Hi Everyone!! This article will share Thunder and Rain Questions & Answers.
This poem is written by Emily Dickinson. In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of The Godfather of The Natural History TV, The Red Room and Self Contained so, you can check these posts as well.
Thunder and Rain Questions & Answers
Word Galaxy
- Threatening tunes – frightening sounds
- Menace – a quality or feeling that is threatening or frightening
- Unhooked – detached
- Scoop – gather something in the shape of an ice cream scoop
- Livid – angry or of a dark-bluish colour
- Bars to nests – puts bars around to protect the nest
- Parted hold – broke its hold over something
- Wrecked the sky – rained so heavily that the sky seemed to have crumbled
- Father’s house – phrase for church
- Quartering a tree – breaking a tree
Question 1: Complete the summary of the poem.
Emily Dickinson wrote several poems with thunderstorms as a subject. This poem is probably her shortest on the subject. From the opening lines of the poem, Dickinson uses strong words and powerful imagery to show the influence that forces of nature can have on the physical surroundings and how creatures seek protection before a storm.
In the first stanza, Dickinson talks about how before a storm there is a strong wind that makes a rumbling and howling sound that can be threatening. This makes everything fly all around.
In the second stanza, the poet slowly shows the effect of the storm on the surroundings. For example, the leaves scatter away from the branches and the dust rises up like it is being scooped up in two hands and then flung off. Both clutter the surroundings.
The third and fourth stanzas talk about how people and nature react to the thunderstorm. As vehicles start hurrying up to beat the rain, suddenly the thunder appears to slow down but then you see a lightning in blue-grey colours like it is going to catch something in its claws. To protect themselves, the birds create a fence of wood around the nests, the cattle seek shelter in the barns. The rain starts with one big drop of rain and then suddenly it starts pouring. This feels like someone just opened a dam in the sky and the water just gushed down on earth with a destructive force. The torrent was so strong that it broke a tree but left a local church intact.
Question 2: Choose the correct option:
1. Dickinson creates an image of the storm as a ‘threatening’ force because__________
(a) the focus of the poem is on showing how thunderstorm can uproot things and affect the surroundings.
(b) she wants to contrast thunderstorm with a sunny day.
(c) the purpose is to show how thunderstorm damaged her father’s house.
2. The horse-drawn wagons quickened their pace because_______
(a) horses don’t like rain.
(b) wagons can slip on wet muddy roads.
(c) horses wanted to sleep.
3. Nature prepares in different ways to survive during the thunderstorm because___________
(a) it occurs only once in a while.
(b) it is scary.
(c) it can lead to destruction.
Question 3: How is a thunderstorm given a hostile or frightening quality through imagery by Emily Dickinson?
Answer: A thunderstorm is given a hostile or frightening quality by the poet through images like frightening tunes, clawing lightning bolts, darkening skies, dusty throwing the road away etc.
Question 4: What are the consequences of a thunderstorm?
Answer: Thunderstorms cause damage to life and property where they occur. Trees are uprooted, roads are damaged, vehicles are swept away and damaged, houses are also affected, and sometimes lightning strikes and causes loss of life too.
Question 5: Read these lines and answer the question that follows:
But overlooked my father’s house,
Just quartering a tree.
How does Emily Dickinson in the end show a less frightening image of a thunderstorm?
Answer: The poet says that the church was spared with minimal damage to a tree in the compound. By evoking God and faith, the poet shows that the storm was not merciless after all.
Question 6: What are the different ways in which Emily Dickinson portrays the thunderstorm as threatening?
Answer: The general picture of the thunderstorm painted by the poet is one of destruction. The church is also evoked, and conveys a sense of extreme unease where one retreats to the thought of God for protection and strength. Apart from these, certain words used by the poet bring out a sense of fear and panic, and depict the might of the storm. These are: threatening tunes, low, menace, unhooked, throw away, hurried, livid, claw, fled, giant, wrecked, quartering, etc.
Question 7: What are the other weather phenomena that can be destructive? Make a list of them.
Answer: Cloudburst, avalanches, droughts, floods and cyclones are some of the weather phenomena that bring about destruction and loss of life and property.
So, these were Thunder and Rain Questions & Answers.