Twentieth Century Poetry

 2013

English

Subject code: 1183

Twentieth Century Poetry

Time: 4 hours                                                                                                              Marks-80

Part – A

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

      a.  What is the occasion of Dylan Thomas’ poem “Poem in October”?

           Ans : The occasion of Dylan Thomas’ poem "Poem in October" is the celebration of his 30^th birthday.

      b.  What does the phrase ‘October blood’ mean?

           Ans : The phrase "October blood" refers to red leaves shed by trees during October.

      c.  When was the poem “Morning Song” written?

           Ans : The "Morning Song" was written in 1961.

      d.  What incident hurt Sylvia Plath very much?

Ans : Sylvia Plath was hurt very much by her mother’s insistence on not to attend the funeral of her father who died because of toe-infection.

      e.  What does “The Second Coming” refer to?

           Ans : “The Second Coming” is a concept in Christianity regarding a future return of Jesus to Earth after his "first coming" and ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago.

      f.  What does Eliot mean by ‘unreal city?

           Ans : By ‘Unreal City’, Eliot refers to the modern city London that is cut off from both natural and spiritual sources of life.

      g.  What is the last line of the poem “The Waste Land”?

           Ans : The last line of the poem “The Waste Land” is “Shantih shantih shantih”.

      h.  Who is Michelangelo?

           Ans : Michelangelo is a great Italian sculptor, painter and the poet of early sixteenth century.

      i.   Why does Yeats want to go to the Lake of Innisfree?

           Ans : Yeats wants to go to the Lake of Innisfree to escape from the fever and fret of his life.

      j.  What is ‘terrible beauty’?

           Ans : The 'terrible beauty' in Easter 1916 is the patriotic death of so many Irish revolutionaries.  

      k.  Who is Maud Gonne?

Ans : Maud Gonne is an English-born Irish revolutionary. W. B. Yeats loved her passionately but she always rejected his proposals. Most of his poems are addressed to her.

      l.   Who is addressed by Sylvia Plath in the poem “The Rival”?

           Ans : Aurelia Schober Plath, the mother of Sylvia Plath, is addressed in the poem The Rival.

Part – B

Answer any five questions:                                                                                          4 ´ 5 = 20

2. Discuss the symbolic significance of the poem “The Second Coming”.

3. Why did Prufrock fail to propose the lady?

4. What is the attitude of the mother towards her child in the poem “Morning Song”?

5. Write a short note on Teresias.

6. How is nature depicted in “Poem in October"?

7. “I’m no more your mother than

The cloud that distils a mirror’ ---Explain.

8. Describe the different stages of journey in “Crossing The Water”.

9. Why is Prufrock not willing to compare himself with flamlet?

Part – C

Answer any five questions:                                                                                        10 ´ 5 = 50

10. Write a note on W. B. Yeats’s conception of civilization.

11. Discuss how the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock represents the conflict of modern man.

12. Comment on the treatment of childhood in “Poem in October”.

13. Write a note on the theme of salvation as you find in “The Waste Land'.

14. Comment on the male-female relationship in Sylvia Plath’s poetry.

15. Illustrate W. B. Yeats’s use of symbolism.

16. Write a critical appreciation of the poem “Morning Song”.

17. How does Dylan Thomas feel on his thirtieth birthday?