First Flight - Dust of Snow (Q and A)
CBSE Class 10 - English
Poet: Robert Frost
Q1: Write the summary of the poem?
Answer:
⑴ The author was having a terrible day and was in a bad mood. He was standing near a hemlock tree which was poisonous.
⑵ A crow which must have perched upon the snow laden hemlock tree happened to sprinkle some snow dust on him.
⑶ The falling of the snow on his head lifted his mood instantly and his sad and depressive mood changed into an elated one due to the crow and the hemlock tree.
Q2: Write the theme of the poem.
Answer:
⑴ Nature has healing and curing power.
⑵ Small events in a person’s life can have a larger significance.
⑶ One should hope for the best even in the worst situations.
Key Points
① The poem ‘Dust of Snow’ by Robert Frost is a simple and short poem, yet with a deeper and larger meaning. The poet explains how an act as petty or simple as experiencing snow on one’s body can brighten one’s day. The two agents of nature, the hemlock tree and the crow are signifiers of sadness and gloom.
② Generally poets choose beautiful birds and trees for their poems. The poet has chosen a crow rather than a skylark or a nightingale. The crow, a black, dark creature, has an evil foreboding and is a symbol of fear, doom and death.
③ The poet has also chosen hemlock tree in place of oak, pine or maple tree. Hemlock tree is associated with poison and death as hemlock was the poison used to kill the great philosopher Socrates.
④ However, the poet has cleverly used these symbols or bad omens to signify that inauspicious things can bring joy and happiness, too.
⑤ Thus the poem teaches us a lesson that we must not take things for granted but should be open and accept whichever way nature chooses to bless us.
Q3: Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
(1) The poet was sitting under a _________
(2) Snow represents __________
(3) Crow represents __________
(4) Hemlock tree is a _________
Answer:
(1) Hemlock tree
(2) hopefulness sadness
(3) death/ ill omen
(4) poisonous tree
Q4: Explain the following stanza
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Answer: The poem is set in winters as there is snow on the tree. The poet is standing under the hemlock tree which is a poisonous tree having small white flowers. Coincidentally, a crow sitting on the branch of the tree, happens to shake it and some fine particles of snow dust from the tree fall on the poet .The crow’s specific action of shaking snow dust on the poet leaves the readers in doubt as it is not clearly mentioned whether the crow was preening, landing, shivering with cold or getting ready to fly off, but it just happened to throw some particles of snow upon the poet, unexpectedly. It is important to note that the hemlock tree and the crow are not merely the agents of nature but are also signifies of sadness and gloom.
Q5: Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.
(a) Of what change does the poet mention here ?
(b) Whose part of the day has been saved ?
(c) What is the rhyme scheme of the passage ?
(d) Who is the poet ?
Answer:
(a) The poet mentions the change of mood here.
(b) The poet's part of the day has been saved.
(c) The rhyme scheme of the passage is ab ab.
(a) Robert Frost is the poet.
Q6: Explain the following stanza
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.
Answer: The poet, for reasons unknown, was having a terrible day. He had already spent his day in a bad mood but the rest of it was saved by the crow and the hemlock tree. His mood underwent a change from sadness to that of happiness and he found himself partially relieved due to the crow’s action of throwing snow dust on him. He felt that rest part of his day had been saved from getting wasted. Generally, hemlock tree and crow are used for negative references but the poet has used them beautifully to portray that inauspicious things can bring joy and happiness too. The crow, a harbinger of doom and fear, becomes a catalyst for positive change. Thus the message is clear enough. Sometimes seemingly insignificant natural events do bring about change. Being outdoors with nature, with all its unpredictability, can benefit anyone, anywhere at anytime. A person can get relief even in the worst situation.
Literary Devices used in the poem:
⑴ Rhyme scheme: abab
Alliteration: Has given my heart;
And saved some part.
⑵ Symbolism: Hemlock tree is a symbol of death. The crow is also a symbol of bad luck and doom. part
⑶ Irony: A contrast between reality and expectation; between what is said and what is actually meant; between what appears to be true and the real truth. The action of the crow shaking off the dust from the hemlock tree on the poet is ironical as it has uplifted his sad mood and saved his day from getting ruined.
⑷ Enjambment: When the sentence continues to the next line without the use of any punctuation marks, signifying the continuity of thought. It has been used in the entire poem.
⑸ Inversion: When the structure of a sentence is changed by the poet to create rhyme, this poetic license is called inversion. An example of inversion can be seen in stanza 1.
⑹ Assonance: the prominence of a vowel sound throughout a line is called assonance. In stanza 1, line 2 - “Shook down on me” - ‘o’ sound is prominent.
⑺ Enjambment: when the same sentence continues to the next line without the use of any punctuation marks, it is called enjambment. It has been used thorughout the poem.
Q7: Simple moment proves to be very significant and saves rest of the day of poet from being wasted. Explain on the basis of the poem ‘Dust of Snow’. Answer it in about 100-150 words.
Answer:
In this poem, Robert Frost appreciates and depicts different positions of nature. Here he talks about different aspects of natural sights. There are many things in nature that are not viewed as auspicious like—crow and hemlock. Crow symbolises bad omen. Similarly, hemlock tree is a poisonous tree and symbolises sadness. When the crow shakes off the dust of snow from the hemlock tree, it falls on the poet. This changes the poet’s mood. The crow, a harbinger of doom and fear, becomes a catalyst for positive change. Thus the message is clear enough. Sometimes seemingly insignificant natural events do bring about change. Being outdoors with nature, with all its unpredictability, can benefit anyone, anywhere at anytime. A person can get relief even in the worst situation.
Very Short Answer Based Questions
Q8: What does a hemlock tree represent?
Answer: A hemlock tree is usually associated with poison and toxicity
Q9: Name the poet of ‘Dust of Snow’.
Answer: The name of the poet is Robert Frost.
Q10: What is a crow generally associated with?
Answer: A black crow is commonly a symbol of death and fear.
Q11: What had given the poet ‘a change of mood’?
Answer: The falling of dust of snow on him gave the poet ‘a change of mood’.
Q12: What did the poet think of that day?
Answer: The poet was in a sad mood that day, holding the day in regret.
Q13: What did the crow do to the hemlock tree?
Answer: The crow shook the branches of the hemlock tree and dust of snow fell on the poet.
Q14: Justify the role of the crow in the poem “Dust of Snow” in changing the poet’s mood.
Answer: I think, the way snow dust was shaken off changed his mood. Perhaps it gave the poet inspiration/idea to behave in the same manner—shake off his depressive thoughts and revive his cheerful mood.
👉See Also:
A Tiger in the Zoo (Poem Summary, Theme, Important Points)
Poem: Amanda (Summary, Theme, Q & A and MCQs)
Figures Of Speech
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