SHRI RAM GLOBAL SCHOOL, WHITEFIELD

My Mother at Sixty Six

Author :Kamala Das

Kamala Surayya (born Kamala) (1934-2009), also known by her one-time pen name
Madhavikutty and Kamala Das, was an Indian English poet and litterateur besides being a
leading Malayalam author from Kerala, India. Her popularity in Kerala is based chiefly on her
short stories and autobiography, while her literature in English, written under the name Kamala
Das, is noted for the poems and explicit autobiography. She was also a widely read columnist
and wrote on diverse topics including women’s issues, child care and politics among others.

Historical Context
“My Mother at Sixty-Six” by Kamala Das was published in 1999. In the same year, Kamala Das
converted to Islam. She was 65 years old then. In this poem, Das recalls the memory of her
mother. Her mother, Balamani Amma, was also a writer. Kamala followed her mother’s path and
excelled in the field.

1.Poem

My Mother at Sixty-Six Explanation

Poem
My Mother at Sixty-Six:
Driving from my parent’s
home to Cochin last Friday
morning, I saw my mother,
beside me,
doze, open mouthed, her face
ashen like that
of a corpse and realized with pain
that she was as old as she
looked but soon
put that thought away, and
looked out at Young
Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes, but after the airport’s
security check, standing a few yards
away, I looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s moon and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,
but all I said was, see you soon, Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and
smile……

Summary
This is a touching poem written by Indian poet Kamla Das who wrote under the pen name of
‘Madhavikutty’. In this poem, she describes her feeling of love and attachment towards her
ageing mother.
Once the poet went to visit her mother. She was on her way back to the the airport to return to
Cochin. She looked at her mother who was seated beside her in the car. Her mother had dozed
off to sleep and her ageing face – was smoky in colour like ash. Her mouth was open and she
resembled a dead body. The poet realized that her mother was old. She felt pain and sympathy
for her. Her mother needed love, affection and care.

In order to come out of the gloom, the poet shifted her glance and looked out of the car’s
window. There she saw young trees pass by. Little children were running out of their houses
into the playgrounds. These things were contrary to the ageing face of her mother. They
symbolised energy, life and happiness.

As they reached the airport and the poet was about to leave for the airplane, she glanced at her
mother one more time. Her mother appeared weak and pale just like the moon in the winter
season which seems to have lost all its strength. The poet felt the pain and fear of losing her
mother. She was reminded of her childhood when she used to fear losing her mother. As a child
she could not bear to be separated from her mother even for a few moments. Now the loss
would be permanent as her mother was about to die and she would lose her forever.

The poet did not express her feelings. She smiled and said “see you soon, Amma” because she
wanted her mother to live and they could meet again.

WORD MEANINGS
1) doze: a short, light sleep
2) ashen: very pale, like ash.
3) corpse: a dead body.
4) sprinting: here, shooting out of the ground.
5) spilling: here, to move out in great numbers.
6) wan: unnaturally pale, as from physical or emotional distress.
7) ache: pain.

Central Idea / Message

Relationships between people become stronger at every aspect of life and they can't bear
separation due to aging. In this poem, the poet relates a personal experience. She brings out a
common paradox of human relationships and portrays a sensational separation of a mother and
a daughter.

Theme:
The theme of inescapable decay, a presentiment of emotional susceptibility leading to terrible
fear of death, separation-isolation. The daughter’s feelings and concerns are portrayed in a
sensitive manner. One of the many childhood fears that distressed her was the fear of her
mother’s death.

Stanza 1
Poem enumerates:

● pain and anguish felt by the poet.

