Grandmother’s House” is written by Indian poetess – Kamala
Das. It first appeared in her collection of poetry “Summer
in Calcutta” (1965). Like “The Sunshine Cat”,
it also is confessional poem. It is an
autobiographical poem. It is a nostalgic poem.
As the title suggests, the poem, “My Grandmother’s
House” is about the poetess’ grandmother. At present, her
grandmother is not alive. She has passed away. She was a source of love to the
poetess. The poetess writes that there is a house which is far away from her
native place now. Once upon a time, she received love there. She clearly
writes that the owner i. e. her grandmother has died. Therefore, the house is
deserted. The sentence “The house withdrew into silence” brings home
to us that it is into deserted form. The poetess recalls her past childhood
memories. When she was a child, a snake moved into the books. She was too young
to read the books. It means that her grandmother was fond of reading. When she
saw the snake, her blood turned cold like the moon. She was horrified. She uses
the figure of speech – simile to compare her cold blood with the moon.
The poetess yearns to visit the house. She wants to peer through the
blind eyes of the windows. She wants to listen to the frozen air in the house.
The images – ‘the blind eyes of windows’ and ‘frozen air’ are very suggestive.
They drive home to us the demise of the speaker’s grandmother. They through
light on the deserted condition of the house and gloomy mood of the
speaker also. The poetess desires to bring an armful of darkness of her
grandmother’s house to her bedroom like a brooding dog. The phrase ‘wild
despair’ throws light on her troubled life in the present.
The poetess is, perhaps, speaking to her husband. She uses to the word
‘darling’ to address to him. She tells him that he won’t believe that she has
lived in such a house. She admits that she was proud of the house. She was
loved there. It means that her grandmother bestowed immense love upon her. The
gaps in the lines after the words ‘love’ and ‘loved’ in the poem highlight
her extreme desire for love. Now, she has lost her grandmother who was a constant
source of love for her. She got love from her grandmother but at present it is
denied to her. Therefore, she begs for love at stranger’s doors at least in
small change. Thus, the poem presents contrast between her past life and
present life.
In this way, the poem, “My Grandmother’s House” is a nostalgic
poem. It has autobiographical note. Therefore, it is a confessional poem also.
It has uneven lines. It does not have a constant rhyming scheme. It indicates
the poetess’ disturbed state of mind.
Multiple Choice
Questions:
Q.1. The
poem, “My Grandmother’s House” is written
by……………
a) Kamala Das
b) Nissim
Ezekiel
c) Keki N.
Daruwala
d) Gieve
Patel
Q.2. The
poem, “My Grandmother’s House” is a/an……………poem.
a) love
b)
autobiographical
c) war
d)
nature
Q.3. The
poem, “My Grandmother’s House” is a……………poem.
a) love
b) nature
c) war
d)
confessional
Q.4. The
poem, “My Grandmother’s House” is a……………poem.
a) love
b) war
c) nostalgic
d)
nature
Q.5.
……………….was a source of love to the poetess in the poem, “My
Grandmother’s House”.
a) Father
b) Grandmother
c) Husband
d) Lover
Q.6. The
speaker’s grandmother’s house in the poem, “My Grandmother’s
House” is…………..
a) adjacent
b) by the
side of her own house
c) in a
village
d) far away
Q.7. The
speaker’s grandmother in the poem, “My Grandmother’s
House” is………….
a) alive
b) dead
c) sad
d)
happy
Q.8. The
images – ‘the blind eyes of windows’ and ‘frozen air’ in the poem, “My Grandmother’s
House” indicate……………..
a) deserted
condition of the house
b) good condition
of the house
c) the
speaker is happy
d) poetess’s
love
Q.9. The
poetess saw a/an……………..among the books at her grandmother’s house.
a) lizard
b) mouse
c) ant
d)
snake
Q.10. The
poetess in the poem, “My Grandmother’s House” yearns
to visit…………….
a) her
parents’ house
b) her
lover’s house
c) her
husband’s house
d) her
grandmother’s house
Q.11. The
poetess desires to bring………………of her grandmother’s house to her
bedroom like a brooding dog.
a) an
armful of darkness
b) a handful
of light
c) a handful
of rice
d) water
Q.12. The
poetess desires to bring an armful of darkness of her grandmother’s house to
her bedroom like…………..
a) a
running horse
b) a
barking dog
c) a
brooding dog
d) a
sleeping dog
