The Courage That My Mother Had - KCSE ENGLISH POETRY QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS

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​The Courage That My Mother Had - KCSE ENGLISH POETRY QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS

​Read the following poem and then answer the questions that follow.
The courage that my mother had
Went with her, and is with her still;
Rock and New England quarried;
Now granite in a granite hill.
The golden brooch my mother wore
She left behind for me to wear;
I have nothing I treasure more;
Yet, it is something I could spare.
Oh, if instead she’d left to me
The thing she took into the gravel!
The courage like a rock, which she
Has no more need of, and I have.
(Had – Edna St. Vincent Millay)

QUESTIONS

• ​a) Briefly explain how the poem is about. (4 marks)
• b) Is the speaker male or female? How do you know? (2 marks)
• c) What does the speaker wish the mother had left behind? Why can’t the wish be fulfilled? (3 marks)
• d) Describe the character trait of the mother in the poem. (2 marks)
• e) Identify and illustrate the imagery used in the poem. (4 marks)
• f) What is the speaker’s attitude towards the mother and the golden brooch in the poem. (3 marks)
• g) Rewrite the following in your own words: (2 marks)
  • “Has no more need of, and I have”

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