2013

English

Subject code: 1186

American Poetry

Time: 4 hours                                                                                                              Marks-80

Part – A

1.   Answer any ten questions:                                                                                     1´10 = 10

      a.  To whom does Walt Whitman pay his respect in "O Captain, my Captain"?

           Ans : Whitman pays his respect to Abraham Lincoln in " O Captain, My Captain".

      b.  What is an elegy?

           Ans : An elegy is a sad poem, written to praise and express sorrow for someone who is dead.

      c.  What does 'Wild Nights' symbolize?

           Ans : "Wild Nights" symbolizes wild sexual pleasures enjoyed during nights.

      d.  What does the phrase 'Love's Port; Suggest in "Wild Nights, Wild Nights"?

           Ans : In "Wild Nights, Wild Nights” the phrase 'lover’s port' suggests the steadfast adherence of the ship-like heart of the beloved to the port-like heart of the lover. 

      e.  In "The Death of the Hired Man" the moon is obscured by a cloud. What does in 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 : Whitman welcomes death by chanting a song of reception for death.

      h.  What do you understand by 'The Blues'?

           Ans : Blues is a genre and musical form originated by African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the end of the 19th century.

      i.   Why is it impossible for African Americans to dream or aspire to great things?

           Ans : It is impossible for Africans to dream or aspire to great things because of the environment of oppression that surrounds them.

      j.  Who is the speaker in the poem 'Harlem'?

           Ans : The speaker of the poem "Harlem" is not a specific person. It could be Hughes.

      k.  How was in the early 1950's the social fabric of America which was comprised of a black population?

           Ans : In the early 1950’s America continued the racial segregation between the blacks and the whites. The blacks were still being considered second class citizens.

      l.   What is Harlem and why is in famous?

           Ans : Harlem is a large neighborhood in the northern section of the New York City. It was important for its impact on the worlds of theatre.

Part – B

Answer any five questions:                                                                                          4 ´ 5 = 20

2. Write a short note on ‘Harlem Renaissance’.

3. Why does Frost say ‘Earth is the right place for love’?

4. What are the arguments of the two men in the ‘Mending Wall’?

5. How does Frost view Nature in “Tree at My Window”?

6. Write a short note on Whitman’s use of symbols.

7. Analyse the theme of racial inequality in the poem “I, Too, Sing America”.

8. How do Warren and Mary react to the return of ‘The Hired Man’?

9. How does Robert Frost depict the psychological tension of modern man in his poetry?

Part – C

Answer any five questions:                                                                                        10 ´ 5 = 50

10. Write a critical appreciation of Walt Whitman’s “O Captain, My Captain”.

11. Discuss ‘‘When Lilacs Last at My Dooryard Bloomed” as an elegy.

12. Discuss the major themes of Langston Hughes’ poems.

13. Discuss the socio-political conditions of America as the background to Langston Hughes’ writing poetry.

14. Depict the theme of alienation in the poems of Robert Frost.

15. Evaluate Frost as a modern poet.

16. Discuss the main idea of Emily Dickinson’s “Wild Nights, Wild Nights”.

17. Discuss Emily Dickinson as a mystic poet.