● on seeing her ageing mother sitting in the car.
● on her way — airport.
● dozing — mouth open — visage pale, ashen, lifeless like that of a corpse
● dismay — insecurity — triggered childhood fear.
stanza 2

● Escapism-looks outside-car-to-put—dreadful thought away-

● contrast between her mother’s weakness and frailty.
● blossoming life-exuberance-young trees sprinting-racing past-grim reminder of lapse of
time.
● Children sprinting-new hope-happiness-youth-poet drifted back to-days of idyllic youth
when the mother — young-energetic.
● now a grim reminder of lost youth-twilight-inching towards death
stanza 3

● After security check-standing few yards away

● looks – mother’s face.
● wan like winter moon – resembles foggy — misty – end of the cycle.
● feels a twitch in heart-old familiar ache-childhood fear seizes her.
● fear of loss & separation.
● beset with the sorrow-insecurity-agonizing thought of mother’s impending death.
● bids goodbye-hides fear by smiling-telling ‘see you soon Amma’.
● hiding her own grief she smiled and smiled and smiled-assurance.
Rhyme Scheme
“My Mother at Sixty-Six” is written in free verse. It means the text does not contain a regular
rhyme scheme. Das uses internal rhyming and short lines to maintain the flow of the poem.
Besides, the repetition of similar sounds also helps the poet create internal rhyming. The poem
sounds like everyday speech or spoken-word poetry in the absence of conventional rhyming.

Figure of Speech in My Mother at Sixty-Six

Stanza 1
● “her face ashen like that of a corpse”
Simile
Reason: This line uses “like” to compare the mother’s pale, ashen face to that of a corpse,
emphasizing the pallor associated with aging and frailty. It creates a stark image of the mother’s
current state, contrasting with the vitality of life.

● “Home to Cochin last Friday morning”

● “doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpse”
Assonance
Reason: The prominent ‘o’ sound repeated in these lines creates a sonorous effect, contributing
to the overall mood of the stanza. This assonance adds a layer of auditory imagery, enhancing
the reflective and somber tone.
● “doze, open mouthed, her face ashen”
Imagery
Reason: This description creates a detailed visual image of the mother as she sleeps,
highlighting her vulnerability and the signs of ageing. It allows the reader to vividly picture the
scene, adding to the emotional depth of the poem.

● “Driving from my parent’s home to Cochin last Friday”

● “morning, I saw my mother, beside me,”
Enjambment
Reason: Enjambment occurs when a sentence in a poem continues beyond the end of a line
without a pause, like from the first to the second line here. It creates a flowing, uninterrupted
feeling that matches the ongoing drive and the narrator’s continuous thoughts, adding
smoothness to the poem’s structure.
 ● “Put that thought away and looked out at young”
● “That she was old as she looked but soon”
Consonance
Reason: The repeated ‘t’ sound in the first line and the ‘s’ sound in the second line exemplify
consonance, creating a rhythmic and melodic quality. This technique enhances the emotional
tone of the stanza.
● “Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes”
Imagery
Reason: This vivid imagery contrasts the static, aging figure of the mother with the dynamic,
lively world outside. The description of trees and children in motion evokes a sense of vitality
and joy.

“looked out at Young”

Repetition
Reason: The repetition of “looked” underscores the poet’s shift in attention from her mother to
the outside world. It emphasizes the transition from introspection to observation.

● “Trees sprinting”
Personification
Reason: The personification of trees as “sprinting” adds life and movement to the scene,
contrasting with the mother’s stillness and age.

● “she was as old as she looked”

● “Young Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling”
Contrast
Reason: The contrast between the elderly mother and the youthful surroundings highlights the
theme of aging and the passage of time. It brings into focus the cycle of life and the fleeting
nature of youth.

● “Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes”

Metaphor
Reason: The poet uses metaphorical language to describe the trees and children, attributing
human actions to them. This metaphor enhances the contrast between the stillness of age and
the energy of youth.

● “that she was as old as she looked”

● “looked out at Young Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes”
juxtaposition
Reason: The juxtaposition of the aging mother with the energetic surroundings emphasizes the
poet’s emotional realization and her attempt to find solace in the liveliness of the world around
her.

