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  1. While parting, the poet says, “see you soon.” This is what all of us say while parting from someone even though we do not know when we will meet the concerned person again. The poet is acutely aware of her mother’s health and proximity to death so saying see you soon has a different fear loaded intoRead more

    While parting, the poet says, “see you soon.” This is what all of us say while parting from someone even though we do not know when we will meet the concerned person again.

    The poet is acutely aware of her mother’s health and proximity to death so saying see you soon has a different fear loaded into it. The smile which she is trying to put on is a mask beneath which actually lies the overwhelming fear.

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  1. All of us are deeply attached to our parents. We grow up watching them strong and powerful. Slowly, we see them ageing when we are growing. There is always a sudden realisation of their appearance which changes with time. The poet is deeply saddened by her ageing mother and her likeness to someone wRead more

    All of us are deeply attached to our parents. We grow up watching them strong and powerful. Slowly, we see them ageing when we are growing. There is always a sudden realisation of their appearance which changes with time.

    The poet is deeply saddened by her ageing mother and her likeness to someone who is nearing death. The fear of realising this is universal because as human beings the modes of our attachments are universal.

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  1. The poet smiles to hide the pain which she is feeling after realising the ageing process of her mother. She is trying to divert her attention but she is unable to do so. So she smiles so that he =r mother wont be able to know her inner aches. Read summary of this poem

    The poet smiles to hide the pain which she is feeling after realising the ageing process of her mother. She is trying to divert her attention but she is unable to do so. So she smiles so that he =r mother wont be able to know her inner aches.

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  1. The poet is fearfully thinking of death. She is devastated by the sadness which has overcome her after looking at her mother on her way to the airport. As a poet, she is deeply aware of the inevitability of passing time. Her pain results from such inevitability. Read summary of this poem

    The poet is fearfully thinking of death. She is devastated by the sadness which has overcome her after looking at her mother on her way to the airport. As a poet, she is deeply aware of the inevitability of passing time. Her pain results from such inevitability.

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  1. The main idea of the poem is the mortality of human beings. One is not out here for eternity. To realise the same about one’s parents is the saddest thing which happens to everyone. Read summary of this poem

    The main idea of the poem is the mortality of human beings. One is not out here for eternity. To realise the same about one’s parents is the saddest thing which happens to everyone.

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  1. The message of the poem is the gradual but inevitable realisation of one’s parents getting old. One grows up with young strong parents but they grow older right in front of us. Here, the poet is sad about realising the same about her mother. The message is to spend more time with them. Read summaryRead more

    The message of the poem is the gradual but inevitable realisation of one’s parents getting old. One grows up with young strong parents but they grow older right in front of us. Here, the poet is sad about realising the same about her mother. The message is to spend more time with them.

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  1. Following poetic devices have been used in the poem My Mother at Sixty Six. Simile: it is the comparison of two things by using as or like. e.g. "her face ashen like that of a corpse", "as a late winter's moon". Metaphor: it is the direct comparison of two things without the use of as or like. e.g.Read more

    Following poetic devices have been used in the poem My Mother at Sixty Six.

    1. Simile: it is the comparison of two things by using as or like. e.g. “her face ashen like that of a corpse”, “as a late winter’s moon”.
    2. Metaphor: it is the direct comparison of two things without the use of as or like. e.g. “the merry children spilling”.
    3. Personification: When we give human characteristics to animals or plants or non-living things. e.g. “trees sprinting”. 
    4. Anaphora: It is the repetition of a word or phrase to create a poetic effect in a poem. e.g. the poet repeats these words, “smile and smile and smile”.
    5. Alliteration: It is the repetition of the consonant sounds in a line of a poem. e.g. “mmother”, “that thought”, “I said was, see you soon”.

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    The phrase "the house withdrew into silence" has been taken from the poem "My Grandmother's House" written by Kamala Das. In this poem, the poet is taking about the house of her grandmother which has been deserted after her (grandmother's) death. According to the poet, the house which once used to cRead more

    The phrase “the house withdrew into silence” has been taken from the poem “My Grandmother’s House” written by Kamala Das. In this poem, the poet is taking about the house of her grandmother which has been deserted after her (grandmother’s) death.

    According to the poet, the house which once used to cheer because of grandmother, is now deserted and hence silence is prevailing all over.

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    The poet is taking about her attachment with grandmother's house since her childhood. Now that her grandmother is dead, there is nobody in the house and thus it is silent. In poetry, winter and cold are the symbols of doom, death and loneliness. Hence, in this poem, according to the poet, the houseRead more

    The poet is taking about her attachment with grandmother’s house since her childhood. Now that her grandmother is dead, there is nobody in the house and thus it is silent.

    In poetry, winter and cold are the symbols of doom, death and loneliness. Hence, in this poem, according to the poet, the house of her grandmother is deserted and what she is listening to, is just the sound of cold air that has no human warmth.

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