CBSE Class 12 English My Mother at Sixty Six Worksheet

Stanza for Comprehension

Question. What is the main idea of the poem?
(a) Painful old age
(b) discolouration of skin
(c) carelessness of a daughter
(d) lack of strength

Answer: A

Question. What is the distinctive feature of the poem?
(a) its metaphors
(b) simile used
(c) alliteration used
(d) narrative style using a single sentence in a set of 14 lines

Answer: D

Question. What is the familiar ache?
(a) her childhood fear of losing her mother
(b) her mother’s weak health
(c) her duties
(d) her helplessness

Answer: A

Question. In which languages has Kamla Das written stories and novels?
(a) English and Tamil
(b) English and Hindi
(c) English and Urdu
(d) English and Malayalam

Answer: D

Question. Name the poetic devices used in the poem.
(a) metaphor
(b) similie
(c) alliteration
(d) all of these

Answer: D

Question. What is the significance of the title My Mother at Sixty Six?
(a) Poet’s fear of losing her old mother
(b) Poet’s fear of moving fast
(c) Poet’s inability to express her feelings
(d) All of these

Answer: A

Question. What was the expression of the poet’s face while parting from her mother?
(a) satirical
(b) smiling
(c) funny
(d) sad

Answer: B

Question. What does the poet notice outside the car ?
(a) sprinting trees and running children
(b) schools and roads
(c) other vehicles
(d) many people on the road

Answer: A

Question. Which poetic device is used in “Trees sprinting-” ?
(a) metaphor
(b) simile
(c) alliteration
(d) Personification

Answer: D

Question. What do the running trees signify?
(a) fast moving appearance
(b) speed of the moving car
(c) fast moving change in human life from childhood to old age
(d) none

Answer: C

Question. What was the poet’s childhood fear?
(a) Parting from her husband
(b) Parting from her friends
(c) Parting from her siblings
(d) losing her mother

Answer: D

Question. What pangs did she feel when she looked at her mother?
(a) Pangs of headache
(b) Pangs of stomachache
(c) Pangs of knee pain
(d) Pangs of heartache

Answer: D

Question. What worried the poet when she looked at her mother?
(a) her face
(b) her broken arm
(c) her loving words
(d) her declining age

Answer: D

Question. Quote an example of a simile used in the poem.
(a) familiar ache
(b) like that of a corpse
(c) wan and pale
(d) the merry children

Answer: B

Question. Who is the poet of this poem?
(a) John Keats
(b) Rudyard Kipling
(c) William Wordsworth
(d) Kamala Das

Answer: D

Question. What does the expression smile, smile and smile signify?
(a) poet was going home and was elated
(b) poet was happy
(c) poet was hopeless
(d) poet’s desperate efforts to hide her fears

Answer: D

Question. What do the parting words "See you soon Amma" signify?
(a) her carelessness
(b) Her optimistic farewell full of cheerfulness
(c) she bids goodbye like this
(d) she is in a hurry

Answer: B

Question. What does the poet’s smile signify in the poem?
(a) Her assurance to mother and helplessness inside
(b) she has a responsibility
(c) she has to do her duty first
(d) she is a loving daughter

Answer: A

Question. What did the poet realize with pain?
(a) her mother’s appearance like a corpse
(b) she is inconsiderate
(c) old age is pleasant
(d) she has duties

Answer: A

Question. What were the words she used while parting from her mother?
(a) See you soon Ba
(b) See you soon beeji
(c) See you soon mata ji
(d) See you soon, amma

Answer: D

Stanza 1
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 but soon
put that thought away,

Question. Name the poem and the poet.
(a) Keeping Quiet - Pablo Neruda
(b) A Roadside Stand - Robert Frost
(c) My Mother at Sixty Six – Kamala Das
(d) A Thing of Beauty - John Keats

Answer : C

Question. Where was the poet going?
(a) Cochin airport
(b) Bombay airport
(c) Delhi airport
(d) Madras Airport

Answer : A

Question. Who was sitting beside her?
(a) the poet’s mother
(b) the poet’s father
(c) the poet’s brother
(d) no idea

