XAT 2019 — VARC Question 7
Read the poem given below and answer the question that follows it
Black lake, black boat, two black, cut-paper people.
Where do the black trees go that drink here?
Their shadows must cover Canada.
A little light is filtering from the water flowers
Their leaves do not wish us to hurry:
They are round and flat and full of dark advice.
Cold words shake from the oar.
The spirit of blackness is in us, it is in the fishes.
A snag is lifting a valedictory , pale hand;
Stars opening among the lilies.
Are you not blinded by such expressionless sirens?
This is the silence of abandoned souls.
Which of the following options best explains the effect of the images in Line 1?
Answer & solution
- A
The repeated use of black suggests evil.
- B
The first line encapsulates the theme of the poem.
- C
The atmosphere indicates a cyclical nature of life and death.
The black lake lacks regenerative potential; ‘black boat’ connotes the funerary boat; cut-paper people are unreal.
- E
The images are suffused with an overpowering sense of rebellion.
Though ‘black’ colour suggests ‘evil’ or ‘darkness’, we get a clue about the use of this colour from the last line of the poem – this is the silence of abandoned souls. This line suggests that the poem is related to ‘death’. Thus option 1 is negated. Option 2 states that the theme of the poem is encapsulated in the first line. However, this can have multiple meanings and not until we reach the last line do we come to know the reason behind writing the poem. Thus option 2 can also be negated. Nothing has been mentioned about life or regeneration in the poem. Thus option 3 can also be negated. Option 4 correctly captures the effect of the images in line 1. Retain it. Option 5 talks about rebellion which is not suggested by the poem.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.