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A poem by Kamala Das, one of India's foremost poets, expressing her pain and ache at seeing her mother ageing. The poem uses images of young trees, merry children, a late winter's moon and a smile to convey the contrast between life and death.
- Summary
- Detailed Analysis
- Central Theme
- Form, Style, and Literary Devices
- About Kamala Das
‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’ is a poem that confesses a daughter’s fear of losing her mother. Firstly, the daughter, that is the poet, is surprised to realize that her mother is aging. Secondly, she notices how the rest of the world appears young and energetic. This is in contrastto her mother who continues to age. Thirdly, the poet expresses her appre...
Lines 1 – 9
The opening segment of the poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six,’ presents the poet’s realization of her mother’s aging. The poet notices the old appearance of the mother during her car journey from her place to the airport at Cochin. The mother is sleeping with her mouth open. As the car travels, the daughter observes her mother. The mother’s face appears ashen. The pale complexion of the old woman is similar to that of a corpse. The mother looks as old as her age. The thought of the corpse forces...
Lines 10 – 13
In these lines, the poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six,’ alludes to the disturbed state of the poet’s mind when she thinks of her mother’s death. She puts the thoughts away. Then, she looks out through the window of the car. She looks at the passing green trees and young children coming out of their homes to play. The world around the poet appears young and energetic. It forms a contrast to the state of her mother. The poet describes the youthful scenery of the world to underscore the mature years...
Lines 14 – 20
These lines of the poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six,’ highlights how reality haunts the poet about her mother’s condition. The poet tries to distract herself from her surroundings. But her mother’s appearance pulls her back again during the airport security check. Once again, the poet observes her mother. Her mother looks pale and grey. Then, the poet compares her mother to a winter moon. This highlights that her mother is in the last stage of her life, much like winter. The poet is once again r...
The poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six,’ is an intimate work presenting the poet’s thoughts. It deals with the feeling of fear and emotions that daughters experience with their mothers. Any child is attached to its mother. Similarly, children generally are afraid of losing their mothers. This poem brings out this ordinary but profound human nature throu...
The poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six,’ is confessional. As such, it is a first-person monologue. It runs like an aside. The poet expresses her inner thoughts and her reactions to those thoughts. The language is conversational. The arrangement of the lines is free and fluid. The poetic touch appears when the poet describes her mother and her old age. S...
Kamala Das is an Indian writer in English. She wrote lots of confessional poems expressing the experiences of being an Indian woman. The poet wrote under the pen-name, Madhavikutty. Some of her popular works include: 1. ‘An Introduction’ 2. ‘A Hot Noon in Malabar’ 3. ‘My Grandmother’s House’ She writes in a matter-of-fact tone and her honesty and b...
Jul 29, 2022 · Learn about the theme, summary, explanation and question answers of the poem My Mother at Sixty Six by Kamala Das. The poem expresses the poet's love and fear for her ageing mother and the contrast between her and the young world.
Sep 29, 2019 · NCERT Solutions For Class 12 Flamingo English My Mother at Sixty-six. IMPORTANT STANZAS FOR COMPREHENSION. Read the stanzas given below and answer the questions that follow each: 1. Driving from my parents home to Cochin last Friday morning, 1 saw my mother, beside me, doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpse and realised with pain.
- The child is always in fear of being separated from his parents. In the same way, the poet’s fear as a child was that of losing her mother or her c...
- The poet was driving from her parent’s home to the Cochin airport. The poet’s mother had comfe to see her off. She was sitting beside her. She was...
- The poet is driving to the Cochin airport. When she looks outside, the young trees seem to be walking past them. With the speed of the car they see...
- The poet’s mother is sixty-six years old. She is sitting beside the poet and dozing with her mouth open. This is a sign of old age. Usually old peo...
“My Mother at Sixty-Six” is a lyric poem written by Kamala Das. She is one of the greatest feminist poets of India. She deliberately shed off the age-old customs and conventions of society through her poetry. Her poetry voiced her stance in a clear and straightforward manner.
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A poem by Kamala Das expressing her fear of losing her mother to old age. The poem describes the contrast between her mother's youth and old age, and her love and affection for her mother.
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A poem by Kamala Das about the parting of a daughter and an old mother. The poet describes her mother's ageing face and contrasts it with the youthful world outside.
