BSEB Class 12 English Rainbow Book Poem 9 Snake Question Answers 

 

Snake Question Answers: Looking for Snake important questions and Answers for BSEB Class 12 English Rainbow Book? Look no further! Our comprehensive compilation of important questions will help you brush up on your subject knowledge. Practicing BSEB Class 12 English question Answers can significantly improve your performance in the board exam. Improve your chances of scoring high marks by exploring Snake Question Answers now. The questions listed below are based on the latest BSEB exam pattern. All the exercises and Questions Answers given at the back of the lesson have also been covered. 

 

 


Related: Snake Summary, Explanation, Word Meanings 

 

BSEB Class 12 English Poem 9 Snake Textbook Question and Answers

Exercises

B.1. 1. Read the following sentences and write ‘T’ for true and ‘F’ for false statements:

a) It was a hot day when the thirsty snake came to drink water.
b) The speaker was in a haste to drink water.
c) The colour of the snake was yellow-black.
d) The speaker considered himself a second comer to the trough.

Answer-

a) It was a hot day when the thirsty snake came to drink water. True
b) The speaker was in a haste to drink water. True
c) The colour of the snake was yellow-black. False
d) The speaker considered himself a second comer to the trough. True

B.1. 2. Answer the following questions, briefly:

1) Where did the speaker meet the snake?
AnswerThe speaker met the snake near the water trough of his house. The snake had come to the water trough to drink water. The speaker had also gone to the water trough to drink water.

2) Why had it come out of its hole near the trough?
AnswerIt had come out of its hole near the trough to drink water because it was a hot day and the snake was thirsty.

3) Why did the speaker decide to wait?
Answer- The speaker decided to wait because the snake had come first near the water trough and the poet as the second-comer decided to wait.

B.2. 1. Read the following sentences and write ‘T’ for true and ‘F’ for false statements:

a) The snake looked at the speaker vaguely.
b) The day mentioned in the poem is that of June.
c) There was a superstitious belief in Sicily to kill black snake.
d) The speaker was glad playing host to a snake.
e) The snake departed in an obliged way.
f) The speaker had a desire to talk to the snake.

Answer-

a) The snake looked at the speaker vaguely. True
b) The day mentioned in the poem is that of June. False
c) There was a superstitious belief in Sicily to kill black snake. False
d) The speaker was glad playing host to a snake. True
e) The snake departed in an obliged way. False
f) The speaker had a desire to talk to the snake. True

B.2. 2. Answer the following questions briefly:

1) How did the snake drink water?
Answer-
The snake rested his throat upon the stone bottom and sipped the water very silently with his straight mouth, softly drank through his straight gums, into his slack long body. After drinking water, he raised his head just like cattle do and flashed his forked tongue, thought for a moment and then bent down to drink some more water.

2) What is the meaning of ‘Sicilian July, with Etna smoking’?
AnswerThe poet referred to the day of Sicilian July with Etna smoking, Mount Etna was one of the world’s most active volcanoes, he explained about the temperature of the place using the Etna word. Etna smoking means extreme heat like the one caused when Etna erupted. It was probably the heat that drove the snake to the water trough. 

3) What is the belief prevailing in Sicily about a snake?
Answer- The poet talked about his education that while he was in Sicily, he had learnt that black snakes would not harm you, but that golden ones were poisonous. So his education told him to kill the golden snake that had come to his water trough. 

4) Why did the speaker like the snake?
Answer- The speaker liked the snake because it looked very innocent. It drank the water peacefully for which it came out of its secret hole in the earth and did not misuse its power. 

5) Do you think he had a conflict in mind?
Answer-
Yes, I think that he had a conflict in mind because at first he was afraid of the snake and later he thought that it was a guest who came to drink water at his house. The poet regretted after hitting the snake. He thought that he had done something uncivilized and he might have committed a sin so he wanted to apologize. 

B.2. 1. Read the following sentences and write ‘T’ for true and ‘F’ for false statements:

a) The speaker found the slow movement of the snake quite impressive.
b) The speaker did not like the snake going back to the dark hole.
c) He threw the pitcher at the snake.
d) He later regretted for having hit it.
e) He compares it to a sea-bird, albatross.
f) The snake appeared like king in exile.

Answer-

a) The speaker found the slow movement of the snake quite impressive. True
b) The speaker did not like the snake going back to the dark hole. True
c) He threw the pitcher at the snake. False
d) He later regretted for having hit it. True
e) He compares it to a sea-bird, albatross. True
f) The snake appeared like king in exile. True

B.2. 2. Answer the following questions briefly:

1) What thing about the snake did appeal him most?
Answer- The thing about the snake that appealed to the poet most was that the snake calmly came to the poet’s house  for the purpose of drinking water as a guest and departed peacefully after being satisfied. The snake behaved so gently and decently. 

2) Why did he not like it going back to the dark hole?
AnswerThe poet did not like it going back to the dark hole because he wanted it to stay. He thought that the snake had come like a guest or God and he wanted to talk to it. Moving back to the dark hole seemed horrifying to him.

3) What was his reaction after hitting the snake?
Answer-
The poet regretted after hitting the snake. He was tense at his act of hitting  and he felt that he had done wrong so he wanted the snake to come back and accept his apology. He thought that he had done something uncivilized and he might have committed a sin by his reaction.

4) Why did the speaker consider it ‘a king in exile’?
AnswerThe speaker considered it a king in exile because it was a peaceful black cobra who had done nothing wrong with him. It was uncrowned in the world because the snake’s behavior was royal, majestic, relaxed, and impressive like that of a king. It came out of its secret hole in the earth and did not misuse its power. 

C. 1. LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. The speaker was fascinated by the snake. Do you think the time mentioned and the place it belonged to has anything to do with this fascination?
AnswerIt was a typical summer day when the poet felt thirsty, came down and reached his water pitcher. He saw a snake near the water trough so he had to stand and wait for the snake to finish drinking because the snake reached the water-trough before the poet. The speaker was fascinated by how the snake stopped drinking at one point and looked at him vaguely, in the same way that cattle drinking in ponds sometimes pause between sips. The snake acknowledged the poet with a flick of its tongue and then drank a little more. The snake moved its forked tongue quickly from side to side, thought for a bit and continued to drink again. Iit was a yellow-brown fierceful cobra with its eyes shining but it’s manners were decent. The poet expected the snake to leave as peacefully as he had come to go back into the burning bowels and in the depths of the earth from which he imagined it had risen. He quite liked the snake and was happy that it had come to drink at his water trough like a guest. He was so fascinated that it looked like a god to him. As such the time and the place of its arrival on the scene bears no importance, but it’s gentle and sober look and behaviour impressed the speaker.

2. What does he mean by ‘the voice of my education’?
Answer- The voice of education means to the poet that the snake was dangerous and poisonous. It must then be destroyed. The word ‘education’ here refers to the intellectual voice of the poet. It was human education and his knowledge while he was in Sicily, he had learnt that black snakes would not harm you, but that golden ones were poisonous. People become frightened if a snake appears before them. As such they kill the snake. So his education told him to kill the golden snake that had come to his water trough. It is prevalent that snakes become poisonous. If most of them who are poisonous bite a human being, he will not survive and is bound to die. 

3. There was a conflict in the mind of the poet. How did he analyse this conflict?
AnswerYes, There was a conflict in the mind of the poet when he met with the snake at his water trough. The poet was in a state of confusion and several ideas and feelings engulfed his mind. He was afraid of it and also thought that it was a guest who came to drink water at his house.  The poet questioned himself what it was that had stopped him from killing the snake, whether it was due to the lack of courage, or because his desire to talk to the snake was wrong or immoral thinking or because of his quality of being humble. The poet felt honoured that the snake chose to come to him, to trust him and his water. The poet confessed that he was very scared of the snake, but more than that, he was honoured that the snake had chosen to come only to his water trough while making its journey out of the earth’s crust. The fear was worthless to him than the honor of the moment. The poet wanted to present a hospitable water-trough for the snake, one that pleased him as he came out from the dark door of earth. These were the issues of conflict in the mind of the poet.

4. In what roles did he find the snake and himself? Describe.
AnswerGenerally the poet was the only one to drink out of his water trough, but that particular day, he himself was second to reach the water trough and he had to wait for the snake to finish first. The snake took advantage of his early arrival to the water trough and the poet as the second-comer had to wait. He considered the snake as his guest, who had come there to drink water. The snake was humble and gentle in its behaviour and it left the place peacefully after getting satisfied and did not cause any harm to him. So, both of them-the poet and the snake very well performed their roles.

