CBSE Class 9 English Poem 4 ‘I Cannot Remember My Mother’, Line by Line Explanation along with Difficult Word Meanings from Kaveri Book
“I Cannot Remember My Mother” is a deeply touching and beautifully written poem by the legendary Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, translated into English. It appears in the Class 9 English Kaveri Book as Poem 4. The poem is written from the perspective of a young child who lost his mother at a very early age and cannot remember her clearly. Yet the memory of his mother comes back to him in small, beautiful and natural ways, through a half-remembered tune, the fragrance of shiuli flowers, and the stillness of the vast blue sky. The poem teaches us that a mother’s love is so deep and pure that it never truly leaves the child, it lives on forever in nature, in music, and in the quiet moments of one’s everyday life.
Question: What are the Important Keywords / Value Points of ‘I Cannot Remember My Mother’?
Ans. The keywords of the poem are-
- The Lullaby, Love Lives in Music: The half-remembered tune that hovers over the poet’s playthings is one of the most tender images in the poem. The mother’s lullaby is not remembered clearly but its feeling never truly disappeared. This shows us that a mother’s love leaves such a deep impression on a child’s heart that even after years it continues to echo in the most ordinary and beautiful moments of life.
- Shiuli Flowers, Love Lives in Nature: The fragrance of shiuli flowers in early autumn morning brings back the memory of the mother through the scent of temple prayers. This connection between nature, spirituality and maternal love is deeply meaningful. It shows that a mother’s love is sacred and pure, as gentle and as beautiful as the fragrance of flowers floating softly in the morning air.
- The Blue Sky, Love is Endless: The image of the vast blue sky representing the mother’s gentle gaze is the most powerful image in the poem. The sky is infinite, still and all-encompassing, just like a mother’s love. The poet feels that his mother’s loving eyes have spread across the entire sky, watching over him always. This tells us that a mother’s love has no boundaries and no end.
- Childhood Loss, Growing Up Without a Mother: The poem is written from the perspective of a child who lost his mother very early. He has no clear memory of her face or her voice. Yet he feels her presence everywhere around him. This beautifully shows that even the youngest children feel the absence of their mother deeply and that this love shapes them silently and profoundly throughout their entire lives.
- Nature as Memory, The World Becomes a Mother: Throughout the poem Tagore uses elements of nature, music, flowers and the sky, to represent the mother’s presence. This is deeply significant. It suggests that when we lose someone we truly love, their memory does not disappear, it merges with the world around us and comes back to us in unexpected and beautiful ways through nature, sound and silence.
- Repetition, The Weight of Longing: The line “I cannot remember my mother” is repeated at the beginning of every stanza. This repetition is not just a poetic device, it is a deeply emotional expression of longing and incompleteness. Each time the line is repeated it carries a heavier weight of sadness and yet each stanza immediately follows it with a beautiful memory. This contrast between forgetting and remembering is the heart and soul of the entire poem.
I Cannot Remember My Mother Quick Overview
| Detail | Information |
| PoemTitle | I Cannot Remember My Mother |
| Author | Rabindranath Tagore |
| Book | NCERT Class 9 English – Kaveri |
| Chapter No. | Poem-4 |
| Narrator | The poet (child remembering his mother) |
| Setting | Indoors (playtime, bedroom) and outdoors (temple, sky, nature) |
| Theme | Memory, love of mother, nostalgia, emotional connection |
- I Cannot Remember My Mother Summary
- I Cannot Remember My Mother Theme based Questions
- I Cannot Remember My Mother Explanation
- I Cannot Remember My Mother Literary Devices
- I Cannot Remember My Mother Summary in Hindi
Related:
Question: Give a Summary of the Class 9 English Poem ‘I Cannot Remember My Mother’.
Ans. “I Cannot Remember My Mother” is a deeply emotional and lyrical poem by Rabindranath Tagore that beautifully captures the feeling of losing a mother at a very young age. The poet cannot remember his mother’s face or her voice clearly, yet her presence comes back to him in three beautiful and natural ways.
In the first stanza, the poet says he cannot remember his mother but, sometimes, while playing, a faint tune seems to float around his toys. It is the half-remembered melody of a lullaby she used to hum while rocking his cradle. The memory is not clear but the feeling is very real and deeply comforting.
In the second stanza, the poet says that in early autumn mornings when the sweet fragrance of shiuli flowers fills the air, he is reminded of his mother. The scent of the morning prayers at the temple blends with the flowers and together they bring back the feeling of his mother’s presence, warm, pure and sacred.
In the third stanza, the poet says that when he looks out from his bedroom window into the vast blue sky, he feels his mother’s gentle and loving gaze spread across the entire sky. Her stillness and her love feel as wide, as deep and as endless as the sky itself.
The poem beautifully shows that even though the poet cannot remember his mother clearly, her love has merged with nature itself and will stay with him forever.
Questions Based on the Themes of ‘I Cannot Remember My Mother’
Question: How does the poem show that a mother’s love is eternal?
Ans. The poem beautifully shows that even though the poet’s mother is no longer physically present, her love has never truly left him. It lives on in the tune of her lullaby, in the fragrance of shiuli flowers and in the stillness of the blue sky. Tagore suggests that a mother’s love is so powerful and so pure that it becomes a permanent part of the world around us and stays with us in nature, in music and in silence forever.
Question: How does Tagore use nature to express his feelings in the poem?
Ans. Tagore uses three beautiful elements of nature, a floating tune, the fragrance of shiuli flowers and the vast blue sky, to express his memories of his mother. Each natural element represents a different sense: sound, smell and sight. Together, they create a complete and deeply moving picture of a mother’s presence felt through the world of nature. This shows Tagore’s genius in connecting human emotions with the natural world in a way that feels both deeply personal and universally true.
Question: How does the poem justify its title “I Cannot Remember My Mother”?
Ans. The title is both honest and deeply poignant. The poet openly admits from the very beginning that he cannot clearly remember his mother. Yet the entire poem goes on to beautifully contradict this statement, because he does remember her, not in clear images but in feelings, sounds, scents and sights. The title, therefore, creates a beautiful and moving irony. The poet thinks he has forgotten his mother but the poem itself proves that she lives on deeply and permanently in every part of his world.
Question: What is the significance of the three stanzas in the poem?
Ans. Each of the three stanzas represents a different sense and a different way of remembering the mother. The first stanza uses sound, the tune of a lullaby. The second stanza uses smell, the fragrance of shiuli flowers. The third stanza uses sight, the stillness of the blue sky. Together these three stanzas create a complete sensory portrait of the mother’s love. Tagore beautifully shows that a mother’s presence can be felt through every sense we have and in every corner of the natural world around us.
Question: Describe the writing style of the poem.
Ans. Tagore writes in a gentle, lyrical and deeply emotional style. The repetition of the opening line in every stanza creates a beautiful rhythm and deepens the feeling of longing and loss progressively. His imagery is simple yet extraordinarily powerful, a floating tune, the scent of flowers, the stillness of the sky. The poem moves gradually from sound to smell to sight, building a complete and deeply touching portrait of maternal love. The language is simple and accessible yet the emotions it carries are profound and universal, making this poem one of the most beloved and timeless tributes to motherhood in all of literature.
I Cannot Remember My Mother Explanation
Stanza
I cannot remember my mother
only sometimes in the midst of my play
a tune seems to hover over my playthings,
the tune of some song that she used to
hum while rocking my cradle.
Word Meanings
midst: in the middle of
hover: stay in one place in the air
playthings: toys
tune: a musical sound or melody
hum: sing softly without words
cradle: a small bed for a baby
Explanation: The poet expresses that he cannot clearly remember his mother. However, sometimes while playing, a faint memory comes to him in the form of a soft tune.
This tune reminds him of a song his mother used to hum while rocking him as a baby in his cradle. Though he does not remember her face or presence, this musical memory keeps her alive in his mind.
The stanza shows the deep emotional connection between a child and mother, and how even small memories like a tune can carry strong feelings of love and warmth.
Questions related to the stanza above-
Question: What does the poet say about his memory of his mother in the first line of the stanza?
Ans. The poet states that he cannot remember his mother, indicating a faded or absent visual recollection of her.
Question: Describe the specific memory that sometimes emerges while the poet is playing.
Ans. While playing, a tune hovers over his playthings, reminiscent of a song his mother used to hum while rocking his cradle.
Question: What deeper emotional significance does the stanza convey about the poet’s connection to his mother?
Ans. The stanza highlights a profound emotional bond preserved through a faint musical memory, showing how even subtle sensory recollections like a tune can evoke lasting love and warmth despite forgotten visuals.
Stanza
I cannot remember my mother
but when in the early autumn morning
the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air
the scent of the morning service in the temple
comes to me as the scent of my mother.
Word Meanings
autumn: the season after summer
shiuli flowers: small, fragrant white flowers (night jasmine)
floats: spreads gently in the air
scent: smell or fragrance
morning service: prayer or worship in a temple
Explanation: The poet expresses that although he cannot clearly remember his mother, certain smells remind him of her. The fragrance of shiuli flowers in the early autumn morning brings back a feeling connected to his mother.
Similarly, the scent of the temple during morning prayers also reminds him of her presence. These sensory memories create an emotional connection, even without clear recollection.
The stanza shows how deeply a mother’s presence is felt, as even simple natural and spiritual experiences can bring back her memory with love and warmth.
Questions related to the stanza above-
Question: Despite not remembering his mother, what triggers a memory of her in the early autumn morning?
Ans.The smell of shiuli flowers floating in the air triggers the memory of the mother.
Question: How does the poet connect the scent of the temple’s morning service to his mother?
Ans. The scent of the morning service in the temple comes to him as the scent of his mother, evoking her presence.
Question: What does this stanza reveal about the power of sensory experiences in preserving maternal memories?
Ans. It illustrates how fragrances from nature (shiuli flowers) and spiritual rituals (temple service) deeply embed a mother’s essence, fostering emotional warmth and connection even without visual recall.
Stanza
I cannot remember my mother
only when from my bedroom window I send
my eyes into the blue of the distant sky,
I feel that the stillness of
my mother’s gaze on my face
has spread all over the sky.
Word Meanings
distant: far away
stillness: calmness; quietness
gaze: a steady look
spread: extended over a wide area
Explanation: The poet says that he cannot clearly remember his mother, but when he looks at the vast blue sky from his window, he feels her presence.
The calm and peaceful sky reminds him of the gentle and loving way his mother used to look at him. He imagines that her quiet, caring gaze has spread across the sky.
This shows that even though his mother is no longer with him, her love and affection are still felt in nature. The stanza beautifully expresses how memories and emotions can live on through simple experiences like looking at the sky.
Questions related to the stanza above-
Question: Under what specific circumstances does the poet feel his mother’s presence despite not remembering her?
Ans. When he sends his eyes into the blue of the distant sky from his bedroom window.
Question: How does the poet describe the sensation evoked by the sky in relation to his mother?
Ans. He feels that the stillness of his mother’s gaze on his face has spread all over the sky.
Question: What does this stanza suggest about the enduring nature of a mother’s love?
Ans. It portrays maternal love as vast, calm, and omnipresent, immortalized in natural elements like the sky, transcending physical absence through emotional and sensory resonance.
Question: What Literary Devices have been used in the class 9 English poem ‘I Cannot remember my Mother’?
- Repetition (Refrain)
“I cannot remember my mother”, repeated in all stanzas, shows longing and emotional emphasis. - Imagery
Auditory: “tune… she used to hum”
Olfactory (smell): “smell of shiuli flowers”
Visual: “blue of the distant sky”
creates vivid sensory experience - Metaphor
“tune seems to hover”, memory compared to a floating tune
“mother’s gaze… spread over the sky”, love compared to sky - Personification
“tune seems to hover”, tune given human action
“smell… floats in the air”, smell acts like a living thing - Alliteration
“midst of my” (m sound)
“my mother” (m sound)
“some song” (s sound) - Onomatopoeia
“hum”, sound word - Symbolism
Tune is a symbol of mother’s love and memory
Shiuli flowers are a symbol of emotional connection
Sky is a symbol of protection and presence - Enjambment
Sentences continue to next lines without punctuation mark at the end of the line. - Free Verse
No fixed rhyme scheme - Tone
Emotional, nostalgic, and longing - Mood
Creates feelings of sadness, warmth, and remembrance
I Cannot Remember My Mother FAQs
Question: Who wrote the poem I Cannot Remember My Mother?
Ans. The poem was written by Rabindranath Tagore, one of the greatest poets in world literature and the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. It appears in the Class 9 English Kaveri Book as Poem 4. Originally written in Bengali, it was later translated into English and has since become one of the most beloved and widely read poems about maternal love and childhood memory.
Question: What is the theme of the poem?
Ans. The central theme is the eternal and undying nature of a mother’s love. Even though the poet cannot clearly remember his mother, her love lives on in the sounds, scents and sights of the natural world around him. The poem also explores the themes of childhood loss, memory, nature and the deep and unbreakable bond between a mother and her child.
Question: What do the shiuli flowers represent in the poem?
Ans. The shiuli flowers represent the sacred and pure nature of a mother’s love. Their sweet fragrance floating in the early autumn morning air blends with the scent of temple prayers and together they bring back the feeling of the mother’s presence. The flowers show us that a mother’s love is as gentle, as pure and as naturally beautiful as the fragrance of flowers in the morning air.
Question: What is the moral of the poem?
Ans. The moral of the poem is that a mother’s love is eternal and never truly leaves us even after she is gone. Her love merges with the world around us and comes back in the most unexpected and beautiful ways, in music, in nature and in silence. The poem also reminds us to cherish and treasure the love of our mothers while they are with us because it is the most precious and irreplaceable gift any person can ever receive in life
Summary of the Poem I Cannot Remember My Mother in Hindi
“मुझे अपनी माँ याद नहीं” रवींद्रनाथ टैगोर द्वारा लिखी गई एक बेहद भावुक और सुंदर कविता है। इस कविता में कवि एक ऐसे बच्चे की भावनाओं को व्यक्त करते हैं जिसने बहुत छोटी उम्र में अपनी माँ को खो दिया था। कवि को अपनी माँ का चेहरा या आवाज़ स्पष्ट रूप से याद नहीं है लेकिन उनकी माँ की याद उन्हें तीन अलग-अलग और बेहद खूबसूरत तरीकों से आती है।
पहली याद तब आती है जब कवि खेल रहे होते हैं। उनके खिलौनों के आस-पास एक धुन मँडराती हुई लगती है। यह वही धुन है जो उनकी माँ उन्हें पालने में झुलाते समय गुनगुनाती थीं। यह याद बिल्कुल स्पष्ट नहीं है लेकिन इसका एहसास बहुत गहरा और सच्चा है। यह दर्शाता है कि माँ का प्यार एक बच्चे के दिल पर इतनी गहरी छाप छोड़ता है कि वह सालों बाद भी एक धुन के रूप में महसूस होता रहता है।
दूसरी याद तब आती है जब शरद ऋतु की सुबह हवा में शिउली के फूलों की मीठी खुशबू फैलती है। मंदिर की सुबह की पूजा की सुगंध और शिउली के फूलों की खुशबू मिलकर उनकी माँ की याद को ताज़ा कर देती है। यह खुशबू उन्हें अपनी माँ की पवित्र और कोमल उपस्थिति का एहसास कराती है। यह दर्शाता है कि माँ का प्यार उतना ही पवित्र और सुंदर है जितना फूलों की सुगंध।
तीसरी और सबसे शक्तिशाली याद तब आती है जब कवि अपने कमरे की खिड़की से दूर नीले आकाश में झाँकते हैं। उन्हें लगता है कि उनकी माँ की शांत और प्यार भरी नज़र पूरे आकाश में फैल गई है। जैसे आकाश असीमित और अनंत है वैसे ही उनकी माँ का प्यार भी असीमित और अनंत है। यह कविता का सबसे भावुक और शक्तिशाली हिस्सा है।
यह कविता हमें सिखाती है कि माँ का प्यार कभी खत्म नहीं होता। वह प्रकृति में, संगीत में, फूलों की खुशबू में और आकाश की विशालता में हमेशा जीवित रहता है। माँ चाहे हमारे पास हो या न हो उनका प्यार हमें हर पल महसूस होता रहता है और हमारी ज़िंदगी को खूबसूरत बनाता रहता है।