● “And realised with pain / that she was as old as she looked but soon”
 ● “put that thought away, and looked out at Young / Trees sprinting, the merry children
spilling”
Enjambment
Reason: The continuation of sentences across lines without pauses or end stops, particularly in
these lines, creates enjambment. This technique allows the poem to flow smoothly, mirroring
the continuous stream of the narrator’s thoughts and observations, and connecting different
parts of the narrative seamlessly.

● “wan, pale as a late winter’s moon”

Simile
Reason: The poet uses a simile to compare her mother’s pale face to a “late winter’s moon.”
This comparison emphasizes the paleness and suggests a sense of fading beauty, akin to the
waning phase of the moon in late winter.

● “Security check, standing a few yards”

Consonance
Reason: The repeated ‘s’ sound in these words creates consonance, adding a melodic quality to
the stanza. This sound pattern enhances the reflective and somber tone of the poem.

● “wan, pale as a late winter’s moon”

Symbolism
Reason: The “late winter’s moon” symbolizes decay and the end of a cycle. It mirrors the
mother’s aging process, portraying it as a natural and inevitable part of life’s cycle.

● “wan, pale as a late winter’s moon”

Imagery
Reason: This line paints a vivid picture of the mother’s appearance, invoking the subdued, pale
light of a winter moon. The imagery underscores the quiet resignation and the sense of an
approaching end.

● “Security check, standing a few yards”

Alliteration
Reason: The repetition of the ‘s’ sound in “Security” and “standing” creates a soft alliteration,
adding to the stanza’s contemplative tone.

● “But after the airport’s Security check”

● “wan, pale as a late winter’s moon”
Juxtaposition
Reason: The poet juxtaposes the setting of an airport security check with the still, pale image of
her mother. This contrast emphasizes the difference between the busy activities of life and the
profound realization of her mother’s aging.

● “But after the airport’s Security check, standing a few yards”

● “Away, I looked again at her, wan, pale”
Enjambment
Reason: The sentence flows over multiple lines without a pause, reflecting the smooth transition
of the narrator’s thoughts and gaze. This enjambment adds to the poem’s introspective and
continuous narrative flow.

● “All I did was smile and smile and smile……”

Repetition
Reason: The thrice-repeated word “smile” emphasizes the poet’s continuous effort to maintain a
façade of happiness and reassurance in front of her mother, despite her deep-seated fears and
sadness.

mother’s aging. This repetition effectively conveys the depth of the poet’s internal struggle.

Figure of Speech: Juxtaposition

● “Familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,”
● “All I did was smile and smile and smile……”
Reason: The juxtaposition of the poet’s internal feelings of fear and her outward action of
smiling underscores the tension between her emotional reality and the façade she presents to
protect her mother.

Figure of Speech: Irony

“All I did was smile and smile and smile……”
Reason: There is a sense of irony in this line. The poet’s repeated smiling, an action typically
associated with happiness, contrasts sharply with her actual feelings of fear and sadness. This
irony highlights the disparity between the outward expression of joy and the internal experience
of emotional pain, underscoring the complex emotions involved in the poet’s interaction with her
mother.

Figure of Speech: Enjambment

● “And felt that old Familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,”
● “but all I said was, see you soon, Amma,”
Reason: The flow of the narrative from one line to the next without a syntactical break,
particularly from “Familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,” to “but all I said was, see you soon,
Amma,” exemplifies enjambment. This technique allows the poem to maintain a continuous and
natural rhythm, reflecting the uninterrupted flow of the narrator’s thoughts and emotions.

Analysis of the poem:

In the first few lines of the poem “My Mother at Sixty-Six,” Kamala Das depicts a speaker and
her mother sitting in a car and heading towards the Cochin airport. While the speaker (or the
poet) was on the way, she looked at her old mother dozing in her seat. From the second line, it
is clear that the speaker is recapitulating the scene after some days of leaving her mother. The
scene constitutes some flicks of that day. In this poem, she reflects on the departure and, most
notably, on her aging mother.
From the description of her mother, we can infer that she was not physically well, as drowsiness
is a common symptom in older adults. The poet hints at her mother’s imminent death in the line,
“her face/ ashen like that/ of a corpse.” The epithet “ashen” hints at this idea.

Old age is a critical juncture in one’s life. It is the same for the people around that person. The
body starts to deteriorate at this stage, and the mind weakens. The face reflects the age-worn
pain borne by the heart. There sparks a pain in her heart seeing her mother’s “ashen” face.

The condition of the speaker’s mother makes readers pity her. She is well aware of reality. Still,
there is an unknown fear in her heart. The age of “sixty-six” is a critical moment in any person’s
life, especially that of a woman. Exceptions are always there, but the poet’s mother is drooping
with age’s burden. In this section, the poet discloses that she was as old as she looked. These
lines are a bit tricky. The poet might have meant that the lady mentally accepted her age. Here,
she introduces the paradox of aging through her words. “We become what we think.”

In the following lines, the image of the old mother is in stark contrast with the imagery of the
“Young Trees” and “merry children.” Collectively, these images create a contrast between life
and death, hope and hopelessness. Inside the car, her aging mother gave her feelings of grief
and hopelessness. In contrast, the outside scene from the car filled the speaker with hope, joy,
and vitality.

If readers look outside of the car along with the speaker, they can see green trees full of vitality
rushing behind, energetic children running out of their houses to play, and the freshness of
morning air (which the speaker does not state explicitly). In this way, the cloud of despair
disappears in the last lines of this section. However, the overall poem is written in a despairing
and depressing tone. Those images act as soft rays of the blushing sun hiding behind the
monsoon clouds.

Das quickly shifts to reality again. Her persona recalls the moment when she stood at the
airport’s security check and her mother was a few yards away. She looked back at her pale
face, and it seemed to her as the “late winter’s moon.” Winter is a season of harsh weather
conditions, lack of life, and full of hopelessness. Hence it is used as a metaphor for one’s
approaching death. In this phrase, the moon is used to symbolize the color of her mother’s face.

In the following line, the poetic persona hints at her “childhood’s fear.” She refers to the fear of
her mother’s approaching death in a roundabout manner. It is an example of insinuation, a
poetic device. As a child, she might have thought that someday her mother was going to leave
her alone. She cannot protect her loved ones from dying. At the time of leaving her mother, she
was reminded of this truth, the mortality of her mother.

At the moment of leaving, several thoughts were running through her mind. But, she could say
nothing more. She was not sure whether she could see her again or not. All she had was hope,
realization, and a frail determination to lead her life on her own. Finally, she left with a smile on
her face. The smile does not emerge from the best memories she had with her mother. It is
signaling her hidden despair. She knows every mortal being is destined to die. This awareness
made her numb, and she could not utter anything, even a hearty, warm goodbye.

How could she say anything more apart from smiling back at her mother, probably bidding the
final farewell?

Correlation : Life versus Death

Apart from the themes of death and old age, there is also the theme of life versus death and
hope versus pessimism. Das only uses two images to tap on this theme. One is of the “Young
Trees” sprinting alongside the car. The other one is of the “merry children spilling out of their
homes.” The trees symbolize life and mobility, and the children symbolize innocence and vitality.
In contrast, the image of her mother’s face portrays the futility of life, hopelessness, and despair.
In this way, the children running out of their homes depict the bright side of life.
The poet takes us to her inner world. She shares her intimate thoughts and makes readers her
compatriot of the pain she felt on that day. She is aware of the fact that she has to leave her
aging mother behind at some point. It is true that the process is painful and takes a lot of effort
to forget one’s loved ones. But it’s life. Moving on with the freshness of the morning, leaving the
ashes of the past behind, is part and parcel of life.

Value Points:
● To drive away pain-fear of separation from her mother-children symbolic of life/energy/
dynamism/happiness-to distract from thoughts of her ageing mother.
● Kamala Das looked at the young children, as they represented youth, which is full of life
and energy.