5. The snake seemed like ‘a king in exile’. What are the qualities that make the snake so majestic?
AnswerThe poet seems to be full of admiration and respect for the snake. The poet was so impressed with its decent and gentle behavior that he almost regarded him as a king in exile and a majestic God. The snake was humble and peaceful that it caused no damage to the speaker nor it attacked him. Most cordially with a series of elegant and god-like movements, the snake then turned around slowly and headed back into the broken bank of the wall through which it had come from. The poet thought that the snake should have been the king, a king who had been barred and not crowned in his place which was beneath the surface of the earth. However, the poet felt that the snake would be crowned soon in the future.

6. What makes you think that hitting the snake was quite against the sensibility of the speaker?
Answer – The poet picked the wooden log and hit the snake. As a result, the snake suddenly in the shaking movement speeded up its motion and disappeared into the black hole in the wall in a flash like lightning. The poet kept looking at the crack in the wall in strong attraction in the intense noon. The poet immediately started to feel regret that he had acted in such a cruel, indecent and petty way with the snake. He hated himself and the voices of human education that had urged him to act in such a manner. The poet felt like he missed his chance to welcome a lord of life into his home and he must apologize and accept his punishment for the sin for his petty behaviour in the matter. This shows that hitting the snake was quite against his sensibility.

7. What is the ‘sin’ committed by the speaker that he wanted to ‘expiate’?
Answer- The poet felt that he missed his chance to welcome a lord of life into his home and he must apologize and accept his punishment for the sin for his petty behaviour in the matter where he picked the wooden log and hit the snake. As a result, the snake suddenly in the shaking movement speeded up its motion and disappeared into the black hole in the wall in a flash like lightning. The poet immediately started to feel regret that he had acted in such a cruel, indecent and petty way with the snake. He hated himself and the voices of human education that had urged him to act in such a manner. He thought that he had done a vulgar, shameful, and mean act and he wanted to ‘expiate’.

 

C.3. COMPOSITION

Write a short essay in about 150 words on the following:

a. Human greed and environmental degradation

AnswerHuman greed is damaging and degrading the lands of the Earth in an unsustainable fashion. Ironically, we humans are the main offenders and the same species that depend the most on it, is behind the destruction. The human population has grown rapidly, yet the landmass available to us remains the same. The growing number of humans has led to a growing demand for resources, which has led to overexploitation of the earth’s natural resources. Numerous forests have been levelled to accommodate our species’ growing population, disrupting ecosystems, and causing tremendous loss to biodiversity. One of the primary demands, food, is behind the largest negative impact. To meet the growing demands, agricultural expansion happened, terrestrial land use was changed. Forests are also cleared up for mining, as most of the precious resources like Oil, gold, diamond, copper etc are found in and around forests. It is important to remember that biodiversity is an important part of this planet, without which there is no future for humanity. We should remember that “The world has enough for everyone’s needs, but not enough for everyone’s greed.”

b. Religion teaches tolerance and humility

AnswerReligion is a very emotional topic. It can often be difficult for individuals to put their personal biases aside and consider ideas or situations objectively. Religious Tolerance refers to the ability to appreciate spiritual values, beliefs and practices which are different from your own. This goal is a complex one due the great diversity of religions and spiritual beliefs existing in the world today. One who is truly a religious person always respects not only his own religion but also other religions. This forms the basis of social development and prosperity. It improves fraternity and strengthens national unity. We should also learn to forget and forgive some lapses and shortcomings of others in the spirit of friendliness or brotherhood, or else we cannot have goodwill, cooperation and peace. Lastly, it has been found that the role of education, media and religion becomes very important in propagating tolerance in society. 

 

D. WORD STUDY

D.1. Dictionary Use

Ex. 1. Correct the spelling of the following words:

fishure streight flikered muzed parvarsity
delibarately convalsed wreethed fassination uncrouned

Answer-

Fishure

Fissure 

Streight

Streight

Flikered

Flickered 

Muzed

Muzzed 

Parvarsity– 

Perversity 

Delibarately– Deliberately  Convalsed

Convulsed 

Wreethed

Writhed 

Fassination

Fascination 

Uncrouned– Uncrowned 

 

D.2. Word-formation

Read the following lines from the poem carefully:

But suddenly that part of him that was left behind convulsed in undignified haste

Like a king in exile, uncrowned in the underworld,

In the above lines ‘undignified’ and ‘uncrowned’ have prefix ‘un—’ which make them ‘negative’ in meaning.

