EXILED (Class-10)

 

EXILED – Edna St Vincent Millay

1.    What is making the poet unhappy?

Ans: The poet is fed up of the din of the city life and longs for the sea. She feels exasperated and trapped amidst great buildings, and is confused with lights.

2.    What sound does the poet want to hear?

Ans: The poet longs to hear the loud and the soft sounds of the sea waves which she considers to be very soothing to her ears. She also wishes to hear the “green piles” making sound and the sea gulls flying.

3.    What sight does the poet want to see?

Ans: The poet wishes to see the agile movement of the barrels and the “black sticks” which are used as fence to set trap for fish. The poet also longs to see the ‘mussels’ crusting the wrecked and decaying body of the ship.

4.    Where does the wild sweet-pea grow and what does it mark?

Ans:  The wild sweet-pea grows in the roots of sand near the sea. It marks the beginning of winter.

5.    Which two powerful feelings does the sea provoke in the poet?

Ans: The two powerful feelings that the sea provokes in the poet are the “sticky”, salty sea water which the poet considers to be sweet and the loud and soft sounds of the sea waves. Both attract the poet towards the sea and she has an intense longing to experience those.

6.    How does the city make the poet feel? Why?

Ans: In the inaugural stanza of the poem, the poet expresses her deep desire to go to the sea. She says that she is tired of the “words and people” and “sick of the city”. The poet is fed up of the din of the city life and longs for the sea. She feels exasperated and trapped amidst great buildings, and is confused with lights.

7.    Who sang the ‘Shanties’? Why are they straining?

Ans: The ‘shanties’ are songs sung by the sailors, with alternating solo and chorus, while they work together in the ship. They are straining because they are apprehensive and frightened of the tides rising in the sea. They also fear the thick fog outside which could obstruct their journey and cause any mishap.

8.    When was the poet happy?

Ans: The poet was happy when she was on the coast of Maine, a state in the United States of America, known for its rocky coastline and maritime mountain. She would be spending all day long in that place and ‘hold’ and ‘handle’ ‘shells’, ‘anchors’ and ‘ships’ again.

B. Reference to the Context.

1. Always I climbed…. at night.

a. What could the poet mean by ‘I climbed the wave’?

Ans: By the phrase ‘I climbed the wave’ the poet means that she would step on the sea waves that reached her doorsteps.

b. As implied by these lines, how long did the poet spend on the beach every day?

Ans: The above lines imply that the poet has been spending the whole day starting from morning till night on the beach every day.

2. Dread the bell in ‘the fog’ outside.

a. What does ‘dread’ mean?

Ans: ‘Dread’ here implies fear of an impending danger.

b. Why would a bell be rung when it was foggy?

Ans: A bell would be rung when it was foggy in order to warn the other ships of danger because during a foggy weather nothing is visible to the sight.

c. What might happen to a ship off the coast of Maine if they didn’t hear the fog bell?

Ans: If the sailors of a ship off the coast of Maine did not hear the sound of the bell which is rang to alert them, then there is every possibility of a huge collision which would surely bring death. In other words, the ship might get wrecked.