QUESTIONS ON THE POEMS

2. Make an epigram in verse or prose on the subject of
motor cars or the wireless.

The Colubriad.

i. By what tricks of style and language does Cowper turn
this serious narrative into a humorous one ? In what lines
does he adopt the mock-heroic tone ?

The Jackdaw of Rkeims.

1. How is a humorous effect produced in this poem by
(a) repetition, (b) accumulation of petty detail, (c) slang,
(d) exaggeration ? Is the poem as a whole humorous ?

2. Draw a picture of the Jackdaw of Rheims in one of his
exploits.

King Canute.

1. What is a caricature ? How is this poem a caricature
of (a) the King's conceit, (b) the flattery of the courtiers ?
How is it faithful to historical truth ?

2. Point out passages where humour is the result of
placing side by side the lofty and the trivial.

3. Draw a caricature of King Canute.

Tou are old, Father William.

i. What is the wittiest passage in this poem? Which
of the jokes are rather boyish and obvious ? At what
points does the poet produce humour from circumstances
that are totally improbable ?

Star Talk.

1. Write a paragraph in appreciation of the personifica-
tions on which this poem is based.

2. What touches of human feeling and what trivial de-
tails make up the humorous effect ?

3. Write a humorous poem on Moonshine Talk.

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