Page 1 :
Read the following stanzas and answer the questions that follow :, STANZA 1, The way a crow, Shook down on me, The dust of snow, From a hemlock tree, Questions :, (a) What did the crow do to the hemlock tree?, (b) What was there in the tree at that time?, (c) Where do you think was the poet then?, (d) What is the name of the poem?, (e) What is the name of the poet?, (f) Write the rhyming words., Answers :, (a) The crow shook the hemlock tree., (b) There was snow in the tree at that time., (c) Then the poet was under a hemlock tree then., (d) The name of the poem is ‘Dust of Snow’., (e) The name of the poet is Robert Frost., (f) crow – snow me – tree, STANZA 2, Has given my heart, A change of mood, And saved some part, Of a day I had rued., Questions :, (a) What had given the poet ‘a change of mood’?, (b) What had the poet thought of that day?, (c) How was some part of the day saved for the poet?, (d) Name the poem., (e) Name the poet., (f) What is the rhyme scheme of this stanza?, Answers :, (a) The falling of dust of snow on the poet had changed his mood., (b) He had felt sad about that day. But the fall of snow dust changed his mood., (c) He stopped ruing the day and his mood changed., (d) Dust of Snow., (e) Robert Frost., (f) The rhyme scheme of this stanza is ‘abab’., Stanza-3:, The way a crow, Shook down on me, The dust of snow, From a hemlock tree., Word-Meaning: Way—manner, Shook down — shook the snow dust down, Hemlock — a poisonous tree,, Paraphrase, All of a sudden a crow comes from nowhere. The crow sits on a poisonous hemlock tree. A lot of snow dust has, already gathered at the top of the tree. The movement of the crow brings some dust of snow down. The fine dust, of snow falls on the poet. He is standing under that hemlock tree., Questions:, (a) How did the crow come and sit on the tree?, (b) What kind of tree it was?, (c) Where was the poet standing and what happened to him?, (d) Where was the poet sitting?, Answers:, (a) All of a sudden, a crow came from nowhere and sat on the hemlock tree., (b) It was a poisonous tree named hemlock., (c) The poet stood under the hemlock tree where fine dust of snow was falling on him from above., (d) The poet was sitting under a hemlock tree., Stanza-4:, Has given my heart

Page 2 :
A change of mood, And saved some part, Of a day I had rued., Word-Meaning: A change of mood — a change in the present condition of mind, Saved — saved from being, wasted, Part — portion, recta Rued — regretted deeply, felt sad deeply,, Paraphrase, This falling of fine dust of snow on him gladdens his heart. A change comes into his mood. His mood brightens, all of a sudden. He had given all hopes of saving that dull and cheerless day. But now, cheerfulness replaces the, sense of regret. The poet realises that the whole day has not gone waste. At least, a part of the day has been, saved and redeemed. The act of the falling of the fine dust of snow on him has cheered his heart and mood., Questions:, (a) Why did the poet’s mood change?, (b) How did the poet feel in the end?, (c) Why did the poet rue earlier?, (d) What does the poet mean when he says that he had saved some part of the day?, Answers:, (a) The sight of the falling of the fine dust of snow cheered the mood of the poet., (b) Earlier, the poet felt deeply sad that the whole day had been wasted., (c) The poet felt happy in the end., (d) The poet has saved some part of the day as he did not waste the time in repenting and regretting., , Extract Based / comprehension test Questions and Answers of Dust of Snow, Read the extract given below carefully and answer the questions that follow:, The way a crow, Shook down on me, The dust of snow, From a hemlock tree, Has given my heart, A change of mood, And saved some part, Of a day I had rued., (a) What do the ‘crow’ and ‘hemlock’ symbolise?, (b) The mood of the poet changed because___________ ., (c) What does the poet mean when he says and saved some part of the day?, (d) Who shook the dust of snow?, Or, (a) What is the dust of snow?, (b) What mood of the poet is conveyed in these lines?, (c) What did the crow do to the hemlock tree?, (d) What did the tree have on it