I Cannot Remember My Mother

Q1. Which of the following best describes what the poet means by 'I cannot remember my mother'?

• A. He has completely forgotten his mother and has no memories of her.
• B. He cannot recall direct conscious memories, but remembers her through sensory triggers and emotions. ✓
• C. He refuses to remember his mother because she abandoned him.
• D. He can only remember his mother when he is sad.

Answer: B — The poem shows that while direct memories are absent, sensory experiences trigger vivid recollections of maternal presence and love.

Q2. The tune in the first stanza symbolizes —

• A. A popular song the poet used to sing.
• B. The lullaby the mother hummed while rocking the cradle, representing her care. ✓
• C. A childhood game the poet enjoyed playing.
• D. Background music from the poet's school days.

Answer: B — The tune is explicitly described as the song the mother hummed while rocking the cradle, embodying her maternal care and love.

Q3. What is the setting of the second stanza?

• A. Indoor, in the poet's bedroom.
• B. Indoor, in the temple.
• C. Outdoor, in early autumn morning. ✓
• D. Outdoor, in the playground.

Answer: C — The second stanza mentions early autumn morning with the smell of shiuli flowers and temple service, establishing an outdoor setting.

Q4. Which sense does the poet primarily use in the second stanza to remember his mother?

• A. Sense of taste.
• B. Sense of touch.
• C. Sense of smell (olfactory). ✓
• D. Sense of hearing.

Answer: C — The second stanza emphasizes the smell of shiuli flowers and the scent of morning temple service as triggers for memory.

Q5. The line 'has spread all over the sky' uses which literary device to describe the mother's gaze?

• A. Simile, comparing gaze to sky.
• B. Personification, giving human qualities to sky.
• C. Metaphor and symbolism, representing eternal protective presence. ✓
• D. Alliteration of the 's' sound.

Answer: C — The mother's gaze is metaphorically compared to the expansive sky, symbolizing her eternal, all-encompassing protective love.

Q6. Why does the poet repeat 'I cannot remember my mother' throughout the poem?

• A. To express anger at his mother.
• B. To emphasize forgetfulness and create a rhythmic refrain that highlights the paradox. ✓
• C. To show that memories are unimportant.
• D. To indicate that he never knew his mother.

Answer: B — The repetition functions as a refrain, emphasizing the paradox that inability to recall creates stronger emotional and sensory remembrance.

Q7. What does the word 'hover' suggest in the first stanza? (Negative MCQ: Which is NOT correct?)

• A. The tune lingers gently and subtly over the poet's playthings.
• B. The tune remains suspended in the poet's memory without clear form.
• C. The melody is aggressive and disturbing to the poet. ✓
• D. The memory floats delicately in the background of consciousness.

Answer: C — Hover suggests a gentle, subtle presence, not something aggressive or disturbing.

Q8. According to the poem, when does the poet remember his mother in the third stanza?

• A. When he plays in the garden.
• B. When he looks at the blue sky from his bedroom window and feels her protective gaze. ✓
• C. When he visits the temple in autumn.
• D. When he hears someone humming a lullaby.

Answer: B — The third stanza explicitly states the poet remembers his mother when looking into the blue sky from his bedroom window and feeling her gaze.

Q9. If a student writes 'The poem uses only visual imagery to create memory', evaluate this statement. (HOTS - Scenario-based)

• A. Correct, the poem only uses sight and visual descriptions.
• B. Incorrect; the poem uses auditory, olfactory, and visual imagery comprehensively. ✓
• C. Correct, the gaze and sky are the only important images.
• D. Partially correct; visual imagery is dominant but other senses are ignored.

Answer: B — The poem employs multiple senses: auditory (tune/lullaby), olfactory (flowers and incense), and visual (gaze and sky) to create layered sensory memory.

Q10. What is the central theme of 'I Cannot Remember My Mother'?

• A. The pain of losing a mother completely.
• B. How maternal love transcends conscious memory through sensory triggers and emotional presence. ✓
• C. The poet's inability to love his mother.
• D. How flowers and songs are more important than family.

Answer: B — The poem explores the paradox that though direct memories fade, maternal love and presence remain eternally alive through senses and emotions.