Literature Component
Poem:
WHAT
IS RED ?
By Mary O’Neill
The poet’s background
Mary Devenport O'Neill (3 August 1879 – 1967) was an Irish poet and dramatist. She
was born in Loughrea, County Galway , Ireland in 1879. From 1898-1903 she studied teaching
at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art (the present-day National College of Art, Dublin).
When she was fifty, she published a collection of poetry Prometheus and Other Poems
(London: Jonathan Cape 1929) which consists of thirty-three lyric poems, four "dream poems",
one long poem, and a verse-play. This was the first collection of poetry published by an Irish
poet, besides Yeats, which could be considered modernist . She is one of a small number of
known early 20th century Irish modernist women poets. One of her most popular books,
''Hailstones and Halibut Bones: Adventures in Color,'' illustrated by Leonard Weisgard, was
published by Doubleday in 1961 and printed in several languages. In it, Mrs. O'Neill identified
and interpreted the most familiar colours through verse. The book was used as a supplementary
text in schools in the United States and abroad.
What is Red?
Red is sunset
Blazing and bright.
Red is feeling brave
With all your might.
Red is a sunburn
Spot on your nose.
Sometimes red
9
Is a red, red, rose.
Red squiggles out
When you cut your hand.
Red is a brick
And the sound of aband.
Red is hotness
You get inside
When you’re embarrassed
And want to hide.
Fire-cracker, fire-engine
Fire-flicker red–
And when you’re angry
Red runs through your head.
Red is an Indian, VALENTINE
A Valentine heart.
The trimmings on
A circus cart.
Red is a lipstick
Red is a shout
Red is a signal
That says: “Watch out!”
Red is a great big
Rubber ball.
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Red is the giantest
Colour of all.
Red is a show-off,
No doubt about it -
But can you imagine
Living without it?
PRACTICE 1
1. From the poem, list the positive examples of red.
(i) _____________________________________________________________
(ii) _____________________________________________________________
(iii) _____________________________________________________________
(iv) _____________________________________________________________
(v) _____________________________________________________________
2. From the poem, list the negative examples of red.
(i) _____________________________________________________________
(ii) _____________________________________________________________
(iii) _____________________________________________________________
(iv) _____________________________________________________________
(v) _____________________________________________________________
3. What is the meaning of “with all your might”?
___________________________________________________________________
4. What causes a sunburn?
___________________________________________________________________
5. In the poem, “you” refers to
_______________________________________________________
6. “Red squiggles out” refers to ____________________________________________
7. What flower does red refer to in this poem?
___________________________________________________________________
8. Which line suggests that red is also the colour of love?
___________________________________________________________________
9. Which line tells us that some people wear red to attract attention?
___________________________________________________________________
10. What does “it” in the last line refer to?
___________________________________________________________________
PRACTICE 2 (HOTS Questions)
1. Why do you think red refers to the sunset and not the sunrise?
_________________________________________________________________
2. How is it possible for you to get a sunburn? Explain.
_________________________________________________________________
3. Based on your own experience, why do people dislike feeling embarrassed?
_________________________________________________________________
4. Why do you think people give red roses to their loved ones?
________________________________________________________________
5. How could a visit to a circus make you happy?
________________________________________________________________
6. Some people do not like red. Give two possible reasons.
(i) __________________________________________________________
(ii) __________________________________________________________
PRACTICE 3 (VOCABULARY)
No. Word Meaning No. Word Meaning
1 Blazing 4 Embarrassed
2 Might 5 Flicker
3 Squizzles 6 Trimmings
