Summary
Summary Grade 12 IEB Poetry questions
- Course
- English Home Language
- Institution
- 12th Grade
Poetry questions for Grade 12 IEB 2024 In depth questions on all 16 prescribed poems to help you ace your exams
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By: amaanisingh • 2 months ago
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Grade 12Poetry Questions
1. To me, fair friend, you never can be old Shakespeare
2. The Sun Rising Donne
3. The Discardment Paton
4. Namaqualand after Rain Plomer
5. Touch Lewin
6. For Oom Piet Dowling
7. The Tenant Ngulube
8. Cockroaches Yambo
9. Strangers forever Kassam
10. Ozymandias of Egypt Shelley
11. Moving through the silent crowd Spender
12. Mirror Plath
13. Go, lovely Rose Waller
14. Will it be so again? Lewis
15. Remember Rossetti
16. nobody loses all the time Cummings
1
, Sonnet 104
To me, fair friend, you can never be old – Shakespeare
To me, fair friend, you never can be old,
For as you were when first your eye I eyed,
Such seems your beauty still. Three winters cold
Have from the forests shook three summers’ pride,
Three beauteous springs to yellow autumn turned
In process of the seasons have I seen,
Three April perfumes in three hot Junes burned,
Since first I saw you fresh, which yet are green.
Ah, yet doth beauty, like a dial-hand,
Steal from his figure, and no pace perceived;
So your sweet hue, which methinks still doth stand,
Hath motion, and mine eye may be deceived:
For fear of which, hear this, thou age unbred, -
Ere you were born was beauty’s summer dead.
2
, Questions
1. What is the central theme of the poem "To me, fair friend, you never can be old"?
2. How does the speaker perceive the aging process in relation to the beauty of the fair
friend?
3. In what way does the speaker use the changing seasons to describe the passage of
time?
4. How does the imagery of "Three April perfumes in three hot Junes burned" contribute
to the overall meaning of the poem?
5. What role does the concept of beauty play in the speaker's perception of the fair
friend's agelessness?
6. How does the comparison of beauty to a "dial-hand" contribute to the speaker's
understanding of time and aging?
7. What is the significance of the line "Ere you were born was beauty’s summer dead" in
the context of the poem?
8. How does the speaker address the fear of deception in the perception of beauty
over time?
9. In what ways does the poem explore the timeless nature of the fair friend's beauty?
10. How does the speaker use sensory imagery, such as sight and smell, to convey the
passing of time?
11. What is the role of seasons in shaping the narrative of the poem?
12. How does the speaker express the idea that beauty may deceive the observer?
13. What is the tone of the poem, and how does it contribute to the overall message?
14. How does the poem address the concept of mortality and the inevitability of aging?
15. Explore the use of metaphor in the line "Ah, yet doth beauty, like a dial-hand."
16. What emotions does the speaker convey through the language and imagery in the
poem?
17. How does the speaker address the fair friend directly in the poem?
18. What is the significance of the line "For fear of which, hear this, thou age unbred"?
19. Discuss the role of repetition in the poem and its impact on the overall message.
20. How does the structure of the poem contribute to the exploration of the theme of
eternal beauty?
3
, The sun rising - John Donne
Busy old fool, unruly Sun,
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows and through curtains call on us?
Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
Late school-boys, and sour 'prentices,
Go tell court-huntsmen that the King will ride,
Call country ants to harvest offices;
Love, all alike, no season knows, nor clime,
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.
Thy beams, so reverend and strong
Why shouldst thou think?
I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
But that I would not lose her sight so long:
If her eyes have not blinded thine,
Look, and tomorrow late tell me,
Whether both the Indias of spice and mine
Be where thou left'st them, or lie here with me.
Ask for those kings whom thou saw'st yesterday,
And thou shalt hear, 'All here in one bed lay."
She's all States, and all Princes I;
Nothing else is.
Princes do but play us; compared to this,
All honour's mimic; all wealth alchemy.
Thou, Sun, art half as happy as we,
In that the world's contracted thus;
Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be
To warm the world, that's done in warming us.
Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;
This bed thy centre is, these walls thy sphere.
4
, Questions
1. How does the speaker address the sun in the opening lines of the poem?
2. What complaint does the speaker have against the sun's behavior?
3. How does the speaker personify the sun throughout the poem?
4. What does the speaker suggest about the impact of the sun's actions on lovers?
5. How does the speaker use the term "Saucy pedantic wretch" to describe the sun?
6. What is the speaker's attitude towards the traditional concept of time and seasons in
relation to love?
7. How does the speaker challenge the sun's authority in the realm of love and
relationships?
8. In what ways does the speaker use humor and sarcasm to convey their message to
the sun?
9. How does the speaker undermine the importance of worldly duties and obligations in
the face of love?
10. Explore the significance of the line "Love, all alike, no season knows, nor clime."
11. How does the speaker express the idea that love transcends physical boundaries and
constraints?
12. What role do references to court-huntsmen, late school-boys, and country ants play
in the poem's message?
13. Discuss the metaphorical meaning behind the line "Thy beams, so reverend and strong,
Why shouldst thou think?"
14. How does the speaker convey a sense of defiance against the sun's attempt to
interrupt the lovers?
15. What is the significance of the speaker's claim that the beloved is "all States, and all
Princes I"?
16. How does the speaker diminish the value of honor and wealth in comparison to the joy
of love?
17. What is the significance of the speaker addressing the sun as "Thou, Sun"?
18. Explore the idea that the world is "contracted" in the context of the poem.
19. How does the speaker use the image of the bed and walls to emphasize the centrality
of love?
20. What is the overall tone of the poem, and how does it contribute to the message
conveyed by the speaker?
5
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