Add prefixes ‘un-‘, ‘in-‘, ‘im-‘, ‘il’, ‘ir-‘, ‘dis-‘ to the following words and fill in the blanks to complete the sentences given below: 

logical responsible respect
mortal  known ability

i. Pragya could not get good marks in ‘writing test’ because of her ________ to write fast.
ii. Man becomes _______ because of his action.
iii. His ______ behaviour is not liked by us.
iv. You cannot win the case by your __________ arguments.
v. There are still many ________  planets and stars in the universe.
vi. His blunt refusal to come was a sign of __________.

Answer-

Logical- 

Illogical 

Responsible-

Irresponsible

Respect-

Disrespect 

Mortal-

Immortal

Known-

Unknown 

Ability-

Inability 

i. Pragya could not get good marks in ‘writing test’ because of her inability to write fast.
ii. Man becomes immortal because of his action.
iii. His irresponsible behaviour is not liked by us.
iv. You cannot win the case by your illogical arguments.
v. There are still many unknown planets and stars in the universe.
vi. His blunt refusal to come was a sign of disrespect.

D.3. Word-meaning

Ex 1. Read the poem carefully to find out where the following phrases have been used.

Looked at looked around drew up
put down left behind thought of 

Fill in the blanks with appropriate phrases listed above:

i. Varsha _________ her papers on the table and went out.
ii. We could not _________ a better plan.
iii. He ran slowly and soon was __________ all other runners.
iv. We ________ the paintings in admiration.
v. The acrobat _________ himself before jumping over the rope.
vi. The thirsty man _________ in search of water. 

Answer-

i. Varsha put down her papers on the table and went out.
ii. We could not thought of a better plan.
iii. He ran slowly and soon was left behind all other runners.
iv. We looked at the paintings in admiration.
v. The acrobat drew up himself before jumping over the rope.
vi. The thirsty man looked around in search of water. 

E. GRAMMAR

Ex. 1. Go through the poem carefully and underline the lines where the following words/ nouns have been used:

slackness clearness cowardice perversity
hospitality blackness pettiness humility

Change the above words into adjectives and use them in the following sentences:

i. Mr John has very ……….. ideas on the success of democracy in India.
ii. ……..  men die several times.
iii. Films should not glorify ………  sex- behaviours.
iv. The sky suddenly turned   ……… .
v. He often perturbs his parents with ……….  demands.
vi. Though he occupies a high post, he is quite   …………
vii. His …………  approach aggravated the problem.
viii. Mrs Juber was quite ………..  with her guests.

Answer-

Slackness-

Slack

Clearness-

Clear

Cowardice-

Coward

Perversity-

Pervasive 

Hospitality-

Hospitable 

Blackness-

Black 

Pettiness-

Petty

Humility- 

Humble

i. Mr John has very clear ideas on the success of democracy in India.
ii. Coward men die several times.
iii. Films should not glorify slack  sex- behaviours.
iv. The sky suddenly turned black .
v. He often perturbs his parents with petty demands.
vi. Though he occupies a high post, he is quite humble.
vii. His pervasive  approach aggravated the problem.
viii. Mrs Juber was quite hospitable  with her guests.

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BSEB Class 12 English Poem 9 Snake Extra Question and Answers

 

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Name the poet of the poem ‘Snake’.
A. D.H. Lawrence
B. W.B. Keats
C. Adrienne Rich
D. Kamala Das
Ans. A. D.H. Lawrence

2. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?
A. ababa
B. aabba
C. aabbc
D. Free verse
Ans. D. Free verse

3. Why does the poet say ‘hot, hot day’?
A. He likes the word ‘hot’
B. It was extremely hot
C. Two days were hot
D. none of these
Ans. B. It was extremely hot

4. The poet went to the water trough to _____
A. welcome the snake
B. clean the area
C. drink water
D. All of these
Ans. C. drink water

5. Which tree was planted in his garden?
A. Gooseberry
B. Carob
C. Carom
D. Cumin
Ans. B. Carob

6. The poet lived in _______
A. Rome
B. Venice
C. Sicily
D. Paris
Ans. C. Sicily

7. The poem mentions the month of _____
A. June
B. August
C. May
D. July
Ans. D. July

8. Who is ‘he’ in these lines-
“He reached down from a fissure in the earth-wall in the gloom”
A. The poet
B. An intruder
C. The snake
D. None of these
Ans. C. The snake

9. What was the trough made of?
A. Metal
B. Fiber
C. Stone
D. Cement
Ans. C. Stone

10. Which of the following images best illustrates a two-forked tongue?

Class 12 BSEB English Poem Snake Question Answers Image 1

Ans. D

11. Etna is the name of a ___________
A. Mountain
B. River
C. Person
D. Snake
Ans. A. Mountain

12. What does ‘Etna Smoking’ mean?
A. Mount Etna is emitting a volcano
B. Etna snake is emitting fire
C. Etna is smoking cigarette
D. None of these
Ans. A. Mount Etna is emitting a volcano

