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Chapter 2.1 The Clothesline

Textbook Questions and Answers

1. Read the poem aloud. Recite any stanza of your choice from memory.

Question 1.
Read the poem aloud. Recite any stanza of your choice from memory.

2. Answer the following questions with reference to the poem.

Question a.
What is described in the poem?
Answer:
The poetess Charlotte Druitt Cole describes the clothes on the clothesline swaying in the wind, waiting to be free.

Question b.
What are the clothes compared to? Give two examples.
Answer:
The clothes are compared to white snow, restive horses, fairy-tale witches, a bird and a sail.

Question c.
What do restive horses do?
Answer:
Restive horses are unable to remain still; dance in a lively, playful manner and walk or move with high springy steps.
OR
Restive horses caper and prance

Question d.
What do fairy-tale witches do?
Answer:
Fairy-tale, witches dance wildly in a very hard and violent manner.

Question e.
What did one of the fluttering creatures do?
Answer:
One of the fluttering creatures freed herself from the clutches of the pegs, and soared high into the air like a bird and made it difficult for anyone to find her.

Question f.
What could have happened to the one who flew away? Who was she?
Answer:
The one who flew away happened to be the poetess’ handkerchief. She could be hidden somewhere in a ditch or drowned in the sea.

3. Form groups and discuss the following questions:

Question a.
Why are clothes compared to living things?
Answer:
The clothes are compared to living things, as they feel they need to be free from any kind of bondage just like living things.

Question b.
The events described in the poem take place at a certain place, at a certain period of the year, under specific weather conditions. Describe the place, the time and the weather conditions.
Answer:
The events described may be taking place in the backyard of a household, during the spring season, whilst the warm air in the afternoon makes the weather seem warmer than usual.

4. When we say that two or more words rhyme, we mean that they end with the same sound or syllable. For example, ‘ring – sing’. Rhyming words are often used in the verse at the end of the lines. List the rhyming words from the poem. Note the words ‘behind’ and ‘wind’. They have similar spellings, that is they look the same. But they are pronounced differently, that is, they do not ‘sound’ the same. This is known as ‘eye rhyme’. Separate the examples of eye rhymes from the following list.
Answer:

5. List all the phrases from the poem in which two or more words are joined with ‘and’.

Question 1.
List all the phrases from the poem in which two or more words are joined with ‘and’.
Answer:

1. hither and thither
2. caper and prance
3. shiver and skip
4. flipping and flapping and flopping

6. Form groups and discuss what must have happened to the handkerchief. Write the story in your own words.

Question 1.
Form groups and discuss what must have happened to the handkerchief. Write the story in your own words.
Answer:
Wash your handkerchief clean. Hang it with a peg to dry in the wind. Watch how it flutters.

7. Wash your handkerchief clean. Hang it with a peg to dry in the wind. Watch how it flutters.

Question 1.
Wash your handkerchief clean. Hang it with a peg to dry in the wind. Watch how it flutters.

8. Complete the following comparisons.
as white us ………………….
as green as ………………….
us red as ………………….
as blue as ………………….
us black as ………………….
as bright as ………………….

Question a.
Rewrite these comparisons using the comparative degree.
Example: Whiter than snow
Answer:

• Bluer than sky
• Blacker than coal.
• Redder than blood.

Question b.
Find suitable objects for each comparison.
Example: Petals or flowers or feathers whiter than snow.
Answer:

• Ocean or eyes bluer than sky.
• Leaves or moss greener than grass.
• Crow or night blacker than coal.
• Sapphire or rose redder than blood.
• Stars or light brighter than sun.

Additional Important Questions and Answers

Reading Skills and Poetic Device

Read the following extract and answer the questions given below.

Question 1.
How do the clothes on the clothesline dance?
Answer:
The clothes on the clothesline dance hand-in-hand in a row, hither and thither, and to and fro.

Question 2.
How do they go?
Answer:
They go flipping, flopping and flapping away.

Question 3.
What are the clothes on the clothesline compared to?
Answer:
The clothes on the clothesline are compared to fluttering creatures that are as white as snow.

Question 4.
What do they do in the merry March wind?
Answer:
The clothes on the clothesline shiver and skip in the merry March wind.

Question 5.
Pick out the rhyming words from the 1st stanza.
Answer:
The rhyming words are ‘row-fro-go-snow’.

Question 6.
Pick out the eye rhyme pair from the 2nd stanza.
Answer:
The pair of eye rhyme in the 2nd stanza is ‘behind-wind’.

Read the following extract and answer the questions given below.

Question 1.
How was she struggling? Why?
Answer:
She was struggling wildly to be free.

Question 2.
Whom did she leave behind?
Answer:
She left pegs and clothesline behind.

Question 3.
How did she fly?
Answer:
She flew like a bird.

Question 4.
What did she gleam like?
Answer:
She gleamed like a sail in the sun.

Question 5.
What was she doing for fun?
Answer:
She was flipping and flopping and flapping for fun.

Question 6.
Where could she now be?
Answer:
She could now be hidden in a ditch or drowned in the sea.

Question 7.
What does the poetess know?
Answer:
The poetess knows for a fact that her handkerchief won’t ever come back to her pocket.

Question 8.
Pick out the rhyming words from the 2nd stanza.
Answer:
The rhyming words are : sun – fun; be – sea.

Summary in English

Paraphrase:

The white clothes that are hung on the clotheslines seem to be dancing in a carefree manner. The clothes’ movements resemble restless horses and their dance reminds the poetess of the wild dance of witches in fairy tales when they dance in the March wind. The poet claims to have seen her handkerchief struggling to be free of the pegs, thereby freeing herself and flying out of reach, like a bird.

The poetess saw her handkerchief flying away merrily. The handkerchief could now be somewhere hiding in a ditch or drowned in the sea. The poetess feels sad about the handkerchief leaving her, knowing very well that she won’t return.

Introduction:

The poetess Charlotte Druitt speaks about the clothes, flapping and blowing on the clothesline on a windy day. She mentions about her handkerchief which left the pegs, gleaming like a sail in the sun and no one could find her.

Glossary:

1. ditch – a trench
2. gleam – a small shaft, stream of light
3. sail – a piece of cloth attached to the mast of a boat to catch the wind and propel it.