Enhance your knowledge on He Had Such Quiet Eyes

QUESTIONS BASED ON THE POEM

1.            The eyes have a lot of functions other than seeing. Explain one function of the eyes that

            you know and give an example when that function is being used.

2.            Do you believe in ‘seeing is believing’? Give a reason for your answer and relate it to the poem “He had such quiet eyes”.

3.            Why do you think the persona in the poem fell for the guy’s quiet eyes? Give a reason why she likes his ‘quiet eyes’.

4.            How can you help a friend who fell for a person who you know is a pleasure seeking person? Give a suggestion on how to help this friend.

5.            In the poem there is a phrase “how’s and why’s”. Form a question for each of the question in the phrase with close relation to the situation of the persona in the poem.

6.            Which one is easier to do, giving advice or listening to advice? Give a reason for your answer with close reference to the poem.

Quick Revision on In The Midst of Hardship

1.         When did the people in the poem return home?

2.         What kind of a setting do you see in the poem, ‘ In the Midst of Hardship’ by Latiff             Mohidin?

3.         Describe the conditions of the people in this poem.

4.         Despite the conditions of the people in the above poem, did they give up?

            Which line tells you this?

5.         What do you understand by ‘ but on their brows, there was not a sign of despair’? 

6.         What natural disaster had occurred to the place?

7.         Name the animal that had gone missing in this poem.

8.         Do you think the people in the poem are rich? Justify your answer with evidence

            from the poem?

9.         Why do you think the people are desperately looking for the lost animal? 

10.       What is alliteration? Give an example of alliteration from the poem.

11.       Do you think the people here are hopeful and optimistic? Justify your answer.

12.       What can you learn from this poem?

13.       Do you think the poet has chosen a good title for this poem?  Give a reason for         

            your answer.

14.       Do you like the poem? Give a reason for your answer.

Exercise on Mr Nobody

SECTION A

Read the following stanza and then answer the questions below.

The  finger marks upon the door          By none of us  are  made; We never leave the blinds  unclosed,          To let the curtains fade; The ink we  never  spill; the boots           That lying  round you see Are not our  boots – they all  belong           To Mr. Nobody

1.         What do you think the following lines mean?

            “The finger marks upon the door / By none of us are made;”

            _______________________________________________________________

            _______________________________________________________________

2.      Why are the blinds never left undone?

            _______________________________________________________________

            _______________________________________________________________

3.         What do these  lines  “the boots /that  lying  round …” tell you about Mr, Nobody?

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4.         Who do you think Mr. Nobody is?

            _______________________________________________________________

            _______________________________________________________________

SECTION B

Read the following questions and choose the best answer for each.

1.	Mr Nobody can be described as being
	A	agreeable
	C	careless
	D	quiet
	E	dirty

2.	Where is the poem set?
	A	In a house.
	C	Near a campsite.
	D	At a place of work.
	E	Outside the house.

3.	Why does the kettle not boil in stanza 3?
	A	Muddy feet
	C	Damp wood
	D	Soiled carpets
	E	Squeaky doors

4.	The mischief in the house was done by
	A	the mouse
	C	Mr. Nobody
	D	the people in the house

5.	Which one of these words from the poem suggests carelessness?
	A	quiet
	C	oiling
	D	mislaid
	E	squeaking

6.	The poem teaches us to be
	A	careless
	C	untruthful
	D	accountable
	E	irresponsible

 SECTION C

With reference to “Mr Nobody”, answer the following questions.

1.         How is Mr Nobody like a mouse?

            _______________________________________________________________

            _______________________________________________________________

2.         What happened to the buttons on the shirts?

            _______________________________________________________________

3.         Why is it important to oil the doors of the house?

            _______________________________________________________________

            _______________________________________________________________

4.         What is causing the curtains to fade?

            _______________________________________________________________

5.         Who do you think is doing all the mischief in the house?

            _______________________________________________________________

6.         Have you done anything in your home that you did not want to admit to?

Share it here.

            _______________________________________________________________

            _______________________________________________________________

            _______________________________________________________________

            _______________________________________________________________

Exercise on The River 2

Answer the following questions based on the poem The River by Valerie Bloom.

Write your answer in about 50 words. Make references to the text.

Describe the persona of the poem.

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Describe the character of the persona.

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What is the message in the poem?

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Exercise on The River 1

 SECTION A

Question 1

Which of the following words does not show that the river is a wanderer?
A	nomad	C	traveller
B	tramp	D	camp

Question 2

Why is the river considered a hoarder?
A	The river twists and turns.	C	The river goes through valleys and hills.
B	The river sounds like a baby.	D	The river buries and keeps things.

Question 3

Which two words denote happiness?
A	baby and singer	C	nomad and monster
B	tramp and hoarder	D	winder and wanderer

Question 4

Which of the following words have the same meaning as ‘vexed’?
A	busy	C	flexible
B	angry	D	anxious

Question 5

Which stanza depicts the river as dangerous?
A	Stanza 1	C	Stanza 4
B	Stanza 2	D	Stanza 6

Are You Still Playing Your Flute by Zurinah Hassan

Are you still playing your flute?

When there is hardly time for our love

I am feeling guilty

To be longing for your song

The melody concealed in the slim hollow of the bamboo

Uncovered by the breath of an artist

Composed by his fingers

Blown by the wind

To the depth of my heart.

Are you still playing your flute?

In the village so quiet and deserted

Amidst the sick rice fields

While here it has become a luxury

To spend time watching the rain

Gazing at the evening rays

Collecting dew drops

Or enjoying the fragrance of flowers.

Are you still playing your flute?

The more it disturbs my conscience

to be thinking of you

in the hazard of you

my younger brothers unemployed and desperate

my people disunited by politics

my friend slaughtered mercilessly

this world is too old and bleeding.

Nature by H.D. Carberry

We have neither Summer nor Winter

Neither Autumn nor Spring.

We have instead the days

When the gold sun shines on the lush green canefields-

Magnificently.

The days when the rain beats like bullet on the roofs

And there is no sound but thee swish of water in the gullies

And trees struggling in the high Jamaica winds.

Also there are the days when leaves fade from off guango trees’

And the reaped canefields lie bare and fallow to the sun.

But best of all there are the days when the mango and the logwood blossom

When bushes are full of the sound of bees and the scent of honey,

When the tall grass sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air,

When the buttercups have paved the earth with yellow stars

And beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone