KSEEB Solutions for Class 9 English Poem Chapter 2 Africa

Students can Download English Poem 2 Africa Questions and Answers, Summary, Notes Pdf, Activity, KSEEB Solutions for Class 9 English helps you to revise the complete Karnataka State Board Syllabus and to clear all their doubts, score well in final exams.

Karnataka State Syllabus Class 9 English Poem Chapter 2 Africa

Africa Questions and Answers, Summary, Notes

Warm-up activity:

1. The first personality is Abraham Lincoln, the President of the USA. He was able to abolish the system of slavery in the USA. He was able to stop the civil war which had divided the country on this matter. His Gettysburg Address is world-famous. He quoted democracy as a Government of the people, for the people and by the people.
2. The second personality is Nelson Mandela who struggled untiringly for the eradication of Apartheid in South Africa. He was imprisoned for many years ( 27 years ) but finally was successful in eradicating that. He was the President of the country for about 5 years (1994 to June 1999). He passed away in December 2013.

Comprehension:

Answer the following questions:

Question 1.
How does the poet come to know about the history of Africa?
Answer:
The poet David Diop came to know about the history of Africa through the songs of his grandmother.

KSEEB Solutions for Class 9 English Poem Chapter 2 Africa

Question 2.
The poet did not spend much of his life in Africa. Pick out the line/lines that express this feeling.
Answer:
The lines – “Africa of whom my grandmother sings on the banks of the distant river I have never known you” – tell us that the poet didn’t spend much of his life in Africa.

Question 3.
Despite staying away from Africa for quite some time, how does he describe Africa?
Answer:
Though he hasn’t lived in Africa, he realizes that the blacks are treated inhumanly and made to work in the fields spilling their sweat and blood. They are whipped and their backs are red with whiplashes and they are bogged down by the humiliation meted out to them. Though he is away from his motherland, the pain his countrymen are undergoing is unbearable to him. He feels for his countrymen who are humiliated in their own land.

Question 4.
‘Red scars’. What does this phrase refers to?
Answer:
‘Red scars’ refer to the whiplashes the slaves receive from their masters. It refers to the humiliation suffered by the Africans in the hands of the Colonialists.

Question 5.
Pick out the lines that talk about the humiliation suffered by the Africans.
Answer:
“Is this you this back that is bent. This back that breaks under the weight of humiliation.” These lines talk about the humiliation suffered by the Africans.

Question 6.
‘That tree there in splendid loneliness’. Explain this phrase with reference to the feeling of the poet about his country.
Answer:
The tree refers to Africa. The tree is a symbol of growth and the poet tries to show that despite all the struggles, Africa continues to grow. The poet expresses that the freedom struggle is still going on in a majestic way.

KSEEB Solutions for Class 9 English Poem Chapter 2 Africa

Question 7.
That grows again patiently obstinately and its fruit gradually acquires the bitter taste of liberty.
Question a.
What does ‘That’ refer to?
Answer:
‘That’ refers to his country Africa which tries to assert its independence, despite being crushed by the Colonialists.

Question b.
How does it grow?
Answer:
It grows patiently and obstinately, but gradually.

Question c.
What does ‘bitter taste of liberty’ refer to?
Answer:
It means that liberty is not achieved easily. It undergoes a lot of pain and heartache apart from physical torture to get its liberty. Hence it tastes like a bitter fruit.

C2. Complete the table listing the poetic devices (figures of speech):

KSEEB Solutions for Class 9 English Poem Chapter 2 Africa 1

Additional Examples of Figures of Speech:

Question 1.
The poem from line 1 to 16 is
Answer:
‘Apostrophe’

Question 2.
The blood of your sweat The sweat of your work
Answer:
Metaphor

Question 3.
This back that is bent _________ red scars
Answer:
Personification

C3. Complete the summary of the poem using the expressions given in brackets:

KSEEB Solutions for Class 9 English Poem Chapter 2 Africa 2

The poet continues to say that he was never known Africa, but despite the distance, he cannot deny how much it is a part of him. The phrase beautiful black blood which flows in his veins describes his African descent and shows how much Africa is a part of him and how much he loves his country and its people.

