WBBSE 9th Class English Solutions Chapter – 12 Hunting Snake
WBBSE 9th Class English Solutions Chapter – 12 Hunting Snake
West Bengal Board 9th Class English Solutions Chapter – 12 Hunting Snake
WBBSE 9th Class English Solutions
Introduction
About the Poet: Judith Wright was born in Armidale, New South Wales, the eldest child of Phillip Wright and his first wife Ethel. After the early death of her mother, she lived with her aunt and then boarded at New England Girls’ School. After graduating, Wright studied Philosophy, English, Psychology and History at the University of Sydney. At the beginning the of World War II, she returned to her father’s station to help him during the shortage of labour caused by the war.
Wright’s first book of poetry, ‘The Moving Image’, was published in 1946. She was the second Australian to receive the ‘Queen’s Gold Medal’ for Poetry, in 1991. She started to lose her hearing in her mid-20s, and became completely deaf by 1992. She died on June 25, 2000 in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.
The poem in the lesson describes the poet’s experience of watching a black snake as it makes its way across an area of grassland. The poet looks on, fascinated, as the snake searches for food and finally disappears.
SUBSTANCE AND CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE POEM
On the surface, ‘Hunting Snake’ appears to describe a simple experience of a group of people coming across a snake, while walking. The first stanza depicts a group walking through a forest, when they stop to watch a snake go past. The second stanza describes the snake’s beauty. The third stanza describes the power of the snake as a predator. It is somehow fearsome to others because of its fierce intent. In the final stanza, the snake disappears and the men of the group look at each other and then continue walking.
In deeper level, it can serve some symbolical purpose. On our earth, reality and mystery live side by side. We are the reality, the snake is also the same, but somehow they are also mysterious, creating awe and wonder among us. We watch them but from a distance. They are black, furious, again gorgeous and splendid.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Tick (√) the correct answer from the given alternatives:
1. The poet was sun warmed under the gentlest sky of –
A. summer
B. winter
C. autumn
D. spring
2. The colour of the snake was—
A. black
B. grey
C. green
D. yellow
3. The tongue of the snake was –
A. still
B. flickering
C. dangling
D. hanging
4. The shape of the snake’s scale was like —
A. star
B. kite
C. diamond
D. pyramid
5. According to the poet, the intent of the snake was —
A. malicious
B. greedy
C. timid
D. fierce
6. The snake finally disappeared into the —
A. sand
B. grass
C. rock
D. stream
7. The poet personifies the autumn day as –
A. cruel
B. soft
C. having a lot of grace
D. loving mother
8. The snake was moving in a—
A. circular motion
B. straight way
C. reeling motion
D. dancing movement
9. The snake was —
A. standing still
B. sleeping
C. slithering
D. hibernating
10. In the poem the word ‘trail’ means—
A. alley
B. path
C. grass
D. sand
11. In the poem ‘he’ refers to-
A. pet dog of the poet
B. cat of the poet
C. a lion
D. a snake
12. “And we lost breath to see him pass”-Here ‘we lost’ means —
A. we died
B. we breathed quickly
C. our breath was arrested
D. we could not find our breath
13. The poet and her companions were much …………. to see the snake.
A. delighted
B. excited
C. frightened
D. wonder-struck
14. The snake was searching in the grass –
A. some friends
B. small food
C. some shelter
D. sun’s warmth
Answer the following questions
1. How did the snake appear as it was moving through the grass ?
Ans. As the snake was hoving through the grass, its head was down and tongue flickering. With sunlight on it, the scales glazed like diamonds.
2. What did the poet and her companions do when the snake was gone?
Ans. When the snake was gone, the poet and her companions took a deeper breath. They looked at each other and went on their own way.
3. “We lost breath…”—Why?
Ans. The poet and her companions lost their breath for sometime, watching the black, splendid and awe-inspiring beauty of the snake.
4. Watching the black snake, what did the poet her companions forget to think?
Ans. The poet her companions forgot to think what the track of the snake was, and what small food fled living from his fierce intent.
Complete the following sentences with information from the poet:
1. The poet was travelling under……………………………
Ans. The poet was travelling under the autumn’s gentlest sky.
2. The autumn’s sky was……………………………….
Ans. The autumn’s sky was the gentlest.
3. The poet and her companions froze ……………………………..
Ans. The poet and her companions froze as the great black snake went reeling by.
4. The poet describes the day as………………………….
Ans. The poet describes the day as sun-warmed autumn.
5. The snake went…………………………
Ans. The snake went reeling by.
6. The snake pursued his quest……………………….
Ans. The snake pursued his quest through the parting grass.
7. Sun glazed his………………………………
Ans. Sun glazed his curves of diamond scale.
8. The poet lost her breath………………………….
Ans. The poet lost her breath to see the snake pass.
9. The eyes of the poet and her companions………………………..
Ans. The eyes of the poet and her companions went with the snake as he went.
10. The snake is described as cold, ……………………………….
Ans. The snake is described as cold, dark and splendid.
11. The snake is searching for……………………………..
Ans. The snake is searching for its prey.
12. The prey is hidden under…………………………..
Ans. The prey is hidden under the grass.
State True or False. Write ‘T’ for ‘True’ and ‘F’ for False
1. The snake was green in colour.
Ans. F
2. It was the season of summer.
Ans. F
3. The snake raised its hood to spit venom.
Ans. F
4. The poet and her companions held their breath while watching the snake.
Ans. T
5. The snake was looking for its prey.
Ans. T
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