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ICSE Notes 2017 : English Paper 2 (English Literature) Poems - The Professor, Small Pain in my Chest

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Carmel School, Bhadrak

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Extract 1 In India also We are keeping up. Our progress is progressing. Old values are going, new values are coming. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Who is the speaker of the above lines? What is his relation with the person spoken to? (3) What is meant by the line In India also/We are keeping up ? (3) Give the correct English for Our progress is progressing . (3) What does he tell us about his health? (3) What is the tone of the poem? Is there any kind of criticism in the above lines? [4] ANSWERS: [1] Professor Sheth is the speaker of the above lines. The person spoken to is his former student whom he had taught Geography. [2] The line means that the world is progressing and many changes are happening. In India too changes are happening in keeping with the progress all over the world. [3] In correct English we say, We are making progress. [4] He says his health is o.k. He only has the usual aches and pains that come with old age but no diabetes, no blood pressure, no heart attack. As stated by him, the fact that his health is so good is due to the sound habits he had maintained in his youth. [5] The poem is simply humorous. The poet presents some typically Indian ideas and practices. He reproduces the exact manner in which Indians Indianise English and speak confidently without being aware of the amusement they create for those who know the correct usage. It also shows the love that a teacher has for his students and feels happy to talk to one of his former students. Extract 2 How is your health keeping? Nicely? I am happy for that. This year I am sixty-nine and hope to score century. You were so thin, like stick, Now you are man of weight and consequence. [i] Who is speaking to whom in the above lines? How does he introduce himself to the listener? (3) [ii] What does the speaker mean by saying hoping to score century ? What makes him happy? (3) [iii] What has he just told the listener about his own health? (3) [iv] Mention one example of Indian English used by the poet in the above extract. Explain if any figure of speech has been used. (3) [iv] Now you are man of weight and consequence . For whom does the poet use this comment? What is meant by man of weight and consequence ? (4) ANSWERS: [i] Professor Sheth is speaking to one of his former students, whom he had taught Geography. He introduces himself to his student whom he meets after several years: Remember me? I am Professor Sheth. Once I taught you geography. [ii] By saying hoping to score century the speaker uses a term from cricket. He means that he has completed 69 years of age, like scoring 69 runs in cricket and hopes to live to the age of 100 years, thus completing a century before losing his wicket. He is happy to learn that his student too is keeping good health. [iii] He has just said that his health is o.k. He has only the usual aches and pains that come with old age but he does not have diabetes, blood pressure or heart problems. [iv] One example of Indian English is: You were so thin, like stick. In correct English it should be: You were so thin, like a stick. A simile is used in the above line where the poet compares the thinness of his student in his youth to a stick. [v] The poet uses this comment for his ex-student whom he had taught geography. By saying a man of weight and consequence the poet is not only referring to his gaining weight but also implies that the student has progressed well in life and occupies an important position in society. Extract 3 Can it be getting dark so soon? he winced up at the sun. It s growing dim and I thought the day had just begun. I think, before I travel on I ll get a little rest . And quietly the boy died from that small pain in his chest. [i] Who is the boy? Why does he feel that it is getting darker earlier than usual? (3) [ii] What is the significance of the line I think, before I travel on, I ll get a little rest . ? (3) [iii] Towards the end of the poem the poet too feels a pain in his chest. What is the significance of his pain? (3) [iv] What does the boy say about his mother and wife in an earlier stanza? (3) [v] What kind of a poem is this? What message does the poet give through this poem? (4) ANSWERS: [I] The boy is the wounded soldier who is sitting under a tree. He feels that it is getting darker earlier than usual because he is badly injured in the battle and is losing consciousness. [ii] The significance of the line is that the soldier does travel, but this travel takes him to his eternal home and he lies down to take rest, a rest from which he does not wake up, an eternal rest. [iii] Towards the end of the poem the narrator says that he could feel pain, a large one , in his chest against the small pain felt by the soldier in his chest. The narrator is deeply hurt on seeing the soldier boy suffering so. This pain that the narrator feels is what humanity feels for all the lives that are lost on the battlefield while one is merely a helpless onlooker just as the narrator is in the case of the young dying soldier. [iv] As the soldier sits under the tree troubled by the pain in his chest he wonders about his mother s and wife s reactions if they were to see him in that condition. What his wife would think of her husband, such a strong and grown up man, sitting so helplessly! His mother while holding him close to her chest could never have imagined that one day her son would be sitting under a tree merely with a small pain in his chest. [v] A Small Pain in my Chest is an anti-war poem. The message that the poet gives through the death of the young soldier boy is to make us aware of the loss of young and promising lives that wars brings about.It tells us of the pain and sorrow of the mothers, wives and children when the men die in distant lands, fighting meaningless war. War is a necessary evil causing agony, sorrow and trauma to the soldiers and their families. All kinds of wars should be shunned in an effort to avoid its horrifying effects. Extract 4 Must be fatigue , he weakly smiled. I must be getting old. I see the sun is shining bright and yet I m feeling cold. [i] Identify the poem, the poet and the form of the poem. (3) [ii] Who is referred to as he in the extract? Why did he smile weakly? What is the significance of this expression? (3) [iii] How has the speaker s smile been described before and after the given extract? What does it reveal about the speaker s character and attitude? (3) [iv] Which expression has been used as a refrain in the poem? What is its significance? (3) [v] In what condition had the poet found him? What did the speaker tell him about his experience? (4) ANSWERS: [i] The above extract is from the poem Small Pain in my Chest written by Michael Mack. It is a ballad. [ii] A young boy, a soldier in the Vietnam War. He smiled weakly because he was extremely tired and suffering from immense pain as he was wounded in the war but consciously smiled to reveal his positive attitude. [ii] Before the extract: he smiled as best as he could as he asked the narrator for help. After the extract the narrator tells us that he smiled a smile that was, I think, the brightest that I ve ever seen . As he expressed his gratitude to the narrator for providing him with water and food. It reveals that the young soldier boy is very optimistic and a cheerful person. [iv] Small pain in my Chest has been used as a refrain in the poem. The poet uses it to emphasise the pain and suffering a soldier has to undergo as a consequence of war. [v] The narrator had found the soldier boy sitting calmly underneath the tree beckoning to him. He told him that they fought all day and night with hardly any rest. Two hundred of them climbed the hill but as they cleared the crest , the night exploded and he felt a small pain in his chest. He looked around to get some aid but found only big deep craters in the earth-bodies on the ground . He tried to do his best and kept on firing.

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Additional Info : ICSE Notes 2017 : English Paper 2 (English Literature) (Carmel School, Hamirpur, Rourkela, Sundargarh)
Tags : ICSE Notes 2017, English Paper 2, English Literature, Poetry, Poems, Short Stories, The Professor by Nissim Ezekiel, Small Pain in my Chest by Michael Mack,

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