Unit 1 Chapter 2
Any Woman (Poem)
Read and Respond
Question 1
Mention the underlying ideas in the expression ‘pillars of
the house.’
Answer:
The pillars are the main supports of the house. It is not
possible to have a house without pillars. The pillars support the
weight of the house and make it stand without crumbling.
Question 2
How does the poet portray the bond between a mother
and her children?
Answer:
According to the poet, children get their love from their
mother. She is their light of love. Without her, the children can’t
thrive. She is the twist that holds the children together in the
sacred ring of the family. The children do not want to leave her
and go away. The bond between a mother and her children can be
compared to a stem and its branches.
Question 3
What is the symbolic significance of ‘wind and snow?’
Answer:
The symbolic significance of ‘wind and snow’ is the troubles
and tribulations that come to life. Life is affected by problems of
various sorts. They can be diseases, financial problems, emotional
problems or some other tragedies. The mother tries to prevent all
these things from entering the family and bothering its members.
Question 4
The qualities a woman needs to face the challenges of life.
Answer:
A woman should have many qualities to face the challenges
of life. First of all she should be educated. Education tells a
woman her rights and duties. Secondly, she should have some
employment which brings her some income. Income empowers
her. Then she should have leadership qualities. These include
wisdom, understanding, courage, determination, compassion,
sympathy and empathy. Women should not remain the weaker sex.
There is nothing ‘weak’ about them. They should dare the
difference and come into leadership roles acquiring equality with
men in all walks of life.
Question 5
Analyse the theme of the poem keeping in view the plight of
women in the Indian social scenario.
Answer:
The theme of the poem is the importance of the woman in the
family. Without a woman, a family is simply unimaginable. This is
more so in the case of Indian women. Women take care of the
children, cook, wash and do all other household chores. Nothing at
home happens without her knowledge or without her participation.
She is the pillars, roof, walls and doors of the house. She is the
one who gives love to all. It is the woman who makes home a
sweet place.
Question 6
Identify the major figure of speech used in the poem and
describe its significance.
Answer:
The major figure of speech used in the poem is metaphor. A
metaphor is a comparison where one thing is seen as another. The
entire poem is a metaphor because the woman thinks she is the
pillars, walls, roof and doors of the house. She is the heat and light
of the house. In fact she is the house!
Activity I (Appreciation)
Question
Prepare an appreciation of the poem “Any Woman”.
Answer:
The poem ‘Any Woman’ by Katharine Tynan speaks of the
importance of the woman in the family. She is the pillars of the
house. She is the keystone of the arch. She is the roof and walls.
She is the fire upon the hearth. Without her, the home would be
colder than a stone.
The children come to her for love and affection. She is the
light of their love. The children could hardly thrive without her
support. She is the one who holds the family together. No child
wants to get away from the close-knit family group. She is all over
the house, from the floor to the roof. Nothing happens without her
knowledge. She decorates the house and makes the children’s bed
cosy and warm.
She also protects the children from all dangers. She is the
door that guards against all kinds of troubles and tribulations that
come to pester the inmates. At the end of the poem, the woman
prays to Jesus to spare her life till her children are properly grown
up.
The poem has simple language. The entire poem is an
exquisite metaphor. The imagery is great. The woman doing all
kinds of jobs and standing guard at the same time make us admire
her capabilities. Her love is superb and there is utter unselfishness
in her activities. At last we also see the birth of Jesus in the
manger. We see the woman standing before Jesus praying to him
to let her live till her children grow up. Katharine has painted a
fine picture of a devoted mother with words.
The poem is in rhyme. Except in the first stanza, the rhyme
scheme is abab.
Activity II (Comparison)
Compare the poem ‘The Toys’ with ‘Any Woman’ and
prepare a review focusing on the themes and their significance.
Answer:
The poem ‘Any Woman’ by Katharine Tynan speaks of the
importance of the woman in the family. She is the pillars of the
house. She is the keystone of the arch. She is the roof and walls.
She is the fire upon the hearth. Without her, the home would be
colder than a stone. The children come to her for love and
affection. She is the light of their love. The children could hardly
thrive without her support. She is the one who holds the family
together. No child wants to get away from the close-knit family
group. She is all over the house, from the floor to the roof.
Nothing happens without her knowledge. She decorates the house
and makes the children’s bed cosy and warm. She also protects the
children from all dangers. She is the door that guards against all
kinds of troubles and tribulations that come to pester the inmates.
At the end of the poem, the woman prays to Jesus to spare her life
till her children are properly grown up.
The poem has simple language. The entire poem is an
exquisite metaphor. The imagery is great. The poem is in rhyme.
Except in the first stanza, the rhyme scheme is abab.
The poem ’The Toys’ is different from ‘Any Woman.’ Here
the plight of a boy, whose mother is dead is depicted. The boy
disobeys the father and he loses patience and beats up his son. He
sent him away with hard words. He did not kiss him when the boy
went to bed. The boy’s mother was a patient woman, but she is no
more. Thinking that the sorrow at his beating his son and scolding
him might prevent him from sleeping, the father goes to the boy’s
bed. He found him in a deep sleep. But the eyelids were dark and
his lashes were wet because of his earlier crying.
The father feels very sad at his condition and he too weeps.
He kissed away the tears from the boy’s cheeks but left his tears
there instead. On a table near the boy’s head he had kept within his
reach a box of counters, a stone with red lines, a piece of glass
worn by the sand on the beach and six or seven shells, a bottle
with bluebells and two French copper coins. He had kept all these
to comfort his sad heart. When the man prayed to God that night,
he wept. He requested God to forgive his disobedience and not to
punish him for the sins he had committed in his life. He punished
the boy for disobedience because he is made of clay. But God can
forgive because God is love and not made of clay.
The poem uses simple language. It has fine imagery. The boy
sleeping with dark eyelids and wet lashes, surrounded by toys, is
an exquisite picture. The poem is in rhyme. In the first 6 lines the
rhyme is aabbbb.
Between the two poems, I prefer ‘Any Woman’ as it has
made a greater impression on me.