Answer : A

Question. When was the poet going?
(a) on Monday
(b) on Wednesday
(c) on Sunday
(d) on Friday

Answer : D

Question. How did her mother look like?
(a) like a late winter's moon.
(b) like a dead body
(c) like a corpse
(d) both b & c

Answer : D

Question. Where was the poet coming from?
(a) her in-laws’ house
(b) her parent’s home
(c) her office
(d) picnic

Answer : B

Question. Find word from the stanza which means same as ' sleep lightly'
(a) corpse
(b) beside
(c) doze
(d) realised

Answer : C

Stanza 2
…..and looked out at young
trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes,
but after the airport's security check, standing a few yards away,
I looked again at her, wan, pale

Question. Who looked out?
(a) Kamala Das
(b) her mother
(c) the driver
(d) both a & b

Answer : A

Question. How do trees seem to be?
(a) moving
(b)rustling
(c) spilling
(d) sprinting

Answer : D

Question. The children were coming out of their......
(a) homes
(b) school
(c) tuition classes
(d) both a & c

Answer : A

Question. Pick out the word from the stanza which means the same as ‘happy'.
(a) wan
(b) sprinting
(c) merry
(d) spilling

Answer : C

Question. Which process did the poet go at airport?
(a) luggage checking
(b) security process
(c) tickets purchasing
(d) both a & b

Answer : D

Question. What did the poet do after security check?
(a) moved towards plane
(b) looked at her mother
(c) came back to see her mother
(d) purchased tickets

Answer : B

Question. What is the meaning of ‘wan'?
(a) sickly
(b) lack of energy
(c) colourless
(d) both a & c

Answer : D

Stanza 3
…as a late winter’s moon and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,
but all I said was, see you soon, Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and smile…….

Question. What was the old familiar ache?
(a) fear of separation from her mother
(b) fear of her mother’s death
(b) fear of not seeing her mother again
(d) all of the above

Answer : D

Question. Which poetic device is used in….’as a late winter’s moon’?
(a) metaphor
(b) simile
(c) pun
(d) personification

Answer : B

Question. What were the parting words?
(a) bye bye “Amma”
(b) take care, “Amma”
(c) see you soon, “Amma”
(d) nothing

Answer : C

Question. Find the words from the stanza which mean the same as: (i) well known (ii) pain
(a) (i) ache (ii) familiar
(b) (i) fear (ii) ache
(c) (i) familiar (ii) fear
(d) (i) familiar (ii) ache

Answer : D

Question. Poetic device used in ‘smile and smile and smile’.
(a) repetition
(b) alliteration
(c) pun
(d) metaphor

Answer : A

Question. With whom did the poet compare her mother?
(a) with Amma
(b) with late winter’s moon
(c) with herself
(d) with no one

Answer : B

Question. What does the word “Amma” refer to the poet?
(a) her mother
(b) her grandmother
(c) her elder sister
(d) all of the above

Answer : A

Question. What does the narrative single sentence style of the poem highlight?
(a) Poet’s feelings
(b) Poet’s insecurities
(c) Poet’s thoughts
(d) Poet’s intertwining thoughts
Answer. D

Question. Which rhyming scheme is used in the poem?
(a) coupled rhyme
(b) monorhyme
(c) Alternate rhyme
(d) free verse
Answer. D

Question. Quote an example of a simile used in the poem.
(a) familiar ache
(b) like that of a corpse
(c) wan and pale
(d) the merry children
Answer. B

Question. Quote an example of a metaphor used in the poem.
(a) As a late winter’s moon
(b) The merry children spilling out of their homes
(c) Driving from my parent’s home
(d) None of the above
Answer. B

Question. Quote an example of alliteration used in the poem.
(a) like ashen
(b) smile, smile and smile
(c) Friday morning
(d) None of the above
Answer. D

Question. Quote an example of personification used in the poem.
(a) sprinting trees
(b) home to Cochin
(c) airport’s security check
(d) All of these
Answer. A

Question. How is the imagery of ‘young trees and merry children’ a contrast to the mother?
(a) mother is old in comparison to the trees and children
(b) mother is like ash while the trees are green and children are happy
(c) like spring and autumn season
(d) mother’s health-hopelessness and trees and merry children- youthfulness and hope
Answer. D

