Collection of questions basically asked in SPM a) In The Midst of Hardship b) He Had Such Quiet Eyes c) Nature d) Are You Still Playing Your Flute

1. -wneiwz-
POEM REVISION
1) In The Midst of Hardship by Latiff Mohidin
1. State one moral value you can learn from Stanza 1.
2. From stanza 2, the bloated carcasses most probably refers to
3. In your own words, describe the people in the poem.
4. When did they return home?
5. Why do you think their legs were full of wounds?
6. From stanza 1, describe one word that describes the people’s personality.
7. Why were the people out all night?
8. In your own words, give two lessons you learnt from this poem.
9. Which phrase in Stanza 1 shows that the people were injured?
10. Give the meaning of the following words:
a. Horrendous: ______________________
b. Hardship: _______________________
11. If you had to go through the same hardship as these people, would you complain about it?
Explain your answer.
Ewani.revision on poetry

2. -wneiwz-
2) He Had Such Quiet Eyes by Bibsy Soenharjo
1. In Stanza 1, two pools of lies refers to
2. Why do you think the writer says that the man’s eyes are layered with thinnest ice?
3. From Stanza 2, what do we know about how the girl feels now?
4. Explain this advice: Be sure that nice really means nice
5. Which phrase in the poem suggests that the man only cares about pleasing himself?
6. State two lessons you can learn from this poem.
7. What is the advice given to young girls in stanza 3? Explain using your own words.
8. Which line do you think the persona feels regret?
9. Based on the poem, state two themes you know.
i)
ii)
10. In your own words, what qualities would you look for in a friend?
11. What does the hows and whys mean?
12. From stanza 1, write down two lines which poet means that he is not to be trusted.
i)
ii)
13. If you were the girl in the poem, do you think you would have listened to the advice? Explain your
answer.
Ewani.revision on poetry

3. -wneiwz-
3) Nature by H.D. Carberry
Nature
We have neither Summer nor Winter
Neither Autumn nor Spring.
We have instead the days
When the gold sun shines on the lush green canefields –
Magnificently.
The days when the rain beats like bullets on the roofs
And there is no sound but the swish of water in the
gullies
And trees struggling in the high Jamaica winds.
Also there are the days when the leaves fade from off
guango trees
And the reaped canefields lie bare and fallow to the sun.
But best of all there are the days when the mango and
the logwood blossom
When the bushes are full of the sound of bees and the
scent of honey,
When the tall grass sways and shivers to the slightest
breath of air,
When the buttercups have paved the earth with yellow
stars
And beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone.
1. What do lines 1 and 2 tell us about the climate in this country?
2. Which line tells us that this country has very heavy rains?
3. Why is the word bullets used to describe the rain?
4. Where do you think this poem comes from?
5. In stanza 2, what does ‘yellow stars’ refer to?
6. Give the meaning of ‘buttercups have paved the earth with yellow stars’.
7. What kind of climate do you think the poet is describing?
8. In your own words, describe the weather in the poem.
9. State one moral value that you have learnt from the poem.
10. List three words related to nature.
11. Which line in the poem suggests the scene of smell?
12. State a theme from this poem.
13. Do you think the climate described in the poem is a beauty? Using your own words, give reasons
to support your answer.
Ewani.revision on poetry

4. -wneiwz-
4) Are You Still Playing Your Flute by Zurinah Hassan
Are You Still Playing Your Flute
Are you still playing your flute?
When there is hardly time for our love
I am feeling guilty
To be longing for your song
The melody concealed in the slim hollow of the bamboo
Uncovered by the breath of an artist
Composed by his fingers
Blown by the wind
To the depth of my heart.
Are you still playing your flute?
In the village so quiet and deserted
Amidst the sick rice fields
While here it has become a luxury
To spend time watching the rain
Gazing at the evening rays
Collecting dew drops
Or enjoying the fragrance of flowers.
Are you still playing your flute?
The more it disturbs my conscience
to be thinking of you
in the hazard of you
my younger brothers unemployed and desperate
my people disunited by politics
my friend slaughtered mercilessly
this world is too old and bleeding.
1. In stanza 1, why does ‘I’ feel guilty?
2. In stanza 1 line 7, to whom does the word his refer to?
3. In stanza 2 line 3, what does the phrase the sick rice field mean?
4. What is the persona’s feeling when she remembered the flautist?
5. Why is there disunity among the citizens of the country?
6. What do you think the last line of the stanza mean?
7. Which lines in stanza 1 tell you that the flautist plays the flute beautifully?
8. In the second stanza, the word deserted means..
9. The rice fields are deserted because..
10. In stanza 2, what does the word here refer to?
Ewani.revision on poetry