21 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in the common exam-style shapes. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markWho wrote “My Mother at Sixty-six”?
(A) Sarojini Naidu(B) Kamala Das(C) Toru Dutt(D) Adrienne Rich - 1 markUnder what pen name did Kamala Das publish her fiction?
(A) Amrita(B) Ismat(C) Sarala(D) Madhavikutty - 1 markWhere was the poet driving to when the poem takes place?
(A) Delhi(B) Mumbai(C) Chennai(D) Cochin - 1 markThe poet’s mother’s dozing face is compared to
(A) a corpse(B) a painting(C) a doll(D) a photograph - 1 markAt the airport, the poet compares her mother’s pale look to
(A) a late winter’s moon(B) a rose(C) a candle flame(D) a grey cloud - 1 markWhat does the poet do at the moment of parting, according to the poem’s last line?
(A) Cry and cry(B) Wave and wave(C) Smile and smile and smile(D) Sleep and sleep - 1 markWhere is the poet standing when she looks at her mother for the second time?
(A) At home(B) At a hospital(C) At the railway station(D) At the airport, after the security check
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): The poet feels a long-held fear, which the poem calls her “childhood’s fear”.
Reason (R): The poet directly tells her mother that she is afraid of losing her.
(A) A and R are both true, and R correctly explains A(B) A and R are both true, but R does not explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): The poem has no stanza breaks.
Reason (R): It is written as one continuous, enjambed sentence.
(A) A and R are both true, and R correctly explains A(B) A and R are both true, but R does not explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): “Young Trees sprinting” is an example of personification.
Reason (R): The trees are seen from a moving car, so they seem to rush past.
(A) A and R are both true, and R correctly explains A(B) A and R are both true, but R does not explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch List I (device) with List II (example from the poem).
List I: (i) Simile (ii) Personification (iii) Repetition (iv) Free verse
List II: (a) “Young Trees sprinting” (b) “smile and smile and smile” (c) “ashen like that of a corpse” (d) No end-rhyme or fixed metre anywhere in the poem
(A) i-c, ii-a, iii-b, iv-d(B) i-a, ii-b, iii-c, iv-d(C) i-d, ii-c, iii-b, iv-a(D) i-b, ii-a, iii-d, iv-c - 1 markMatch List I (movement in the poem) with List II (what happens in it).
List I: (i) First image (ii) Escape from the thought (iii) Second look (iv) Parting
List II: (a) Sprinting trees and merry children (b) “see you soon, Amma” (c) Mother dozing, ashen-faced (d) Mother wan, pale as a winter moon
(A) i-a, ii-c, iii-b, iv-d(B) i-c, ii-a, iii-d, iv-b(C) i-d, ii-b, iii-c, iv-a(D) i-b, ii-d, iii-a, iv-c
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markConsider the following statements.
Statement I: The poem contrasts the mother’s stillness with the motion of the young trees and children.
Statement II: This contrast sets youth beside the mother’s old age.
(A) Both statements are true, and Statement II explains Statement I(B) Both statements are true, but Statement II does not explain Statement I(C) Statement I is false, Statement II is true(D) Statement I is true, Statement II is false
5 Arrange in the Correct Order
Arrange in the Correct Order
- 1 markArrange these events in the order they occur in the poem.
1. The poet looks at her mother again, pale as a winter’s moon
2. The poet drives her mother to Cochin and sees her dozing
3. The poet says “see you soon, Amma” and smiles
4. The poet looks out at sprinting trees and merry children
(A) 1-2-3-4(B) 2-4-1-3(C) 4-1-2-3(D) 3-2-4-1 - 1 markArrange the poet’s reactions in the order they occur in the poem.
1. She feels the old familiar ache and childhood’s fear return
2. She realises with pain that her mother is truly old
3. She smiles and smiles, hiding what she feels
4. She puts the painful thought away and looks outside
(A) 1-3-2-4(B) 4-1-2-3(C) 3-2-1-4(D) 2-4-1-3
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 mark“…her face ______ like that of a corpse…”
(A) ashen(B) painted(C) shining(D) smiling - 1 mark“…I looked again at her, wan, pale as a late winter’s ______…”
(A) sun(B) star(C) cloud(D) moon
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markThree of these describe the poem’s images of the mother’s decline. Which one does not?
(A) “ashen like that of a corpse”(B) “wan, pale”(C) “late winter’s moon”(D) “merry children spilling”
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
Driving from my parent’s home to Cochin last Friday morning, I saw my mother, beside me, doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpse and realised with pain that she was as old as she looked but soon put that thought away, and looked out at Young Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes.
- 1 markIn this extract, what does the poet realise about her mother?
(A) That her mother is unwell(B) That her mother is truly as old as she looks(C) That her mother is asleep(D) That her mother is angry with her
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 markConsider the following statements.
(i) The poem has no rhyme scheme.
(ii) The poem is set during a train journey.
(A) Both are true(B) Both are false(C) Only (i) is true(D) Only (ii) is true - 1 markConsider the following statements.
(i) “Smile and smile and smile” is an example of repetition.
(ii) The poem ends with an exclamation mark.
(A) Both are true(B) Both are false(C) Only (i) is true(D) Only (ii) is true
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (B) The poem was written by Kamala Das (1934-2009).
- (D) The book’s own words are that she “published many novels and short stories in English and Malayalam under the name ‘Madhavikutty’.”
- (D) The poem opens: “Driving from my parent’s home to Cochin last Friday morning.”
- (A) The poem reads: “her face ashen like that of a corpse.”
- (A) The poem reads: “wan, pale as a late winter’s moon.”
- (C) The poem ends: “all I did was smile and smile and smile……”
- (D) The poem reads: “after the airport’s security check, standing a few yards away, I looked again at her.”
Assertion-Reason
- (C) A is true: at the airport she feels “that old familiar ache, my childhood’s fear”. R is false: the poet says nothing of this fear aloud; all she says is “see you soon, Amma,” while smiling.
- (B) Both are true, but R does not explain A: the single sentence and the absence of stanza breaks are the same feature of the poem’s form described twice.
- (B) Both are true, but R does not explain A: R describes how the trees look from the car, not why the phrase is personification (it is personification because the trees are given the human action of running).
Match the Following
- (A) Simile-“ashen like that of a corpse” (c); Personification-“Young Trees sprinting” (a); Repetition-“smile and smile and smile” (b); Free verse-no end-rhyme or fixed metre (d).
- (B) First image: mother dozing, ashen-faced (c); escape: sprinting trees and children (a); second look: wan, pale as a winter moon (d); parting: “see you soon, Amma” (b).
Statement-Based Questions
- (B) Both are true, but Statement II describes what the contrast does; it does not explain why Statement I holds.
Arrange in the Correct Order
- (B) The poet first sees her mother dozing (2), then looks out at the trees and children (4), then looks at her mother again at the airport (1), and finally parts with a smile (3).
- (D) She first realises her mother’s age with pain (2), pushes the thought away (4), and later the ache returns (1) before she finally hides it behind a smile (3).
Fill in the Blanks
- (A) The poem’s exact word is “ashen.”
- (D) The poem’s exact word is “moon.”
Odd One Out
- (D) “Merry children spilling out of their homes” describes the youthful world outside, not the mother’s decline.
Passage-Based Questions
- (B) The extract says she “realised with pain that she was as old as she looked.”
True / False
- (C) (i) is true: the poem is free verse. (ii) is false: the journey is by car, to the airport.
- (C) (i) is true: the word “smile” occurs three times. (ii) is false: the poem ends with an ellipsis (“……”), not an exclamation mark.
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