Question. What was the expression of the poet’s face while parting from her mother?
(a) satirical
(b) funny
(c) sad
(d) smiling
Answer. D

Question. Why does the poet feel parted, upset and sad?
(a) because of her fears
(b) because she was getting late
(c) fear of missing her flight
(d) because of her duty towards mother and her own needs
Answer. D

Question. Why did the poet look at her mother again?
(a) because she was busy
(b) because she was going away
(c) because she wanted to stay back
(d) because of fear and insecurity
Answer. D

Question. What question arises from the complexity of the situation in the poem?
(a) what to do in old age
(b) how to take care of one’s loved ones
(c) how to drive
(d) how to strike a balance between duties and responsibilities
Answer. D

Question. What is the tone of the poem towards the end?
(a) sad
(b) hopeless
(c) cheerful
(d) resignation with acceptance
Answer. C

Question. What do the parting words “See you soon Amma” signify?
(a) her carelessness
(b) her optimistic farewell full of cheerfulness
(c) she bids goodbye like this
(d) she is in a hurry
Answer. B

Question. What does the expression smile, smile and smile signify?
(a) poet was going home and was elated
(b) poet was happy
(c) poet was hopeless
(d) poet’s desperate efforts to hide her fears
Answer. D

Question. What does the poet’s smile signify in the poem?
(a) her assurance to mother and helplessness inside
(b) she has responsibilities
(c) she has to do her duty first
(d) she is a loving daughter
Answer. A

Question. ‘Smile and smile and smile’ is an_______.
(a) anaphora
(b) simile
(c) alliteration
(d) personification
Answer. A

Question. The poetess says her mother looked pale like a_____.
(a) corpse
(b) ghost
(c) malnourished child
(d) anaemic person
Answer. A

Question. Kamala Das is a ______.
(a) Bengali
(b) Punjabi
(c) Keralite
(d) Gujarati
Answer. C

Question. The tone of the poet in the poem is primarily a combination of _________ and ________. 
1. dauntlessness
2. apprehension
3. dejection
4. disappointment
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 3 and 4
(d) 1 and 4
Answer. B

Question. The phrase ‘old familiar ache’ has been used to refer to a _____.
(a) fear
(b) sadness
(c) happiness
(d) anxiety
Answer. A

Question. Assertion: The poet was worried about her mother.
Reason: Her mother was going to other city.
(i) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(ii) Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(iii) Assertion is true and reason is false.
(iv) Assertion is false and reason is true.
Answer. C

Question. Assertion: Poet’s mother looked very dull and lethargic.
Reason: She was tired of her work.
(i) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(ii) Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(iii) Assertion is true and reason is false.
(iv) Assertion is false and reason is true.
Answer. C

Question. Assertion: The poet looked at the young trees and playing children out of the window.
Reason: She wanted to avoid the thought of her mother who was growing old.
(i) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(ii) Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(iii) Assertion is true and reason is false.
(iv) Assertion is false and reason is true.
Answer. A

Question. Assertion: The smile on the poet’s face was natural and the outcome of her going to Cochin.
Reason: The poet was not confident whether she would be able to see her mother again.
(i) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(ii) Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(iii) Assertion is true and reason is false.
(iv) Assertion is false and reason is true.
Answer. D

Question. Assertion: The poet’s mother has been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’.
Reason: She was as beautiful as the moon in her young age.
(i) Both assertion and reason are correct and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(ii) Both assertion and reason are correct but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(iii) Assertion is true and reason is false.
(iv) Assertion is false and reason is true
Answer. C

Questions on the Extracts from the Poem

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
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 realized with pain
that she was as old as she
looked but soon
put that thought away….

(a) Choose the option that best applies to the given extract
1. a conversation  2. an argument  3. a piece of advice 4. a strategy
5. a recollection  6. a suggestion
(a) 1, 3 & 6
(b) 2, 4 & 5
(c) Only 5
(d) Only 1
Answer : C

(b) Choose the book title that perfectly describes the condition of the poet’s mother.