13. The snake lifted his head like which animal?
A. Camel
B. Cattle
C. Dog
D. Cat
Ans. B. Cattle

14. Which figure of speech has NOT been used in the given lines-
“And looked at me vaguely, as drinking cattle do,
And flickered his two-forked tongue from his lips, and mused a moment,
And stooped and drank a little more,”
A. Anaphora
B. Simile
C. Alliteration
D. metaphor
Ans. D. metaphor

15. The poem personifies ____
A. poet
B. Etna
C. snake
D. Sicily
Ans. C. snake

16. Gold snakes are considered _________
A. innocent
B. harmless
C. venomous
D. All of these
Ans. C. venomous

17. Who asked the poet to hit the snake?
A. His father
B. His inner voice of education
C. The neighbour who was onlooking
D. All of these
Ans. B. His inner voice of education

18. What did the poet use to hit the snake?
A. the jug
B. a log of wood
C. a metal rod
D. a tumbler
Ans. B. a log of wood

19. On being hit, the snake _________
A. attacked the poet
B. flung in the air
C. writhed like lightning
D. flickered its tongue
Ans. C. writhed like lightning

20. What is the colour of the snake’s tongue?
A. white
B. red
C. pink
D. black
Ans. D. black

Extract Based Questions

Read the given extract and answer the questions that follow-

A. A snake came to my water-trough:
On a hot, hot day, and I in Pyjamas for the heat,
To drink there.
In the deep, strange scented shade of the great dark carob tree|
I came down the steps with my pitcher
And must wait, must stand and wait, for there he was at the trough before me.

1. What weather was it?
Ans. It was a very hot day.

2. The poet was wearing a _____
Ans. Pyjamas.

3. The area was filled with the aroma of the ______
Ans. Carob tree

4. What did the poet do on seeing the snake?
Ans. He waited for the snake to finish drinking water.

5. What is a trough?
Ans. Trough is a large tub used for storing water.

B. He reached down from a fissure in the earth-wall in the gloom
And trailed his yellow brown slackness soft-bellied down, over the
edge of the stone trough
And rested his throat upon the stone bottom,
And where the water had dripped from the tap, in a small clearness,
He sipped with his straight mouth,
Softly drank though his straight gums, into his slack long body,
Silently.

1. What is the structure of the poem?
Ans. It is written in free verse with irregular stanza and line length.

2. What is a fissure?
Ans. It is a small crack or opening

3. What is an earth-wall?
Ans. It is the wall of the poet’s garden. It is called earth wall because behind it, there is the earth.

4. Find a synonym of ‘sad’
Ans. Gloom

5. Find a synonym of flexible
Ans. Slack

C. He lifted his head from his drinking, as cattle do,
And looked at me vaguely, as drinking cattle do,
And flickered his two-forked tongue from his lips, and mused a moment,
And stooped and drank a little more,
Being earth-brown, earth-golden from the burning bowels of the earth
On the day of Sicilian July with Etna smoking.

1. The snake behaved like cattle in two ways. What were they?
Ans. He lifted his head and looked at the poet just like drinking cattle do.

2. Why did the snake flicker its two-forked tongue?
Ans. It flicked the tongue as if it was tasting the water that it had drunk.

3. What does ‘stooped’ mean?
Ans. It means to bend forward.

4. What is the colour of the snake?
Ans. Earth-brown

5. What does bowels mean?
Ans. Bowel means the stomach and here, it means the inner core of the Earth.

D. The voice of my education said to me
He must be killed,
For in Sicily the black, black snakes are innocent, the gold are venomous
Was it cowardice, that I dared not kill him?
Was it perversity, that I longed to talk to him?
Was it humility, to feel so honoured?
I felt so honoured.
And yet those voices:
If you were not afraid, you would kill him!

1. How do they decide whether a snake is venomous or not?
Ans. The colour of the snake is the deciding factor.

2. Why did the poet feel honoured?
Ans. He felt honoured to have a guest at his water trough.

3. To whom did those voices belong?
Ans. Those were the voices of his inner consciousness which was formed by his education

4. What was his inner voice forcing him to do?
Ans. It was forcing the poet to kill the snake.

5. Which colour snakes are considered harmless?
Ans. Black snakes are considered harmless.

 

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