Important Questions Class 10 Chapter 3.1 kumarbharati English Maharashtra Board

Night of the Scorpion

Short Questions  

1. What stung the poet’s mother?

• A scorpion.

2.Why did the scorpion enter the house?

• To escape the rain.

3.How long did the mother suffer?

• Twenty hours.

4.What did the peasants chant?

• The name of God.

5.What did the peasants hope the poison would do?

• Purify her soul.

6.What did the poet’s father try to cure his wife?

• Curses, blessings, and herbs.

7.What did the father pour on the bitten toe?

• Paraffin.

8.Who performed rites to tame the poison?

• A holy man.

9.What did the mother say after recovering?

• Thank God the scorpion picked me.

10.Why did the mother thank God?

• For sparing her children.

11.What type of poem is this?

• Narrative.

12.What is the poet’s tone towards the peasants?

• Critical.

13.What does “diabolic” mean in the poem?

• Devil-like.

14.What is the poem written in?

• Free verse.

15.What sound did the peasants make?

• Clicking tongues.

  Long Questions 

1. Why did the scorpion sting the poet’s mother?

• The scorpion was hiding under a sack of rice to escape the rain. It stung her when disturbed.

2.What did the peasants do when they came to the house?

• They chanted God’s name and prayed to stop the scorpion’s poison. They also searched for the scorpion with candles and lanterns.

3.How did the poet’s father try to help his wife?

• He tried curses, blessings, herbs, and even poured paraffin on her toe and lit it. He was desperate to cure her.

4.What did the peasants believe about the mother’s suffering?

• They believed her pain would burn away past sins and reduce future misfortunes. They saw it as a way to purify her soul.

5.How is the mother’s love shown in the poem?

• She suffered silently and was thankful the scorpion stung her instead of her children. Her words show selfless love.

6.What is the poet’s attitude towards the peasants’ actions?

• The poet seems to find their superstitious actions impractical and irritating. He is critical of their traditional beliefs.

7.How does the poem use imagery to describe the scene?

• It uses images like “giant scorpion shadows” and “flame feeding” to create a vivid, intense picture. These appeal to sight and sound senses.

8.Why is the poem called “Night of the Scorpion”?

• The poem focuses on the night the scorpion stung the mother and the events that followed. It highlights the scorpion’s role in the story.