Look at the line “A novice might nonplus”. How would you write this ‘correctly’?Why is the poet’s ‘incorrect’ line better in the poem?

Open in App

Solution

The line “A novice might nonplus” can be correctly written as“A novice might be nonplussed”. The poet’s incorrect line is better in the poem as it maintains the rhyme scheme of the poem. By writing it incorrectly, ‘nonplus’ rhymes with ‘thus’.

Suggest Corrections

121

Similar questions

Q. Why according to the poet, a novice might be nonplussed to distinguish beasts of prey? Which popular phrases has the poet referenced while talking about the hyena and crocodile?

Answer the following questions.

a) “…But up-and-down brushin’

And pokin’ and fussin’

Didn’t seem worth the time - I could bite!”

What do these lines convey?

b) Why did the poet go to the dentist? How could she have avoided it?

c) “If you got a tooth, you got a friend”. What do you understand from the line?

d) With reference to the poem, how can you look after your teeth?

e) Given an appropriate proverb that conveys the message that this poem carries.

Q. Read the following lines from the poem you have studied and answer the question given below.

"The reddest flower would look as pale as snow"

What is the figure of speech employed in this line?

The last two lines of the poem are not prohibitions or instructions. What is the adult now asking the child to do? Do you think the poet is suggesting that this is unreasonable? Why?

The poem is full of similes. Work with your partner and note them down in your notebooks. Why do you think the poet has used so many similes in a poem of 12 lines only?

Join BYJU'S Learning Program