Read the stanzas given below and answer the questions that follow :
1. Driving from my parents home to Cochin last Friday morning, 1 saw my mother,
beside me,
doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpse and realised with pain
that she was as old as she looked but soon
Questions
(a)Where was the poet driving to? Who was sitting beside her?
(b)What did the poet notice about her mother?
(c)Why was her mother’s face look like that of a corpse?
(d)Find words from the passage which mean :
(i) sleep lightly (ii) dead body (iii) felt.
Answers:
(a)The poet was driving from her parent’s home to the Cochin airport. Her mother was
sitting beside her.
(b)She noticed that her mother was dozing with her mouth open.
(c)Her mother’s face looked pale, faded and lifeless like a dead body because she had
grown old.
(d)(i) doze (ii) corpse (iii) realised.
2.…………..She
looked but soon
put that thought away, and
looked out at Young
Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes,
Questions
(a)What did the poet realise? How did she feel
(b) What did she do then?
(c)What did she notice in the world outside?
(d)Find words from the passage which mean: (ii) running fast (ii) happy (iii) moving out.
Answers:
(a)Her mother was lost somewhere else in thoughts. It pained her.
(b)The poet withdrew her thoughts from her mother and looked outside.
(c)The young trees growing outside went past as if they were sprinting. Happy children
were coming out of their houses.
(d)(i) sprinting (ii) merry (iii) spilling.

3………………but after the airport’s

security check, standing a few yards away, I looked again at her, wan, pale as a late
winter’s moon and felt that old familiar ache, my childhood’s fear, but all I said was, see
you soon,Amma,all I did was smile and smile and smile
Questions
(a)What did the poet do after the security check?
(b)Why did the poet compare her mother’s face to a late winter’s moon?
(c)What is her childhood fear ?
(d)How do the parting words of the poet and her smile present a contrast to her real
feelings?
Answers:
(a)After the security check, the poet stood a few yards away from her mother and looked
at her face again.
(b)The late winter moon lacks brightness as well as strength. The pale and colourless
face of the mother resembles the late winter moon.
(c)The fear of ageing and ultimate death/separation.
(d)The poet’s parting words of assurance and her smiles present a stark contrast to the
old familiar ache or childhood fear. Her words and smiles are a deliberate attempt to
hide what is going on inside.

QUESTIONS FROM TEXTBOOK

Q1. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?
Ans: When the poet sees the pale and corpse-like face of her mother, her old familiar
pain or the ache returns. Perhaps she has entertained this fear since her childhood.
Ageing is a natural process. Time and ageing spare none. Time and ageing have not
spared the poet’s mother and may not spare her as well. With this ageing, separation
and death become inevitable.

Q2. Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?

Ans: The poet is driving to the Cochin airport. When she looks outside, the young trees
seem to be walking past them. With the speed of the car they seem to be running fast or
sprinting. The poet presents a contrast—her ‘dozing’ old mother and the ‘sprinting’
young trees.

Q3. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of
their homes’ ?
Ans: The poet has brought in the image of merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’ to
present a contrast. The merry children coming out of their homes in large numbers
present an image of happiness and spontaneous overflow of life. This image is in stark
contrast to the ‘dozing’ old mother, whose ‘ashen’ face looks lifeless and pale like a
corpse. She is an image of ageing, decay and passivity. The contrast of the two images
enhances the poetic effect.

Q4. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’ ?
Ans: The poet’s mother is sixty-six years old. Her shrunken ‘ashen’ face resembles a
corpse. She has lost her shine and strength of youth. Similarly the late winter’s moon
looks hazy and obscure. It too lacks shine and strength. The comparison is quite natural
and appropriate. The simile used here is apt as well as effective.

