the poem “The Second Coming’ about?
Ans: The poem is about the decay of modern Christian civilization. 2. What does ‘gyre’ signify in the poem ‘The Second Coming”?
Ans: Gyre indicates how a civilization progress from its narrowness and loses its purpose.
3. What does the term ‘ceremony of innocence’ mean?
Ans: It means the traditional way of life which is full of innocence and purity.
4. What is Spiritus Mundi?
Ans: Spiritus Mundi is a collection of some fearful images which constitute a beast that’s body is of a lion and head is of a man
5. What does the Spiritus Mundi symbolize?
আরো পড়ুনঃDiscuss the Father-son Relationship in “Sons and Lovers”.’(বাংলায়)
Ans: It symbolizes the destruction of the present civilization.
6. What is Bethlehem?
Ans: Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus Christ.
Sailing to Byzantium
1. What is Byzantium?
Ans: Byzantium is the ancient name of Constantinople or Istambul.
2. What is Byzantium famous for?
Ans: Byzantium is famous for its rich culture and wisdom.
3. How does the poet visualize the holy saints?
Ans: The poet visualizes the holy saints standing in God’s holy fire.
4. What does Byzantium symbolize in the poem Sailing to Byzantium?
Ans: Byzantium symbolizes an ideal country of rich culture and wisdom or a world of art and philosophy.
5. Who are the dying generations?
Ans: The men and women who are engaged in sensual and physical enjoyment are the dying generations. pres
6. Why does the poet want to sail to the holy city of Byzantium? terature
Ans: The poet wants to sail to Byzantium as he has become unfit for worldly life.
7. What does a ‘tattered coat’ refer to?
Ans: The term ‘tattered coat’ refers to an old man who seems to be a scarecrow.
8. What is a scarecrow?
আরো পড়ুনঃHow Does Conrad Treat the Theme of Imperialism in Heart of Darkness?”(বাংলায়)
Ans: An object alike to a field to scare birds.
T.S. ELIOT
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
1. What is an epigraph?
Ans: An epigraph is a quotation at the outset of a literary work or book.
2. Where from the name ‘Prufrock’ is originated?
Ans: The name originated from a furniture farm in St. Louis.
3. What is the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’?
Ans: The poem is about the frustration and impotence of a modern man.
4. Why will not the mermaid sing for Prufrock?
Ans: According to Greek mythology, Mermaid only sings for a brave man, but Prufrock is a coward man that’s why Mermaid will not sing for Prufrock.
5. How does Prufrock visualize death?
Ans: Prufrock visualizes death as the eternal Footman coming near him and mocking at his cowardice.
6. What is the yellow frog compared to?
Ans: The yellow frog is compared to a cat.
7. Who is John the Baptist?
Ans: He is a prophet who has been killed by the order of the King of Herod.
8. ‘In the room women come and go’ what does ‘the room’ refer to?
Ans: The room is the place where Prufrock goes to talk with women friends.
9. Why does Prufrock want to be Lazarus?
Ans: He wants to be Lazarus to act as the representative of the Deadman to the ladies.
10. What is the poetic genre of the poem?
আরো পড়ুনঃExplicate the Significance of the Dying Words of Kurtz: “The Horror! The Horror!”(বাংলায়)
Ans: Interior Monologue.
11. What does interior monologue refer to?
Ans: It refers to a literary work that expresses a character’s inner thoughts.
12. What does “eternal footman” imply in the poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock? Xp
Ans: It implies Death or destiny.
13.. Who is Lazarus?
Ans: According to the Bible, Lazarus is the brother of Mary and Martha. tura
14. What is a Mermaid?
Ans: Mermaid is the mythical sea creature consisting of half-woman and half-fish.
15. What figure of speech lies in the phrase “restless night”?
Ans: Hypallage.
The Waste Land
1. What does the title ‘Waste Land’ refer to?
Ans: The title refers to the barrenness of the modern people.
2. What is the significance of the subtitle, The Burial of The Dead Man?
Ans: It refers to both burial of the dead fertility of god and the service of the Christian Church.
3. What is the theme of the first section of the poem “The Wast Land”?
Ans: The theme of the first section is the emotional and spiritual emptiness of modern people.
4. Why does April appear to be the cruelest month?
Ans: April stands for rebirth and happiness but the modern men are spiritually wasted. So, they consider April as the cruelest month.
