Test Papers / Previous Question Papers of IGNOU DCE5 Writing Poetry June 2005

DIPLOMA IN CREATIVE WRITING IN ENGLISH
Term-End Examination

June, 2005

DCE-5 : WRITING POETRY

Time: 3 hours
Maximum Marks: 100
(Weightage 70%)

SECTION A

1. What is persona in poetry ? Can a person have more than one persona ? How is the presence of a persona felt in a poem ? (400 words) (20)

2. What is an image ? How do prose and poetry use images ? What is the relationship between images and a poet's emotions ? (400 words) (20)

3. What is diction in poetry ? What should a poet keep in mind when choosing diction for his poetry ? (400 words) (20)

SECTION B

Read the following poems and answer the questions given below each.

6. THE SONG Of THE SKY LOOM
- Anon. (Native American)

O our Mother the Earth, O our Father the Sky,
... weave for us a garment of brightness;
May the warp be the white light of the morning,
May the weft be the red light of the evening,
May the fringes be the falling rain,
May the border be the standing rainbow.
Thus weave for us a garment of brightness
That we may walk fittingly where birds sing,
That we may walk fittingly where grass is green,
O our Mother the Earth, O our Father the Sky !

(i) Lyrics express emotions. What is the emotion expressed in this poem ?

(ii) What is the central metaphor of the poem ?

(iii) How have the particular and the universal been brought together in the poem ?

(iv) Who is the speaker ? Who are the speaker's parents ? What figure of speech has been used here ? Are the parents literally the parents of the speaker ?

(v) What notion of time is expressed here ? (5x4)

7. POEM TO HER DAUGHTER (extract)
- Mwana Kupona Mshom (1810 - 1860)

Daughter, take this amulet
tie it with cord and caring
I'll make you a chain of coral and pearl
to glow on your neck. I'll dress you nobly.
A gold clasp too - fine, without flaw
to keep you always.
When you bathe, sprinkle perfume, and
weave your hair in braids.
String jasmine for the counterpane.
Wear your clothes like a bride.
For your feet anklets, bracelets for your arms ...
Don't forget rose water,
don't forget henna for the palms of your hands.

(i) Who are the speaker and addressee ? What is the situation in the poem ?

(ii) What sensory images has the poet used ?

(iii) What is the gift ? Is there more than one gift ?

(iv) Why are there 5 separate sentences in lines 4-9 ? What emotion do they express within the speaker ?

(v) Is the poem set in one time or is there a shift to another time ? If so, when does it happen ? What is its effect on the speaker ? (5x4)

8. THIS IS JUST TO SAY
- William Carlos Williams (1883 - 1963)

I have eaten
the plums that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold.

(i) Who is the speaker ? What means of communication - in your opinion - has he used ? How can you tell ?

(ii) What is the relevance/relationship of the title to the rest of the poem ?

(iii) What is the situation here ? How well do the addressee and speaker know each other ? What in the poem suggests familiarity, and what is formal ?

(iv) What idea of time and movement do we get from the poem ? Where is the speaker ? Where is the addressee ? From whose point of view do we read the poem ?

(v) What is the verse form used ? What innovations do You see ? (5x4)

9. "barefoot"
- Valerie Worth (1935 - )

After that tight
Choke of sock
And blunt
Weight of Shoe

The foot can feel
Clovers green
Skin
Growing

And the fine
Invisible
Teeth
Of gentle grass,

And the cool
Breath
Of the earth
Beneath.

(i) What is the situation in this poem ?

(ii) Compare stanzas 1 and 4. How does assonance increase the contrast between comfort and discomfort ?

(iii) How is the feeling of complete comfort held back in stanzas 2 and 3 ?

(iv) What figures of speech have been used in stanzas 2, 3, and 4 ? (4x5)

10. Write ten couplets in the lambic pentameter on any one of the following : (20)

(i) Creation

(ii) Readers

(iii) "The Lady Strange..."

(iv) "The poetry of heaven..."

(v) Kitchen