NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Poem Chapter 1 Dust of Snow
Question 1:
What is a “dust of snow”? What does the poet say has changed his mood? How has the poet’s mood changed?
Answer
The ‘dust of snow’ means the fine particles or flakes of snow. The sudden shower in the form of the dust of snow changed the poet’s mood. The poet’s mood changed from sad to happy. He felt refreshed and wanted to enjoy the rest of the day.
NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Poem Chapter 1 Dust of Snow
Question 2:
How does Frost present nature in this poem? The following questions may help you to think of an answer.
(i) What are the birds that are usually named in poems? Do you think a crow is often mentioned in poems? What images come to your mind when you think of a crow?
(ii) Again, what is “a hemlock tree”? Why doesn’t the poet write about a more ‘beautiful’ tree such as a maple, or an oak, or a pine?
(iii) What do the ‘crow’ and ‘hemlock’ represent − joy or sorrow? What does the dust of snow that the crow shakes off a hemlock tree stand for?
Answer
Frost presents nature in a very different manner in the poem:
(i) The birds usually named in poems are known for their beauty or sweet song. They include nightingales, cuckoos, robins and swans. A crow is not often mentioned in poems because it is neither beautiful nor it is a songbird. The crow brings the images of evil and ill omen to my mind.
(ii) Hemlock is a poisonous tree. The poet wants to create an atmosphere of sadness and stillness. In such an atmosphere, a maple, an oak or a pine would have looked out of place.
(iii) The crow and the hemlock stand for sorrow. The dust of snow stands for death or inertia. The crow’s shaking off the dust of snow from the tree stands for renewed life.
NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Poem Chapter 1 Dust of Snow
