Meeting Poets | Poem 8 | English 8th | Tulip Series | (Eunice de Souza)

Poems – Tulip Series | jandkncert |

Meeting Poets | Poem 8 | English 8th | Tulip Series |

(Eunice de Souza)

Meeting Poets

Meeting poets, I am disconcerted sometimes:

By the colour of their socks,

The suspicion of a wig,

The wasp in the voice,

And an air, sometimes of dankness.

 

Best to meet in poems:

Cool speckled shells

In which one hears

A sad but distant sea.

(Eunice de Souza)

 

Short Summary

"Meeting Poets" by Eunice de Souza is a reflective poem that explores the speaker's encounters with various poets. The speaker describes interacting with poets who are often self-absorbed, pretentious, or disconnected from everyday life. Despite the speakers' admiration for the poets' work, they find themselves disillusioned by the poets' attitudes and behaviors. The poem captures the disconnect between the idealized image of poets and the reality of their personalities. Ultimately, "Meeting Poets" offers a wry commentary on the complexities of human nature and the gap between artistic inspiration and personal character.

THINKING ABOUT THE POEM

Q1. Why is the poet confused when she meets poets?

Ans. When the poet meets the poets she is confused to see the different appearance of their socks, suspicious wigs on their heads and bitterness and unpleasantness in their voice while they talk.

Q2. What is the best way to know poets?

Ans. Best way to know poet is to read their poem in which they write their feelings with sadness and pleasures.

Q3. What does the poet compare the poets with?

Ans. The poet compares the poets with the shells covered with cool speckles with sad voices but less friendly.

Q4. Explain the phrase – ‘wasp in the voice’.

Ans. ‘Wasp’ is a flying insect. There is bitterness in its sting. So ‘wasp in the voice’ in the poem indicates the bitterness in the voice.

LANGUAGE WORK

Write the Denotative and connotative meaning of the following words from the poem:

Colour             appearance                  disorderliness, shabbiness

Suspicion         not trustworthy           artificial

Dankness         humid, moisture          unpleasantness

Cool                not warm                     calm, not excitable

Speckled         spotted                                    imagery, false appearance

Distant                        far away                      not friendly