Chapter 6 - My Grandmother's House

Q1. Read the following extract and answer the questions:

There is a house not far away from where once

I received love…That woman died,

The house withdrew into silence, snakes moved

Among books, I was then too young

To read, and my blood turned cold like the moon.

What is the importance of the house in the poet’s life?

• The importance of the house in the poet’s life is that she was living in that house for many years and wants to go back.

• The importance of the house in the poet’s life is that she was loved by snakes in the house so much.

• The importance of the house in the poet’s life is that she was living in that house for many years, where she received lots of love from her grandmother who is no more there.

Q2. Read the following extract and answer the questions:

There is a house not far away from where once

I received love…That woman died,

The house withdrew into silence, snakes moved

Among books, I was then too young

To read, and my blood turned cold like the moon.

What happened in the house when the grandmother died?

Q3. Read the following extract and answer the questions:

There is a house not far away from where once

I received love…That woman died,

The house withdrew into silence, snakes moved

Among books, I was then too young

To read, and my blood turned cold like the moon.

Why could the poet not read the books?

• The poet could not read the books because the library had snakes in it.

• The poet could not read the books because she was too young to read them.

• The poet could not read the books because she did not live in the house.

• The poet could not read the books because she was too busy to read them

‘That woman died, ……… ’Who is the woman referred to here? How is she related to the poet?

• Grandmother

• Mother

• Aunt

‘to lie behind my bedroom door like a brooding dog’ means that …………..

• the memories are as unimportant as a dog.

• the memories will lie uncared for in a corner.

• the memories will always remain with the poet.

In the last three lines of the poem, the poet thinks of herself as a beggar. What is she begging for?

• Love

• Hope

• Peace

Why is the air in grandmother’s house described as frozen?

• The air is frozen due to the cold outside

• The house is absolutely silent. No one lives there. Even the air does not seem to be moving.

• The air is frozen as there is no light

Pick out the correct alternatives

‘an armful of darkness’ means ............

• unhappy days

• some dark object from the house

• old memories of the grandmother's house

You cannot believe, darling,

Can you, that I lived in such a house and

Was proud, and loved.... I who have lost

My way and beg now at strangers’ doors to

Receive love, at least in small change?

Which words tell you that the poet is talking to someone?

• Receive love, at least in small change

• Was proud and loved..I who have lost

• “You cannot believe, darling.”

• None of these

The poet thinks of her past. How is her present different from the past?

• Her present is better than her past as she loves her adulthood

• She remembers her childhood in her grandmother’s house when she was loved. She has a deep sense of sorrow in the present because no one loves her now.

• She thinks that there is no difference between her past and present

• None of these