FOOTPATH - KCSE POETRY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

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FOOTPATH - KCSE POETRY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow. (20 marks)

​Footpath
Path – let … Leaving home, leading out
Return my mother to me.
The sun is sinking and darkness coming,
Hens and cocks are already inside and babies drowsing,
Return my mother to me.
We do not have firewood and I have not seen the lantern,
There is no more food and the water has run out
Path – let me pray, you return my mother to me.
Path of the small hills, path of the small stones
Path of slipperiness, path of the mud
Return my mother to me.
Path of papyrus, path of the rivers
Path of small forests, path of reeds
Return my mother to me
Path, I implore you, return my mother to me
Path of the crossways, path that branches off,

Path of the stringing shrubs, path of the bridge
Return my mother to me
Path of the open, path of the valley
Path of the steep climb, path of the downward slope 
Return my mother to me.
Children are drowsing about to sleep,
Darkness is coming and there is no firewood,
And I have not found the lantern;
Return my mother to me.
~ Stella Ngatho.

QUESTIONS

• ​(a) Who is the persona in this poem? (2 marks)
• (b) Identify and explain the effectiveness of any two stylistic devices. (6 marks)
• (c) What is the tone of the poem? (2 marks) 
• (d) What is the mood of the poem? (2 marks) 
• (e) Comment on the title of the poem. (2 marks)
• (f) With illustrations, briefly state three problems that the persona is facing. (3 marks)
• (g) Describe the setting of this poem. (3 marks)

MARKING SCHEME

• ​a) The persona is a child – perhaps an older child – whose mother is away. The child is longing   for her return. ‘Return my mother to me’. (2mks)
• b) Repetition – ‘Path’ is repeated severally, to create the tone of the poem/ emphasis on the cause of the mother’s absence.
  • Personification – the paths are personified; the speaker begs them to return the mother.
  • Apostrophe – Path ... Return my mother to me…- to show the persona’s desperate longing for the mother
  • Metaphor- path of papyrus... path of small hills etc.-shows the various places or challenges the persona or mother may have faced/ indicates the various paths the mother could have taken as she went out 
  • (Expect any two well illustrated styles + the effectiveness 3marks for each.  No mark for lack of one of these).
• c) The poem has a  pleading / imploring / beseeching tone. ‘..Path, I implore you, return my mother to me. (2mks)
• d) The poem is in a sad mood. One feels sad at the concern and despair of the child who   pleads for the mother’s return. (2mks)
• e) The title is appropriate as it leads us to the events in the poem. The persona addresses the footpath requested it to return the mother. (2mks)
• f) No food -There is no more food
  • No water- and the water has run out
  • No firewood -We do not have firewood
  • Missing the mother -Return my mother to me (Any 3 points @1mk)
• g) The poem is set in a home stead and is in the evening. ‘The sun is sinking and darkness coming,’/ ‘Hens and cocks are already inside and babies drowsing,’ (3 marks)

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