An Epitaph Subjective Question

1. Where does the lady lie?

Ans. The lady lies in the grave.

2. How does she look to the poet?

Ans. According to the poet she is the most beautiful lady in the west country.

3. Was she a kind and considerate lady?

Ans. Yes, she was a kind and considerate lady.

4. What does the poet think about ‘beauty’?

Ans. Poet feels that with the passage of time beauty vanishes and passes away.

5. What does the poet mean when he says, ‘And when I crumble’.

Ans. The poet expresses his sad feelings for the lady and feels that there would be nobody to remember her after his death.

6. ‘Ambiguity’ is a poetic device which is used to suggest more than one meaning and attitude. Comment on the ‘ambiguity’ in the use of the word ‘light’ in the second line of the poem.

Ans. The poet has made the use of the word ‘light’ in an ambiguous manner. Firstly, light means the natural light which enables us to see. Secondly, the poet has used it to suggest gracefulness and a kind heart. He has made use of the dual meaning to describe the rare beauty of the lady whom he loved from the core of his heart.

7. What, according to the poet, are the two qualities of ‘beauty’? Discuss giving your own comments.

Ans. According to the poet beauty is endowed with two qualities-firstly, the real beauty is rare and secondly, it is graceous. While thinking of beauty the poet reminds of the lady whom he loved from the core of his heart. He thinks that she was the most beautiful lady in the west country and she was extremely graceful with a noble and kind heart.

8. What will happen when the poet dies?

Ans. The poet Walter de la Mare is deeply grieved on the death of his beloved and expresses his sad feelings for the lady whom he loved dearly. The poet is upset to think that after his death nobody would remember her and she would be unknown to the world. This idea upsets him and he becomes sad.

9. Write a note on the philosophical meaning of the poem.

Ans. The poet presents a philosophical aspect of human life in the poem. The poem though short is extremely meaningful. The poet is aggrived by the death of his beloved. He is of the opinion that man is mortal but the soul is immortal. Body is perishable but the soul is eternal. The poet says that he would cherish her memory forever until he dies. He is sad to realise that after his death there would be nobody to remember her and her fame may or may not last long.

10. What makes you feel that the poem is ‘ironical’ in meaning?

Ans. ‘An Epitaph’ is a poem written by Walter De La Mare after the demise of his beloved whom he intensely loved. He loved and cared for her during her life time and her death came as a shock to him. She was buried in a tomb and a commemorative inscription was engraved on the mortuary monument. The whole poem deals with her sad end and its impact on the poet who is affected to a great extent. The poem is ironical in nature as it is suggestive of two meanings-the apparent or surface meaning and the implied meaning.