then?, Ans. (a) The ‘crow’ symbolises ‘joy’ and the ‘hemlock’ tree symbolises ‘sorrow’., (b) He saw a crow sitting on a hemlock tree shook off the dust of snow on him. Thus, the falling of dust of snow, changed his mood., (c) The poet has saved some part of the day as he did not waste the time in repenting and regretting., (d) A crow shook the dust of snow., Or, (a) Dust of snow refers to the particulate matter of snow that settles on surfaces after a snowfall., (b) The poet’s altered mood, one that changes from sorrow to joy is depicted here., (c) The crow shook the dust of snow from the hemlock tree., (d) The tree had snow on its leaves., VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS, [Answer in one sentence each], Q.1. Where was the crow sitting?, (H.B.S.E. March 2017 (Set-D), Ans. The crow was sitting in a hemlock tree., Q.2. What did the crow shakedown on the poet?, (H.B.S.E. March 2017 (Set-D), Ans. He shook down snow on the poet., Q3. In what mood was the poet before falling of snow on him?, Ans. He was in an unpleasant mood., Q.4. What type of plant is ‘a hemlock tree’?, Ans. It is a poisonous plant with small white flowers., Q.5. What fell on the poet from the hemlock tree?

Page 3 :
Ans. Sonic dust of snow fell on the poet from the hemlock tree., Q.6. How did the dust of snow affect the poet?, Ans. It changed the poet’s mood., Q.7. Who is the poet of the poem ‘Dust of Snow’?, Ans. The poet of this poem is ‘Robert Frost’., , Short Answer Type Important Questions, Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:, 1. How has the poet observed nature in the poem ‘Dust of Snow’?, Ans. The poet has observed nature as a positive medium of change for him. The poet had been the sorrowful and, depressive mood in the poem. But then the way a crow shook snow dust off, it changed his mood. Nature gave, him the inspiration to behave in a positive manner., 2. What is the underlying message for us in our hectic life with reference to the poem, ‘Dust of Snow’?, Or, What is the central idea of the poem ‘Dust of Snow’?, Or, What does the poet want to convey through the poem ‘Dust of Snow’?, Ans. In the poem ‘Dust of Snow’, the poet wants to convey that sometimes certain moments or actions which are, simple have larger significance. They can change the mood or life of a person. The way a crow shakes down dust, of snow on the poet inspires and gives him the idea to shake off his depressive thoughts, become cheerful and, do something useful., 3. What side of nature do ‘crow’ and ‘hemlock’ represent?, Ans. ‘Crow’ is a black, harsh-voiced bird and ‘hemlock’ is a tree with poisonous bitter fruit. Both are not beautiful., They represent the dark, depressive, sorrowful and bitter side of nature., 4. Why does the poet use such poetically uncommon bird and tree? What does it reflect?, Ans. The poet seems to be in a depressive and sorrowful mood. In such a mood, one cannot think of a sweet and, beautiful side of nature. The harsh, bitter and poisonous images come to his mind. That is why he uses an, uncommon, harsh, ugly crow and poisonous tree like hemlock., 5. Justify the role of the crow in the poem “Dust of Snow” in changing the poet’s mood., Ans. I think, ‘the way snow dust was shaken off’ changed his mood. Perhaps it gave the poet inspiration/idea to, behave in the same manner—shake off his depressive thoughts and revive his cheerful mood., 6. What mood of the poet is reflected in the poem? How does it reflect?, Ans. The sorrowful and depressive mood of the poet is reflected in the poem. The use of the bird ‘crow’, which is, ugly and harsh, and hemlock tree, which is a poisonous plant, reflects the poet’s mood., Q.7. What did the poet think of the day before the dust of snow fell on him?, Ans. Before the fall of the dust of snow, the poet thought that his day was ruined. He was in a bad mood. But then, t use of snow fell on him. It signalled something good and joyful. His mood changed., Q.8. Write a note on the setting of the poem., Ans. The poem presents a perfect setting. There are four elements in the poem. All these four elements match, one another. The snow stands for depression. The hemlock tree is a symbol of sadness. The crow considered, ominous. The poet’s mood was also sad. But suddenly the way in which the crow shook the hemlock tree and, falling off the dust of snow. change the poet’s mood., Q.9. Where was the poet and what happened to him?