The Snare by James Stephens
Answer the following questions in about 10-20 words each:
1.
Lines and words are repeated time and again, what is the purpose of the poet?
Answer:
The poet repeats lines and phrases time and again to bring home the pain of the
rabbit.
2.
What purpose does the interjection ‘But’ serve in the poem?
Answer:
It shows the helplessness of the poet that he is desperately searching for the
rabbit.
3.
Find the words or phrases depicting the condition of the rabbit.
Answer:
Following words or phrases show the condition of the rabbit:-
Cry
of pain; cry again; crying on the frightened air; wrinkling face; cries again
for aid etc.
4.
Find the rhyme scheme of the first stanza.
Answer:
The rhyme scheme of the first stanza is abab.
Answer
the following questions in about 20-30 words each:
1.
Explain the phrase ‘frightened air’.
Answer:
The phrase ‘frightened air’ refers to the fearful atmosphere due to the painful
cries of the frightened rabbit.
2.
Why is the poet searching for the rabbit?
Answer:
The poet is searching for the rabbit as it is caught in a snare and the poet
wants to rescue it.
3.
Who is afraid and why?
Answer:
The rabbit is afraid because it is trapped in a snare. It is injured and crying
for help.
4.
What provides unity to the poem?
Answer:
Tail rhyme and end rhyme are same and it provides unity to the poem.
Answer the following questions in about 60-80 words each:
1.
What is the theme of the poem?
Answer:
This beautiful short lyric has been composed by the famous Irish poet James
Stephens. This poem deals with the pain and suffering found in this world. The
poet expresses his grief over man's inability to reach out to the needy and the
unfortunate to rescue them from their affliction.
The
poet hears a painful cry of a poor rabbit caught up in a snare. He struggles
hard to find out the place where it is in trouble. The incident narrated in the
poem arouses a nameless sympathy for the poor and for those who are weak and
unhappy.
2.
What attitude does the poet have towards the rabbit’s plight?
Answer:
The poet hears a painful cry of a poor rabbit caught up in a snare. He hears
the cry again and tries to find out the poor victim but fails to locate the
place. The painful cry haunts him and it creates a horror in the whole
atmosphere. Even the air seems to be full of fear and pain. The cries become
loud and painful and everything is over powered by their sorrowful effect.
As
the poet hears the painful cries of his poor animal again, he struggles hard to
find out the place where it is in trouble. He imagines the small face of the
rabbit wrinkled up in severe pain. The rabbit calls again for help but the poet
is unable to discover the animal. The poet feels that the paw of the rabbit is
caught up in a trap and it is calling out for help.
The
poet hears the call again and again and searches him everywhere in order to
help him.
3.
How is the attitude of the poet towards the rabbit reflected?
Answer:
“I hear a sudden cry of pain” In the first line, we can see that the poet tells
us that he hears a cry. A cry that suddenly appears and makes him aware and try
to listen it more. The using of interjection means that he is surprised. Then
he says that is a sound of a rabbit trapped in a snare.
“He
is calling out for aid;” The poet says the rabbit with pronoun “he”. It shows
his sympathy to the rabbit.
“Crying on the frightened air, making
everything afraid.” It tells how frightening the situation is. “Wrinkling up
his little face,”he tries to give a visual imagery.
“Where
his paw is in snare;” Then he imagines again the condition of the rabbit. He
imagines that the rabbit is trapped in snare, its paw is tied up in the snare.
It cannot go anywhere, only can make a pain sound.
“Little
one! Oh, litlle one!” He tries to call the rabbit and hopes the rabbit will
answer, but he also knows that the rabbit will not answer.
4.
Describe the universal appeal of the poem.
Answer:
This poem deals with the pain and suffering found in this world. The poet
expresses his grief over man's inability to reach out to the needy and the
unfortunate to rescue them from their affliction.
The
poet hears a painful cry of a poor rabbit caught up in a snare. He hears the
cry again and tries to find out the poor victim but fails to locate the place.
The painful cry haunts him and it creates a horror in the whole atmosphere.
Even the air seems to be full of fear and pain. The cries become loud and
painful and everything is over powered by their sorrowful effect.
As
the poet hears the painful cries of his poor animal again, he struggles hard to
find out the place where it is in trouble. He imagines the small face of the
rabbit wrinkled up in severe pain. The rabbit calls again for help but the poet
is unable to discover the animal. The poet feels that the paw of the rabbit is
caught up in a trap and it is calling out for help.
The
incident narrated in the poem arouses a nameless sympathy for the poor and for
those who are weak and unhappy. The poet raises a question as to why is there
so much undeserved pain in this world? Why should the weak and the poor always
suffer at the hands of merciless, blind forces?
Stanza:
(a) But
I cannot tell from where
He is
calling out for aid
Crying
on the frightened air
Making
everything afraid.
(i)
Who is calling out for aid and why?
Answer:
A rabbit is calling out for help as it is caught in a snare.
(ii)
What makes the poet upset?
Answer:
The painful cry of the rabbit makes the poet upset.
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