Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.

      

Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.

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poe32120191206.png

While outside
The mourners cried
Louder than the Orphan.

By Grace Birabwa Isharaza.

1. What is the poem about? (3mks)

2. Comment on the title of the poem. (2mks)

3. What is the attitude of the persona towards the mourners? Explain your answer.(4mks) 4. Paraphrase the message in the fourth stanza. (3mks)

5. Explain the following lines as used in the poem (2mks)
(i) They cried dutiful tears for the deceased.
(ii) And there was Light in the darkness of the hut

6 Comment on the tone of the poem (2mks)

7. Identify and illustrate two stylistic devices used in the poem. (4mks)

  

Answers


Martin
Answers
1. - A woman who was silk and hospitalized
- Was never visited by her relatives who claimed they were busy
- Later the woman dies and ironically the relatives come in large numbers vowing that they cannot miss the burial
- During the funeral her only daughter (who had stayed with her in hospital) seems unmoved and the relatives start backbiting her ( Total 3 mks)

2.'The smiling orphan' has been used in reference to the illiterate daughter who had stayed in hospital with the mother but now is perceived as not being in mourning by the other mourners.

3. Sarcastic
'They had initially said that:-
Stanza 4 lines 3-5 how good …..
Stanza 7- line 1 mourned dutiful tears
He can see through their hypocrisy, initially they were not bothered but after her death they come in droves
- (Student must cite examples and explain their relevance to the altitude identified
Mark 1 mark for identification, 1 for example and 1 for illustration

4. While the woman is in hospital suffering her relatives never bothered to visit her they pledged lack of time and money and they also said that there was no need for them to visit her at the hospital

5. i) Their tears were not genuine
ii) She felt relieved- she had unburdened her grief (with her lover there’s no condemnation)

6. Sarcastic/ satirical
- The mourners are satirized- they mourn louder than the bereaved
(Illus) stanza 8 last line 1 and 2

OR

Reproachful
- The persona condemns the mourners for assuming a self righteous attitude. They condemn the daughter who seems not to be mourning. The persona feels that their concern is rather belated

7. Repetition
--------- they came
--------- came
- To illustrate the fact that the mourners arrived for the funeral in large numbers

Rhetoric questions
- Would look after their homes?
- Was it crucial their presence?
Reveals the attitude of the mourners at the beginning; that they were not bothered

Symbolism
- there was light in the darkness
Light to symbolize the relief she feels after unburdening herself to the lover

Hyperbole
- Stanza 8….. their tears soak their garments. Enhances the satire – that the mourners cry much and we know that their grief isn’t genuine

Ellipsis
2nd last stanza (10)
Enhances suspense, allows imagination, and reveals the feelings of the orphan the strain she’s been under e.t.c.
marto answered the question on March 21, 2019 at 07:11


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