5. Who is the hyacinth girl?
Ans: The hyacinth girl is a young and beautiful lady of the present age whom her lover has forgotten.
6. Who is Michelangelo?
Ans: Michelangelo is a great sculptor, painter, and poet of Italy.
6. Who is Tiresias?
Ans: Tiresias is a blind prophet of Thebes during the time of King Oedipus.
7. What is the source of the subtitle ‘What the Thunder Said”?
Ans: The source of the subtitle is the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
9. How does Madame Sosostris foretell?
আরো পড়ুনঃComment on the Theme of Conflict of Cultures in A Passage to India.(বাংলায়)
Ans: She foretells by using her Tarot pack of cards.
10. What does the blindness of one eye of the merchant symbolize?
Ans: His loss of one eye symbolizes his religious blindness.
12. How does The Waste Land end?
Ans: The poem end with the utterance of “Shantih Shantih Shantih”.
13. What are the major themes of the poem The Waste Land?
Ans: The degradation of the modern civilization, physical relationship, loss of faith and moral values, lack of
human relationship, commercialization of life etc. are the major themes of the poem.
11. What is the significance of the subtitle “The Fire Sermon”?
Ans: This subtitle has been taken from Lord Buddha. Here, the fire is used as a purifying symbol.
14. Which city is called “unreal city”? ure Xpres
Ans: London is called the unreal city.
15. Who is the Phoenician Sailor?
Ans: The Phoenician Sailor is Adonis, God of fertility whose image is sunk into the sea every year.
16. What does the word ‘Ganga’ refer to?
Ans: Ganga is a Sanskrit word for the Ganges that is a renowned river in India.
17. What do you mean by “Murmur of matemal lamentation”?
18. What does “red rock” stand for in “The Waste Land”?
Ans: It stands for Christianity.
19. What is the meaning of the voice of thunder- “Da, Da, Da”?
Ans: The first Da =Datta (to sacrifice). The second Da Dayadhvam (to sympathize). Third Da = Damyata (self- control).
DYLAN THOMAS
1. Why is the poem ‘Poem in October’ written?
Ans: To celebrate the poet’s 30th birthday.
2. In what mood does Dylan Thomas celebrate his birthday?
Ans: He is in a melancholic mood.
3. How does Dylan Thomas celebrate his birthday?
Ans: He celebrates his birthday by observing nature which includes watching the games of mussels, heron, and seagulls and listening to the birds’ songs. Xpres
4. What made the poet wake up early in the morning on his birthday?
Ans: The calls of the birds and other noises and sounds of nature.
5. Where from, did Dylan Thomas hear the sounds coming in the morning on his birthday?
Ans: Neighbouring Forest and seashore.
6. What is the meaning of “The mussel pooled”?
Ans: Pools full of mussels which is a kind of small fish.
7. What is the significance of “The heron priested shore”?
Ans: The heron is a long-legged waterbird which symbolizes holiness to the poet.
8. How does Dylan Thomas interpret the “call of seagull and rook”?
Ans: He interprets that the call of the seagull comes from the seashore and that of the rooks from the wood.
আরো পড়ুনঃDiscuss the Significance of Marabar Caves in A Passage to India.(বাংলায়)
9. What is the significance of the expression “And I rose in rainy autumn”?
Ans: The expression signifies Dylan Thomas’ birthday. terature
10. Where does the poet see “a springful of larks”?
Ans: The poet sees “a springful of larks” climbing upon the hills.
11. What is the underlying significance of “sweet singers”?
Ans: The term “Sweet singers” refers to the singing birds in the morning. In the poem, these refer to the poet.
12. What do “the gardens of spring and summer” signify?
Ans: “The gardens of spring and summer” symbolize the beautiful, and glorious world of childhood.
13. What is the meaning of “tall tales”?
Ans: “Tall tales” refers to the legends of the poet’s youth.
14. In what way is the poet’s birthday being a marvel?
Ans: The poet’s 30th birthday is a marvel because there are two weathers-spring and summer and two times present at one and same moment.
15. What does the phrase “The blithe country” refer to?
Ans: The spring and summer on the hill.
16. How do the sweet memories of his boyhood come to him?
Ans: The sweet memories of the past come to the poet like a shower of rain or a current of water.
