I Cannot Remember My Mother
Short Questions
1. When does the poet remember his mother?
Answer: The poet remembers his mother sometimes in the midst of his play.
2.What does the poet hear during his play?
Answer: He hears a tune of a song.
3.Who used to hum the song?
Answer: His mother used to hum the song.
4. What was the mother doing while humming?
Answer: She was rocking his cradle.
5. In which season does the poet remember his mother?
Answer: He remembers her in early autumn.
6.What smell reminds the poet of his mother?
Answer: The smell of shiuli flowers reminds him.
7.Where does the scent come from?
Answer: It comes from the morning service in the temple.
8. From where does the poet look at the sky?
Answer: He looks from his bedroom window.
9.What does the poet feel in the sky?
Answer: He feels the stillness of his mother’s gaze.
10.What kind of bed is a cradle?
Answer: It is a small bed for a baby.
11.What does ‘hover’ mean?
Answer: It means to remain near a place.
12.What does ‘hum’ mean?
Answer: It means to sing a tune with lips closed.
13.What does ‘gaze’ mean?
Answer: It means to look steadily for a long time.
14.What is ‘shiuli’?
Answer:It is a type of flower.
15.What type of sense is ‘smell’?
Answer: It is an olfactory sense.
Long Questions
1. Why does the poet say he cannot remember his mother?
Answer: The poet says he cannot remember his mother because he does not have clear memories of her. However, he feels her presence through sounds, smells, and sights.
2. How does the poet remember his mother during playtime?
Answer: During playtime, the poet hears a tune hovering over his playthings. This tune reminds him of the song his mother used to hum while rocking his cradle.
3. How is the mother connected to shiuli flowers?
Answer: The smell of shiuli flowers reminds the poet of his mother. The scent of the flowers and the temple service feels like the presence of his mother.
4. Explain the role of nature in the poem.
Answer: Nature helps the poet remember his mother. The flowers, scent, and sky all bring back memories and feelings of his mother.
5. What does the poet feel when he looks at the sky?
Answer: When the poet looks at the sky, he feels that his mother’s calm and still gaze has spread all over it.
6. What is the emotional impact of the line ‘I cannot remember my mother’?
Answer: This line creates a feeling of sadness and longing. It shows that the poet misses his mother but cannot clearly remember her.
7. How does the poem use different senses?
Answer: The poem uses hearing (tune), smell (shiuli flowers), and sight (sky). These senses help the poet remember his mother.
8. Why is the refrain repeated in the poem?
Answer: The line ‘I cannot remember my mother’ is repeated to show the poet’s deep feeling of loss and his effort to recall her memory.
9. What symbols are used to show the mother’s presence?
Answer: The tune, shiuli flowers, temple scent, and sky are symbols. They represent the memory and presence of the mother.
10. What is the tone of the poem? Why?
Answer: The tone of the poem is emotional and nostalgic because the poet remembers his mother through feelings, senses, and memories.
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