[H.B.S.E. March 2017 (Set-C)], Ans. there was snow everywhere. The poet was under a hemlock tree. The tree was covered with snow Suddenly, a crow shook the tree The dust of snow fell on the poet. It changed his mood., Q.10. The flow was the poet’s mood? What brought a sudden change in it?, Ans. The poet was in a bad mood. He considered that his day was ruined. But the crow shook the tree. The dust, of snow fell on him. His mood changed. The rest of the day was saved for him., Q11. How did the poet feel before the ‘change of mood’? Why did he feel so?, Ans. The poet was in a very depressive and hopeless mood. The day offered no relief, comfort or happiness for, the poet. He felt that the whole day had been wasted for nothing. Perhaps his dull and depressive mood led him, to such a conclusion., Q12. Do you think that the poet presents a very bright or cheerful side of nature in the poem? Give a reasoned, answer., Ans. No, Robert Frost has presented nature in it’s elemental and raw form. It is quite a dull and depressive wintry, day. The fall of fine dust of snow does bring a sudden change in the mood of the poet. It refreshes his spirits and, brings cheerfulness to his depressed spirits and mood., Q13. Describe the scene of falling off the dust I snow. What impact does it have on the poet?, Ans. It is a dull and depressive day of the winter. Snow is falling. The fine dust of snow has accumulated on the, top of the trees. Nature seems to be in its elemental and raw state. However, the full of fine dust of snow brings a, sudden change in the mood of the poet. His depressive spirits are uplifted and his mood becomes cheerful.

Page 4 :
Q14. ‘The Crow’ and the ‘hemlock tree’ are generally considered to be inauspicious and ominous symbols. Does, the poet use them so?, Ans. ‘The Crow’ and ‘the hemlock tree’, no doubt, don’t represent cheerfulness or brightness. Both of them are, generally considered to be inauspicious. But ‘the crow’ in the poem causes the dust of snowfall on the poet. This, leads to the sudden change of mood in the poet. The feeling of cheerfulness replaces the feeling of regret., Similarly, the hemlock tree is the tree under which the poet is standing and experiencing the change of his mood., Q15. Why does the poet say that he had `saved some part of a day I (he) had rued’?, Ans. The whole day had been rather gloomy, dull and hopeless. The poet had a feeling that the whole day would, go waste. However, the falling of fine dust of snow on him suddenly changes his mood. It cheered his depressed, spirits. He felt as if he had saved some part of the day., Q16. What is the message that Robert Frost wants to convey to the readers in the poem ‘Dust of snow’?, Ans. Robert Frost gives quite a positive message to the readers. Depression and hopelessness do cloud our, hearts, spirits and moods. However, there is a silver-lining beyond every cloud. The poet had given up all hopes, and declared that the whole day would go waste. Suddenly, the falling of fine dust of snow on him brings a sudden, change in his mood. Cheerfulness replaces the feeling of regret., Q17. What happened when the dust of snow fell on Robert Frost?, Ans. Robert Frost was unhappy. He was deep down in his heart due to some personal reasons. When the dust of, snow fell on him, his mental state changed. Now he looked at the surroundings., Q18. What did the poet think of the day before the fall of the dust of snow on him?, Ans. The poet thought unhappiness of the day before the fall of the dust of snow on him. But after the incident,, he started to look at the surroundings., Q19. What is the dust of snow?, Ans. The dust of snow is snowflakes or small and soft particles of snow that settle down on the various objects, on the earth during the snowfall., Q20. What is a hemlock tree?, Ans. A hemlock tree is a poisonous tree with white flowers. It stands for sorrow. The dust of snow had covered, this tree.