NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English (Woven Words) Poetry 8 Elkana

Class : 11th

Subject : English

Chapter : 8

Chapter Name : Elkana

Q1 Comment on the subtlety with which the poet captures the general pattern of communication
within a family.

Answer. Nissim Ezekiel has captured the essence of daily conversation that takes among the
family. Ezekiel very brilliantly tells how conversations in Indian families look like. To make
readers more connected he employs few real-life incidents to make it look more authentic. The
three people. The husband very easily ignores what his wife says, as he believes her talk holds
no importance. He avoids getting into mess by simply saying what she is saying is right. The
third member is the kid. And that kid holds importance and his demands are not shooed away,
instead fulfilled by both the parents.

Q2 Poetic effect is achieved in the poem through understatement and asides. Discuss this with
examples.

Answer. The literary technique understatement is used to enhance the poem. Poet’s main
concern is not the family but the environment around them. For instance the poet talks about
the broken window panes, it may be useless in the real world but in the poem it holds a lot of
significance. The other aspect is that the husband claims that ‘the man she loves who happens
to be me’. Although he pays zero attention to what his lady but inside he knows she loves him
that makes him really happy.

Q3 How is the idyllic juxtaposed with the pedestrian in the poem?

Answer. The poet abandons the romance but instead look for themes from daily life. In his
poems daily life situations are taken into consideration and studied upon. The poet says people
can connect with ordinary things while rejecting the grand things. The pedestrian feeling is
brought by discussing random things. The idyllic is juxtaposed with a pedestrian by discussing
random things and relationships.

Q4 Explain the undertones in the statement: ‘Wife and husband in unusual rapport State one
unspoken thought’:

Answer. It explains understanding the unspoken words. They believe that discipline is very
important and parents in every way care for their child. It is clearly visible when being in the
middle of an argument, the whole thought of the child becoming indiscipline makes them stop
the argument and both stop their argument. Even after stopping they still can read each other's
minds.

Q5 Comment on the capitalization of all the words in the line: ‘Children Must be Disciplined’.

Answer. The line in capitalized form is very important. This line is the ultimate thing that runs in
the mind of both the parents when they put arguments at a halt and completely drown in the
thoughts of their child and hence understand the fact that their child is making a demand that
can not be fulfilled at this hour. They both are in awkward positions and are confused about how
to deal with this untimely demand of their son.

Q6 What makes the urgency of the child’s demand seem logical?

Answer. When the mother dinner will be served in some time, the boy says he cannot wait. He
provides the logic of not being hungry after five minutes. This makes the father feel proud that
the boy is at least trying to give logic to his statement. The mother starts laughing and is ready
to serve food.