Q5. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
Ans: The poet’s parting words of assurance and her smiles provide a stark contrast to
the old familiar ache or fear of the childhood. Her words and smiles are a deliberate
attempt to hide her real feelings. The parting words: “See you soon, Amma” give an
assurance to the old lady whose ‘ashen face’ looks like a corpse. Similarly, her
continuous smiles are an attempt to overcome the ache and fear inside her heart.

MORE QUESTIONS SOLVED

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS (Word Limit: 30-40 words)
Q1. Where was the poet going and who was with her?
Ans: The poet was driving from her parent’s home to the Cochin airport. The poet’s
mother had come to see her off. She was sitting beside her. She was dozing with her
mouth open. The words ‘driving’ and ‘doze’ provide a contrast between images of
dynamic activity and static passivity respectively.

Q2. What was the poet’s childhood fear? [All India 2014]
Ans: The child is always in fear of being separated from his parents. In the same way,
the poet’s fear as a child was that of losing her mother or her company.
Q3. What does the poet’s mother look like? What kind of images has the poet
used to signify her ageing decay?
Ans: The poet’s mother is sixty-six years old. She is sitting beside the poet and dozing
with her mouth open. This is a sign of old age. Usually old people keep their mouth open
to overcome breathing problems. Her face looked pale and faded like ash. Actually, she
is an image of death as her ‘ashen’ face looks like that of a corpse.

Q4. What does the poet realise with pain? Why does the poet ‘put that thought
away’ and look outside?
Ans: The lifeless and faded face of the poet’s mother pains her heart. She looks lifeless
like a corpse. She provides an image of passivity, decay and death. The old lady seems
to be lost in her thoughts. The poet needs a distraction, a change. She puts that thought
away and looks outside. There she gets a picture of life, happiness and activity.

Q5. Describe the world inside the car and compare it to the activities taking place
outside?
Ans: The pale and faded face of the poet’s mother looks lifeless like a corpse. Her
dozing with mouth wide open suggests passivity, decay and death. Outside the car, the
poet watches young trees speeding past them. They seem to be running fast or
sprinting. Happy children are moving out of their homes cheerfully. They present an
image of life, dynamism and activity.

Q6. Why does the poet look outside? What does she see happening outside?
Ans: The thought of the ageing mother at sixty-six and her pale and ashen face looking
like a corpse becomes too heavy for the poet to bear. She needs a distraction, a
diversion and therefore she looks outside. She watches young trees. These trees speed
past them and appear to be sprinting. Then she sees happy children moving out of their
houses and making merry.

Q7. How has the poet contrasted the scene inside the car with the activities going
on outside?
Ans: The poet has used beautiful images to highlight the stark contrast between the
scene inside the car and the activities going on outside. The ‘ashen’ face of the poet’s
mother is pale and lifeless. It looks like that of a corpse. She is dozing and lost to herself.
The image of the ‘dozing’ mother is contrasted with the ‘spilling’ of children. The ‘ashen’
and ‘corpse¬like’ face is contrasted with the young trees sprinting outside.

Q8. What does the poet do after the security check-up? What does she notice?
Ans: They have to pass through a security check-up at the airport. After it, the poet
stands a few yards away. Before saying parting words to her mother, she looks at her
mother again. Her face looks pale and colourless like the late winter’s moon. She
presents a picture of ageing and decay.

Q9. Why is the poet’s mother compared to the late winter’s moon?
Ans: The poet’s mother has been compared to the late winter’s moon to bring out the
similarity of ageing and decay. The late winter moon looks hazy and obscure. It lacks
shine and strength. The poet’s mother has an ‘ashen’ face resembling a corpse. She has
lost her shine and strength of youth. The comparison reinforces the impact.

Q10. What is the poet’s familiar ache and why does it return?
Ans: The poet is pained at the ageing and decaying of her mother. The fear is that with
ageing comes decay and death. The sight of her old mother’s ‘ashen’ and corpse-like
face arouses “that old familiar ache” in her heart. Her childhood fear returns. She is also
pained and frightened by the idea that she may have to face all these things herself.