17. How is the poet able to achieve self-control?
Ans: The poet is able to achieve self-control when his childhood fantasy is no more, and he faces the harsh reality of life.
18. What does the image “Gates closing as the town awakes” signify?
Ans: It signifies the poet’s rebirth on his birthday.
19. Name some water creatures you find in Poem in October?
Ans: Mussel, heron, seagull, rook, waterbirds, larks and snail.
21. What does Dylan Thomas mean by “twice told fields of infancy”?
Ans: The glorious visions and wonders of childhood which are now only to remember as they have vanished away.
20. What does the word “rose” mean in the sentence “And I rose in rainy autumn”?
Ans: Here, the word “rose” means born.
22. What is “October Blood”?
Ans: October Blood is the red-coloured fallen autumnal leaves.
23. What is the meaning of “the other air”?
Ans: The meaning is visions and memories of the poet’s childhood.
24. What do the ‘white horses’ symbolize?
Ans: The white horses are some highly desirable things.
25. What prayer does the poet offer at the end of Poem in October?
Ans: At the end of the poem, the poet prays to recall his childhood till his death.
SYLVIA PLATH
1. When was the poem Morning Song written?
Ans: The poem was written in 1961.
2. What is the initial word of the poem?
Ans: Love is the initial word of the poem by which the mother addresses her child.
3. What does the phrase “a fat gold watch” refer to?
Ans: It refers to the new-born baby.
4. Why did the midwife slap the new-born’s foot-soles?
Ans: The midwife slapped the new-born’s foot-so that she could provide it with a gateway into life.
5. What does “cow-heavy” refer to?
Ans: It refers to the shapelessness of the mother.
6. How many people make the journey in the poem ‘Crossing the Water”?
Ans: Two black cut-paper people.
7. What do you mean by “cut-paper people”?
Ans: It indicates the two travellers who have a lack of physical existence. sure
8. What does the “pale hand” signify?
Ans: It signifies the hand of a corpse.
9. What suggests the finality in the poem ‘Crossing the Water”?
Ans: The silence of the ‘astounded souls.
10. What does “expressionless sirens” signify?
Ans: It signifies the loud warning noise. In the poem, it refers to stillness that surprises the souls in the underworld.
11. Give the meaning of “the silence of astounded souls”.
Ans: It means stillness and surprise that absorb the souls in the world of the Dead.
12. What is the meaning of “fixed stars”?
Ans: It refers to destiny or divinity which controls human life.
13. What does “the bottom of the pool” signify?
Ans: It signifies the kingdom of death…
14. In what sense does the husband resemble the moon?
Ans: The moon is outwardly bright but inwardly it has no own light. The husband is also outwardly generous but inwardly false. In this way the husband resembles the moon.
15. Who are great light borrowers?
Ans: The moon and the husband are great light borrowers.
16. What incident hurt Sylvia Plath very much?
Ans: The refusal of Sylvia Plath’s mother to join her father’s funeral ceremony hurts her very much.
17. Who is addressed by Sylvia Plath in the poem “The Rival”?
Ans: Sylvia Plath’s husband is addressed in the poem.
18. How does Sylvia Plath make a comparison between a child and a cat?
Ans: Sylvia Plath compares a child to a cat it drinks its mother’s milk in a way a cat does.
19. What is the poem Words about?
Ans: The poem is about the act of writing.
20. What is the poem ‘Crossing the Water about’?
Ans: The poem is about the terrific journey in the underworld after death.
21. What does the title Crossing the Water signify? eXpres
Ans: The title signifies a mystical journey of the soul in the underworld.
22. What does “New Statue” refer to in the poem “Morning Song”?
Ans: The newborn child.
23. Whose rivalry do you find in the poem “The Rival”?
Ans: The rivalry between Sylvia Plath and her husband is found in the poem.
24. How does a mother resemble cloud?
Ans: A mother is alike to cloud in case of giving birth of her child.
25. What is the central image of the poem The Rival?
Ans: The central image of the poem is “The moon”
26. What does “black symbolize in the poem ‘Crossing the Water”?
Ans: In the poem, the word “black” symbolizes death.
27. Why is the moon ridiculous at the daytime?
Ans: As it becomes invisible in the daylight, it is ridiculous.
28. What does the first stanza of the poem ‘Word’ mean?
Ans: The poem’s first stanza means that writing is like chopping down a tree.
