NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English (Woven Words) Poetry 6 Mother Tongue

Class : 11th Subject : English Chapter : 6(Poetry) Chapter Name : Mother Tongue Q1 The quill is the central element in the poem—what does it symbolise? Answer. The quill is the new script. It is about the evolution of the script in a further direction. For instance, if we look at evolution of Dogri language. It used the native script of Sharade to come into being from the original Brahmi script. Sharade was then replaced by Devnagri language. In this poem, the poet laments the loss of Sharade script. To give a better understanding he cites the example of a reed plant. Page : 120 , Block Name : Understanding the poem Q2 You notice a sense of urgency in the poet’s request—what is the reason for this? Answer. The poet requests for a new script. There is a sense of hurry in the poet's request. She says that she needs the quill urgently as her Shahni, her mother tongue, must be looking for her. She is in such a hurry because she has some really productive thoughts and wants to note to do as early as possible. As her thought is in Dogri language she needs the respective script to do so. So, she asks the stem of the reed for the script quickly, so that not much time is wasted. The poet is the servant of her language and it’s her duty towards the master that she needs to complete. She wants to prove her dedication without any delay. The stem says that it is not just the poet but it also is a servant of her Shahni. So, it cuts off its hand and gives it to the poet. Page : 120 , Block Name : Understanding the poem Q3 How has the poet brought out her emotional attachment to her mother tongue?

Answer. Padma Sachdev is a renowned Dogri poet. In this poem, she grieves the depreciation of language. She is deeply connected to her mother tongue like a child is attached to his mother. With the passage of time, many languages were evolved and decayed and the same thing is happening with language. With time scripts change and old language die giving birth to a new language. It deeply affects the poet and she grieves the loss. Page : 120 , Block Name : Understanding the poem Q4 Personification is a figure of speech that attributes human qualities to inanimate things and abstract ideas. How has it been used in this poem? Answer. Padma Sachdev is a Dogri poet. In the poem, she grieves the loss of her mother tongue. She praises her language Dogri and sees how it dying away with time. She addresses it as Shanni a mistress who is ready to help any writer or poet. She further tells Dogri is the queen and them all her servants ready to serve her at every hour. It is mainly spoken in the northern region of the country. All the other scripts admit that they all are the servant to language and helps the poet by giving her new quill. Page : 120 , Block Name : Understanding the poem