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  • Class: Xii Subject: English Poetry: My Mother at Sixty Six (By Kamala Das)

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    The document provides context about the poet Kamala Das and introduces her poem "My Mother at Sixty-Six". It summarizes that the poem describes the poet's mother as looking very weak and old at sixty-six years of age. As the poet is leaving to go to the airport, her mother accompanies her and falls asleep with her mouth open, her face ashen like a corpse. This disturbs the poet and makes her think of her fear of losing her mother. She tries to smile and assure her mother she will see her again, but is filled with the same fear from her childhood of her mother's death.

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    The document provides context about the poet Kamala Das and introduces her poem "My Mother at Sixty-Six". It summarizes that the poem describes the poet's mother as looking very weak and old at sixty-six years of age. As the poet is leaving to go to the airport, her mother accompanies her and falls asleep with her mouth open, her face ashen like a corpse. This disturbs the poet and makes her think of her fear of losing her mother. She tries to smile and assure her mother she will see her again, but is filled with the same fear from her childhood of her mother's death.

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    418 views3 pages

    Class: Xii Subject: English Poetry: My Mother at Sixty Six (By Kamala Das)

    Uploaded by

    ANANYA CHUGH
    The document provides context about the poet Kamala Das and introduces her poem "My Mother at Sixty-Six". It summarizes that the poem describes the poet's mother as looking very weak and old at sixty-six years of age. As the poet is leaving to go to the airport, her mother accompanies her and falls asleep with her mouth open, her face ashen like a corpse. This disturbs the poet and makes her think of her fear of losing her mother. She tries to smile and assure her mother she will see her again, but is filled with the same fear from her childhood of her mother's death.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 3

    CLASS : XII

    SUBJECT : ENGLISH
    POETRY : MY MOTHER AT SIXTY SIX
    (BY KAMALA DAS)

    About the Poet


    Kamala Das (1934-2009) was born in Malabar, Kerala. She is recognised as
    one of India’s foremost poets. Her works are known for their originality,
    versatility and the indigenous flavour of the soil. She has published many
    novels and short stories. She wrote under the pen name “Madhavi Kutty”.

    Introduction
    My mother at sixty six is written by Kamala Das who is famous for capturing
    complexities of human relationships. The poem my mother at sixty six is one of
    the finest examples of the human bonding, especially that of a mother and
    daughter. It describes the pain and fear of the poet - of losing her mother due
    to harsh reality of life which is death.

    Summary
    The poet, in this poem describes her mother. She says that she is sixty six
    years old and looks very weak and old. When the poet was returning from her
    parent’s home and was on the way to the airport, her mother was
    accompanying her. She noticed her mother who was sitting with her at the
    back seat of the car. She was sleeping with her mouth wide open, her face was
    the colour of ash. It looked lifeless. This very thought disturbed her so much
    that she diverted her mind and looked outside the car. She saw the trees by the
    roadside which seemed to be running. There were young children running into
    the playground. All this symbolised life, energy and happiness in contrast to
    her mother’s appearance. When she reached the airport, she again looked at
    her ailing mother who looked old and dull like the weak moon in the winter
    season. The poet was surrounded by the same fear that she had during her
    childhood - the fear of losing her mother. She thought that may be this was the
    last time that she saw her mother alive. Her mother was about to die. But then
    she tried to come out of the sadness and smiled at her mother. She said that
    soon she would see her again. The poet wanted to be with her mother again
    and did not want to lose her.
    Literary Devices
     Assonance: Here we see the use of vowel sound that is ‘o’.(To Cochin last
    Friday morning)
     Assonance: Use of vowel sound ‘o’,’a’, ‘e’ (doze, open mouthed, her face
    ashen like that of a corpse)
     Simile: The colour of the mother’s face has been compared to that of a
    corpse - ashen. use of ‘like’  (her face ashen like that of a corpse)
     Consonance: use of the sound ‘s’ and ‘t’
     Imagery: when the poet say trees sprinting, merry children spilling
     Repetition:  Repeated use of ‘looked’
     Repetition: use of ‘smile’
     Rhyme scheme - The poem does not follow any rhyme or rhythm. It has
    been written in free verse.
     Simile: Mother’s face is compared to the late winter’s moon - both are
    dull and lifeless. use of ‘as’ (as a late winter’s moon).
     

    NCERT Question and Answers


    Q1. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?
    A1 When the poet sees her ageing mother who is about to die, she felt the pain
    of losing her. This is similar to the pain which she use to feel if her mother was
    not near her. She feels that as her mother is growing old and pale, she will die
    soon and they will get separated. Time and death never spare anyone. Not even
    the poet’s mother and so, she has to lose her.
    Q2. Why are the young trees described as sprinting?
    A2. While the poet was on her way to the airport. She saw the trees beside the
    road which seemed to be running fast as she was travelling in a car. It seemed
    as if they were sprinting. Here the poet tries to show the difference between her
    pale and weak mother who looked like a corpse and the trees that were
    running and were full of life.
    Q3. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of
    their homes’?
    A3. The poet brings in the image of the merry children to show the deep
    contrast between the joy and happiness of the life which can be seen in the
    merry children and the passivity of life which can be felt by looking at the
    ashen face of the old mother who is old and decaying.
    Q4. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?
    A4. The mother has been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’ because the
    moon in the winter season is dim and appears lifeless, it doesn’t look shiny.
    Similarly, the poet’s mother, due to ageing, has become dull, her colour is
    similar to that of ash. It looks dull and has lost its youth. She looks like a
    corpse.
    Q5. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
    A5. The poet’s parting words “see you soon, Amma” show the pain and fear of
    losing her mother. But she smiles and looks at her mother to give her ailing
    mother assurance that she will meet her soon. Here one can easily see that she
    is trying to hide her real feelings of pain and fear from her mother and tries to
    console herself and her mother that they both will be able to see each other
    again.

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