My Mother at Sixty Six - Poem - Comprehension - Questions

My Mother at Sixty Six -
Flamingo - Poetry -
Class XII - NCERT/CBSE - Comprehension - Questions with anwers

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Q. : Read the Stanzas given below carefully and answer the questions that follow:

Driving from my parent's home to Cochin last Friday
morning, I saw my mother, beside me,
doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that
of a corpse and realised with pain
that she was as old as she looked

Now Answer the questions given :

1.Name the poem and the poet.

2.Where was the poet going?

3. How did the poet's mother look?

4 .What did the poet realise with pain?

5. When was the poet going?

Answers:

1.The name of the poem is My Mother at Sixty-six. The name of the poet is Kamala Das.
            Or
The name of the poem is 'My Mother at Sixty-six and the name of the poet is 'Kamla Das.'

2. She was going to the Cochin airport.

3.She looked as pale as death. She was weak and open mouthed.

4.She realised that her mother had grown very old. So she won't live long.

5. The poet was going on Friday morning.

Stanza 2

........, but soon
put that thought away, and looked out at young
trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes, but after the airport's
security check, standing a few yards
away, I looked again at her ...........

Answer the questions given below:

1. Name the poem and the poet.
2.What was the mother doing beside the poet ?
3. How did the poet put that thought away?
4. What did the poet realise with pain?

Answer:

1. The name of the poem is My Mother at Sixty-six. The name of the  poet  Kamala Das.

2. She was dozing with her mouth open.

3. She (poet) started looking at the scenes outside the car.

4.She realised that her mother might not live long.

Stanza 3

I looked again at her wan, pale
as a late winter's moon and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood fear,
but all I said was, see you soon, Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and smile.

Now answer the questions:

1. What was the old familiar ache?
2.Who said these words in the above stanza and to whom?

3. What were her parting words ? What do they signity?

4. What does the poet's smile signify?

Answers

1. It was the fear of her mother leaving her. Poet feels that she might not see her again.

2. The poet said these words to her mother.

3.  The parting words were ' See you soon, Amma'. These words shows that she loved her mother and didn't want to lose  her . She also didn't want to be away from her for long.

4. It signifies that the poet wanted to cheer up her mother.

Stanza 4

But after the airport's security check
standing a few yards away, I looked
again at her, wan, pale as a late
Winter's moon and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood fear,
but all I said was see you soon, Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and smile.

Answer the questions given below:

1. Name the poem and the poet.

2. Why has the mother been compared to 'late winter's moon'?

3. Where is the poet going and what does she think of her mother?

4. What did the poet do after the security check?

5. What familiar ache did the poet feel?

6. What is childhood's fear?

7. What did the smile signify?

Answers

Ans: 1. The name of the poem is My Mother at Sixty-six. 

Ans: 2. The late Winter's moon looks pale and dull. Poet's mother has also grown very old and weak . That is why mother has been compared to 'late winter's moon.'

Ans: 3. The poet is going to Cochin airport. She observes that her mother is looking as pale as death. She sadly thinks that her mother might not live long.

Ans: 4. Poet looked at her mother again who was standing a few yards away and again fear of losing her felt. 

Ans: 5. It was the fear she felt in her childhood when some fear filled in her heart.

Ans: 6. 'Childhood's fear' is the fear of losing her mother. She used to get upset , if ever she didn't see her. mother 

Ans:7.  The Smile signified that she wanted to hide her emotions and pains from her mother.

Short - Answer Questions

Q.1. what kind of pain ache that the poet feels?

Ans. : The poet feels because her mother has grown very old and weak. She looks as pale as corpse. She realises that her mother is not going to live long. This thought of separation fills her with pain and sadness.

Q. 2  Why are the young trees described as ' sprinting ' ?

Ans. : The Poet is driving to the airport with her mother. She is very sad thinking about the condition of her mother. She looks outside and finds the trees running towards her. In fact , it is  only the car  that is running , not the trees . She only wants to divert her attention thinking that way.

Q. 3 : Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children 'spilling out of their homes' ?

Ans. : While Childhood is a period of carefree merry - making, old age is a period of inactivity and sadness. While Childhood marks the beginning, old age is a sign of ending life. Thus this image helps to bring out the contrast between Childhood and old age. The Poet also recalls her own Childhood when her mother was quite young.

Q. 4 : Why has the mother been compared to the 'late winter's moon'?

Ans. :  Winter is the last phase of the year. It is a time of inactivity and dullness. Old age is also the last phase of life. Man grows weak and pale like death, just as the moon in the late winter looks pale white. The moon and the moonlight seems pale and dim in winter. That is why mother has been compared to the late writer's moon.

For comprehension and other questions click the links below : 

My Mother at Sixty Six- Kamala Das  : Comprehension and Questions

An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum - Stephen Spender

Keeping Quite - Pablo Neruda 

A Thing of Beauty - John Keats

A Roadside Stand -  Robert Frost

Aunt Jennifer's Tigers - Adrienne Rich

Q. 5. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?

Ans. :  The Poet says formal words of parting to her  mother "See you soon, Amma." She is very upset as the mother has grown very old and weak . She realises that she might see her alive again. Mother's face is as pale as death. To hide her feelings and mental state, she only gives a beaming smile to her mother.