Q11. How does Kamala Das try to put away the thoughts of her ageing mother?[All
India 2014]
Ans: Kamala Das was in much trouble after seeing the lifeless and faded face of her
mother. The old lady seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. The poetess turned away
her attention from her mother and looked outside. The outside world was full of life and
activity. The young trees seemed to be running fast. The children looked happy while
moving out of their homes.

Q12. Why does the poet smile and what does she say while bidding good bye to
her mother ?
OR
With fear and ache inside her heart and words of assurance on lips and smile on
the face, the poet presents two opposite and contrasting experiences. Why does
the poet put on a smile?
Ans: The ‘wan’, ‘pale’, face of the poet’s mother at sixty-six brings an image of decay
and death. It brings that old familiar fear of separation back. She fears the ultimate fate
of human beings. But she has to put on a brave face. She regains self-control. She
composes herself and tries to look normal. She utters the words of assurance that they
will meet again soon. She tries to hide her ache and fear by smiling continuously.

Q13. What poetic devices have been used by Kamala Das in ‘My Mother at Sixty-
six’?
Ans: The poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-six’ is rich in imagery. Kamala Das uses the devices
of comparison and contrast. The use of a simile is very effective. The face of the poet’s
old mother is described as ‘ashen’. This ashen face is ‘like that of a corpse’. The poet
uses another simile. The “wan, pale" face of the mother is compared to ‘a late winter’s
moon’.
The poem excels in contrasts. The old ‘dozing’ lady inside is contrasted with the young
trees “sprinting” and merry children “spilling” out of their homes.

Extra Questions Long Answer Type

Question 1:
Bring out the significance of the smile of the poet as she bade farewell to her mother.
Answer:
The poet smiles as she bids farewell to her mother and assures her that they would
meet again. As she looks at her mother, who looks pale and weak due to old age, her
heart is pained to think that her mother might not live long. She smiles, but her smile is
only an effort to cover up the hidden fear and pain in her heart.

It is a smile put on deliberately to hide her tears. Her situation is quite ironical. Though
she tells her mother that she’ll see her soon, she doubts if she will ever see her alive
again. The repetition of the word ‘smile’ shows that it is a long and cheerful one. The
smile is also significant because it must have comforted both the mother and the
daughter and kindled in them the hope that the mother would survive long enough for
the two to meet again.

Question 2:
Bring out the poetic devices used in the poem.
Answer:
The poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’ captures the complex subtleties of human
relationships in a texture of symbols, imagery and other poetic devices.

The entire poem is structured in the frame of a single sentence, punctuated by commas.
It indicates a single string of thought that runs throughout. There is a simile in the explicit
comparison of the ashen face of her mother to that of a corpse. We find another simile in
the comparison between the pale visage of her mother and the late winter’s moon, as
her face has lost its brightness.

There is the use of personification in the line “Trees sprinting’, where trees are attributed
with the quality of running swiftly, for enhancing the poetic effect. The poet has used
alliteration in the use of the words ‘familiar’ and ‘fear’ with the repetition of the consonant
sound |f|. It also suggests the poet’s familiarity with her childhood fear and the sorrow of
losing her mother to death.

Value Based Type

Question 1:
Analyse the concept of losing our dear ones on account of old age in the context of the
poem.
Answer:
The poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’ brings out the natural complexities of the human mind
and the natural fear of losing our parents, which is common to the hearts of all humans.
Ageing is an indispensable part of human life which we have to accept, irrespective of
the pain it cultivates in our hearts. The poet speaks about her mother who is growing old
and has a pale and weak face.
Her mother sleeps while travelling, as we realize that she requires rest. The poet recalls
how even as a child she has experienced the fear of losing her mother. Now her fear has
changed into the fear of losing her mother to death. Her attention is arrested by her
mother’s failing health and yet she smiles, only with the hope of meeting her soon.