The next verses are angry and accusatory as he stresses that it is the blood and sweat of his people which is irrigating the fields for the benefit of other people. Here, he is pointing a finger at the colonialists who exploited the black people and used them as slaves to profit from their hard labour.

Appreciation:

A1. List out all the words or phrases from the poem that are used:

a. to describe the beauty and strength of Africa.

  1. Proud warriors in ancestral savannahs.
  2. Beautiful Black Blood
  3. That tree young and strong
  4. In splendid loneliness amidst faded flowers.

b. to depict the humiliation suffered by the Africans.

  1. The blood of your sweat
  2. The work of your slavery
  3. The slavery of your children
  4. This back that is bent
  5. The back that breaks under the weight of humiliation
  6. This back trembling with red scars.
  7. Saying yes to the whip

KSEEB Solutions for Class 9 English Poem Chapter 2 Africa

A2. Read the lines of the poem given in Column A and fill in Column B that depict the mood of the poet:

KSEEB Solutions for Class 9 English Poem Chapter 2 Africa 3

Africa Additional Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Where does the poet reside?
Answer:
The poet resides very far away from his native land.

Question 2.
What kind of people lived there before?
Answer:
Africa was inhabited by proud warriors in the olden days.

Question 3.
How does the poet identify himself with the country?
Answer:
He says that the blood which flows through his Countrymen flows through him too.

KSEEB Solutions for Class 9 English Poem Chapter 2 Africa

Question 4.
What does the poet say about the work of his Countrymen?
Answer:
The poet says that his Countrymen work in the fields spilling their sweat and blood as the slaves of the colonialists. They bear the whiplashes and humiliation meted out to them.

Question 5.
How does the grave voice describe the Country?
Answer:
The grave voice corrects the poet that in fact Africa is like a young and strong tree standing amidst faded flowers. The tree grows patiently but obstinately and begets the fruits of liberty which taste bitter because of the sacrifice of the people.

Annotations:

Question 1.
“ I have never known you.”
Answer:
This line is taken from the poem ‘Africa’ written by David Diop. He says this to his country, Africa.
The poet though by birth is an African who doesn’t actually know everything about the Country, as he is living far away from it. Whatever he knows, he knows it listening to his grandmother’s songs.

Question 2.
“This back trembling with red scars.”
Answer:
This line is taken from the poem ‘Africa’ written by David Diop. The poet is describing his native country Africa in this poem. The poet is upset and hurt that his countrymen are treated as slaves and made to work in the fields under harsh conditions and they are humiliated frequently. He says that his countrymen toil hard in the field bearing the whip lashes given by their masters.

Africa Summary in English

Africa Summary in English

The poet David Mandessi Diop reminiscences about Africa which he had heard from his grandmother’s song. In this poem, he describes the travails and toils the African people have undergone, while at the same time what resilient people they were because they withstood British Colonialism and became free.

The poet addresses Africa as a nation which has struggled throughout, for respect. The African people have toiled as slaves in the fields of white men, he has been slaves for generations and wonders whether the country has become depressed and demoralized under the weight of humiliation. He feels sorry for all those blacks who have spilt their sweat and blood and have borne the whiplashes and pain very stoically.

But he suddenly hears a voice reprimanding him that his country Africa was not an infirm old woman but a strong young tree, which is standing proud and erect amidst the white and faded flowers. The voice says that though the country has faced humiliation, it grows back to its original stature very patiently and obstinately and is able to assert its liberty.

Thus he gives the message that Africa will not lead a life of slavery forever but will break the shackles and bring about change and freedom.

Glossary:

  • warrior: fighter/person skilled in fighting in a was.
  • ancestral: belonging to one’s ancestors / inherited.
  • savannah: flat open grassland specific to Africa.
  • scars: marks left on the skin after a wound has healed.
  • grave: (adj) – serious and important
  • faded: Pale / less bright.
  • acquires gains something by one’s own efforts, ability or behavior

KSEEB Solutions for Class 9 English Poem Chapter 2 Africa