(a) Title 1
(b) Title 2
(c) Title 3
(d) Title 4
Answer : C

(c) Choose the option that applies correctly to the two statements given below.
Assertion: The poet wards off the thought of her mother getting old quickly.
Reason: The poet didn’t want to confront the inevitability of fate that was to dawn upon her mother.
(a) Assertion can be inferred but the Reason cannot be inferred.
(b) Assertion cannot be inferred but the Reason can be inferred.
(c) Both Assertion and Reason can be inferred.
(d) Both Assertion and Reason cannot be inferred.
Answer : C

(d) Choose the option that displays the same literary device as in the given lines of the extract. her face ashen like that of a corpse…
(a) Just as I had this thought, she appeared and…
(b) My thoughts were as heavy as lead that evening when …
(c) I think like everyone else who…
(d) I like to think aloud when …
Answer : B

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
and looked out at Young
Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes, but after the airport’s
security check, standing a few yards
away, I looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s moon and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear

(a) What thought did the poet put away?
(a) of her mother’s declining health
(b) to wake up her mother
(c) of leaving her parent’s house
(d) that she would not be able to bid adieu to her mother
Answer : A

(b) The sprinting trees are a symbol of
(a) playfulness
(b) joy
(c) energy
(d) contentment
Answer : B

(c) The example of a Metaphor in the above extract is:
(a) Merry children spilling out of their homes
(b) Trees sprinting
(c) late winter’s moon
(d) Both (a) and(b)
Answer : D

(d) The joyful scene of trees and children did not drive away the poet’s painful thought because:
(a) she was feeling emotional
(b) her mother was looking old and pale
(c) of her mother’s poor health
(d) all of the above
Answer : D

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
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,

(a) Where was the poet going?
(a) To her parents’ home
(b) To Cochin
(c) To drop her mother
(d) None of the above
Answer : B

(b) The poetic device used in ‘ashen like that of a corpse’ is:
(a) simile
(b) personification
(c) metaphor
(d) imagery
Answer : A

(c) Why was the realisation painful?
(a) The poet was going away from her mother.
(b) Her mother was looking sad.
(c) It had a fear of separation.
(d) Her mother’s face had turned pale.
Answer : C

(d) The thought that the poet put away was one of:
(a) love
(b) sympathy
(c) compassion
(d) concern
Answer : D

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
I looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s moon and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,
but all I said was, see you soon, Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and smile......

(a) The poet compares her mother’s face to the ‘late winter’s moon’ because:
(a) it is pale and dull
(b) her mother looks like corpse
(c) her mother’s face is calm and serene
(d) she does not like the winter moon
Answer : A

(b) What does the phrase ‘familiar ache’ mean?
(a) the poet’s restlessness and helplessness
(b) the pain the poet experiences on seeing her mother’s old age
(c) a pain that has been experienced by the poet
(d) the pain of seeing her mother’s ashen face.
Answer : D

(c) Why does the poet say, ‘see you soon, Amma’?
(a) to bid farewell to her mother
(b) in an attempt to get rid of her fear
(c) she is being separated from her mother
(d) as a reassurance to herself
Answer : D

(d) The poetic device used in the last line is:
(a) alliteration
(b) paradox
(c) repetition
(d) assonance
Answer : C

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
And looked out at Young
Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes, but after the airport’s
security check, standing a few yards
away, I looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s moon and felt that old
familiar ache…

(a) What is the most likely reason the poet capitalised ‘Young Trees’? This was to
(a) convey a clearer meaning
(b) highlight the adjective-noun combination
(c) enhance the contrast
(d) draw a connection with the title
Answer : C

(b) Choose the option that appropriately describes the relationship between the two statements given below.
Statement 1: The poet knows her mother has aged.
Statement 2: The poet feels the pain of separation.
(a) Beginning – Ending
(b) Cause – Effect
(c) Question – Answer
(d) Introduction – Conclusion
Answer : B

