BACK HOME -POETRY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

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BACK HOME -POETRY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

​Read the poem below and then answer the questions. (20mks)
BACK HOME
And one day I went back home:
Back home to the old homestead
With a ring of old huts
Surrounding a wide compound:

Swept clean for children to play
And yell and laugh and cry.
I walked briskly, thinking of home
Smoke rising from the huts
Filtered through the thatched roofs:

Dripping wet after a shower of rain;
Moist ground in the compound,
Grandpa sitting on his stool
and sipping from his gourd;
Birds singing in the mango tree:

 And then finally I reached home:
The air heavy with silence
Huts, down in dry heaps of dilapidation
Shoots of scorched elephant grass:
Growing piously in the compound:

A carpet of mango leaves
Falling on the mound of earth
Under which was buried but the tip
Yes, only the tip of grandpa’s walking staff
Could be seen peeping from under the earth:

Pointing down to where the owner lay;
The lasting indication
Of his inability to talk again
Except by echoes of silence
Telling me I went back too late:
Jwani Mwaikusa.

QUESTIONS

(a) Describe the setting in this poem. (2 marks)
(b) Who is the persona in the poem? (2 marks)
(c) Where is grandpa? Give reasons for your answer. (2 marks)
(d) What is the effect of the alliteration in line 17? (2 marks)
(e) Giving two examples, show the effect of contrast as used by the poet. (4 marks)
(f) Identify and illustrate the two different moods prevailing in this poem. (4 marks)
(g) Explain the meaning of the following lines as used in the poem. (4 marks)
     (i) ‘A carpet of mango leaves
          Falling on the mound of earth”
     (ii) ‘Of his inability to talk again
          Except by echoes of silence”

MARKING SCHEME

(a) The setting is in a rural area√ 1   — the persona talks of huts/homestead. √ 1  
(b) The persona is a grandson / granddaughter / grandchildl — talks of grandpa. √ 1  
(c) Grandpa is dead√1 because we are told that the walking staff was buried under a mound of earth and it 
pointed to where the owner lay. √ 1 The staff peeped from under the earth where the owner lay. √ 1  
(d) The alliteration is - huts/heaps- down/dry/dilapidation or /h/and /d/.√ 1  The alliteration creates 
mood/rhythm/suspense. √ 1  
(e) The first three stanzas contrast with the last three.
(i) The memory of children “playing and yelling laughing and crying” is contrasted with “The air heavy 
with silence”. The effect of this is to create a sense of foreboding/fear. Showing or warns that 
something is amiss/wrong. √2
(ii) “A wide compound swept clean for children to play” is contrasted with “shoots of scorched elephant 
grass growing piously in the compound/”a carpet of mango leaves”. Their effect is an indication of 
neglect or that something is wrong. √2
(iii) “Smoke rising from the huts” is contrasted with “Huts down in dry heaps of dilapidation”. This 
warns of a disaster/danger. √2
(iv) “Grandpa sitting on his stool” is contrasted with “Grandpa lying under the earth” i.e. dead. This 
contrast creates atmosphere/mood. √2
Generally each contrast has the effect of changing mood. (2 marks each x = 4 marks)
(f) The first mood is foundin the 1st stanza. It is nostalgic. √ l The persona describes the home with fond 
memories e.g. children, yelling, laughing and crying or “birds singing in the mango tree”. √l
The second mood is found in the 4” stanza. It is sad/solemn. √l With the death of grandpa the homestead 
has collapsed. √l
(g) Lines
(i) “A carpet of mango leaves falling on the mound of earth”, means a great number of leaves falling on 
the grave. √2
(ii) “Of his inability to talk again except by echoes of silence”. This emphasises that grandpa is dead and 
that the persona will never hear him talk again. √2

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