(c) Choose the option that completes the sentence given below.
Just as the brightness of the winter’s moon is veiled behind the haze and mist, similarly, ____________.
(a) the pain of separation has shaded mother’s expression.
(b) age has fogged mother’s youthful appearance.
(c) growing up has developed a seasoned maturity in the poet.
(d) memories warm the heart like the pale moon in winter.
Answer : B

(d) Choose the correct option out of the ones given below

(a) Option 1
(b) Option 2
(c) Option 3
(d) Option 4
Answer : D

Stand-Alone Multiple Choice Questions

Question. In the poem, My Mother at Sixty-six, all that the poet did was smile and smile and smile…, Her smile is
(a) sudden, in response to her mother’s.
(b) meaningful and loaded with love.
(c) accompanied with tears of farewell.
(d) put on to cheer her mother.
Answer : D

Question. The poet in ‘My Mother at Sixty Six’ has a feeling of ............. towards her mother.
(a) anxiety
(b) fear
(c) pain
(d) sadness
Answer : A

Question. What do ‘the merry children’ symbolise?
(a) vigour and happiness
(b) confidence and energy
(c) anxiety and despair
(d) excitement and eagerness
Answer : A

Question. Kamala Das’ elongated smile signifies a sense of:
(a) Grief
(b) Fear
(c) Pain
(d) Reassurance
Answer : D

Question. Why did Kamala Das look at her mother again?
(a) She was going away.
(b) She was fearful and insecure.
(c) To see if her mother was awake.
(d) She wanted to wake up her either.
Answer : B

Question. The main idea of the poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty Six’ is:
(a) fear of loss and separation
(b) loss of youth
(c) declining health
(d) loss of beauty
Answer : A

Question. The poet, Kamala Das, looks out of the window:
(a) to all the trees sprinting
(b) as she was feeling bored
(c) to see the merry children
(d) in an attempt to distract herself
Answer : D

Question. The tone of the poet in the poem is primarily a combination of _________ and ________.
1. dauntlessness 2. apprehension 3. dejection 4. disappointment
(a) 1, 2
(b) 2, 3
(c) 3, 4
(d) 1, 4
Answer : B

Question. The poet, Kamala Das uses her elongated smile to:
(a) make herself happy.
(b) make her mother feel happy.
(c) to hide her pain.
(d) to comfort her mother.
Answer : C

Question. Kamala Das uses the simile ‘as a late winter’s moon’ to signify:
(a) Shine and strength
(b) Dull and decay
(c) Energy and vigour
(d) Dark and cloudy
Answer : B

Question. On seeing her mother’s ashen face Kamala Das feels:
(a) Fear
(b) Pain
(c) Panic
(d) Aversion
Answer : B

Question. The phrase ‘old familiar ache’ has been used to refer to a fear, in this extract. This phrase can also be used to
(a) compare physical pain with mental agony.
(b) elicit someone’s unanswered queries.
(c) substantiate reasons for aches and pains.
(d) describe a longing one has been aware of.
Answer : D

1. Answer the following questions in 30 – 40 words:

a. Why do people’s views on interviews differ from those of celebrities?

b. What was odd about Rudyard Kipling interviewing Mark Twain?

c. What are Denis Brian’s views about interviews and interviewers?

d. What does Umberto Eco mean by eliminating empty spaces from the universe and our lives?

2. Answer in about 125 – 150 words. 

a. Are celebrities in ‘The Interview’ justified in condemning interviews?

b. Write your impressions about Mukund Padmanabham as our interviewer. 

Aunt Jennifer’s Tiger

1. Explain the following very briefly:-

a. topaz denizens of a world of green

b. pace in sleek chivalric certainty

c. Why do aunt’s fingers find it hard to pull ivory needle?

d. Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by

e. Wedding band sits heavily on Aunt Jennifer’s hand.

2. Write in 30 – 40 words:-

a. What kind of married life did Aunt Jennifer lead?   

b. Why did Jenny choose to embroider tigers on the screen?

c. What are ‘Aunt Jenny’s death’ and ‘prancing proud tigers’ symbolic of?

3. Vistas: Should Wizard Hit Mommy?

Answer in 125 words:

a. How did Jack end his story? Why do you think he ended it thus?

b. What is the moral issue that the story raises?