Class English · Part

Unit Gabriel Okara b. The children in the picture are watching an exciting sporting event, where their school team is winning. Suggest suitable utterances reflecting their feelings: c. Given a chance, any adult would wish to become a child again for many reasons.

Fill the boxes with some of what you imagine could be the reasons. e.g. I need not worry about project deadlines. I can wear my pajamas the whole day.

I can sleep as long as I like. Children acquire important life skills and values by observing and imitating grown- ups like parents or teachers. Can it be the other way round? Now, you are going to listen to the poem ‘Once Upon a Time’, where a parent wants to learn something from the son.

Let’s find out how. Once upon a time, son They used to laugh with their hearts And laugh with their eyes: But now they only laugh with their teeth While their ice-block-cold eyes Search behind my shadow . There was a time indeed They used to shake hands with their hearts But that’s gone, son Now they shake hands without hearts While their left hands search My empty pockets . “Feel at home!”, “Come again”: They say, and when I come Again and feel At home, once, twice There will be no thrice - For then I find doors shut on me.

So I have learnt many things, son I have learned to wear many faces Like dresses – home face Office face, street face, host face Cocktail face , with all their conforming smiles Like a fixed portrait smile . And I have learned too To laugh with only my teeth And shake hands without my heart I have also learned to say “Goodbye” When I mean “ Good-riddance ”: To say “Glad to meet you” Without being glad; and to say “It’s been Nice talking to you”, after being bored. “ I h a v e l e a r n e d t o w e a r m a n y f a c e s ” But believe me, son I want to be what I used to be When I was like you. I want To unlearn all these muting things Most of all, I want to relearn How to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror Shows only my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs!

So show me, son How to laugh; show me how I used to laugh and smile Once upon a time when I was like you. Gabriel Okara (born ) is a Nigerian poet and novelist. His verse has been translated into several languages. His poem The Call of the River Nun won the best award for Literature at the Nigerian Festival of Arts in .

Some of his poems were published in the influential periodical Black Orpheus, and by he established himself as an accomplished writer. He was honoured with the Commonwealth Poetry Award. Okara’s typical poem transits from everyday reality to moments of delight and moves back to reality, making a complete circle. Okara infused African thought, folklore, and imagery into both his verse and prose.

His first novel, The Voice, is an outstanding linguistic experiment. His later works include a collection of poems The Fisherman’s Invocation ( ) and two books for children, Little Snake and Little Frog ( ) and An Adventure to Juju Island ( ). About the Author  laugh with their teeth : to fake a laugh, laugh without associated emotions  ice-block-cold eyes : eyes lacking a feeling of warmth or endearing expression  search behind my shadow : people are hypocritical and they don’t mean what they say  While their left hands search my empty pockets : evaluating the narrator’s worth and power or calculating how he could be exploited  cocktail face : face showing mixed emotions  conforming smiles like a fixed portrait smile : wearing a standard deceitful artificial smile on all occasions  good-riddance : expression of relief at being free of an unwanted person  fangs : teeth of a venomous snake, used to inject poison Glossary . Based on your understanding of the poem answer the following questions in one or two sentences each: a.

What do you associate with the title of the poem? b. What is the relationship between the narrator and the listener? c.

What happens to the poet when he visits someone for the third time? d. Pick out the expressions that indicate conflicting ideas. e.

How does the poet compare his face with dresses? f. What does the poet mean when he says ‘good bye’? g.

What pleasantries does the poet use to fake cordiality? h. What does he desire to unlearn and relearn? i.

How is the poet’s laugh reflected in the mirror? j. What does the poet long for? k.

Mention the qualities, the child in the poem symbolises. . Fill in the blanks choosing the words from the box given and complete the summary of the poem: The poet Okara in this narrative monologue painfully condemns the (a) displayed by adults, both in their words and actions. Here, a father laments to his son about the negative changes that creep into the attitude and behaviour of humans, when they grow into (b) .

He says that people used to be (c) when they laugh and the honesty would be reflected in their eyes. But, people of modern times laugh (d) . Their handshakes used to be warm and happy conveying a sense of togetherness, but nowadays the handshakes have become a mere (e) . He warns his son that people are not trust-worthy and have become so selfish that they are concerned only about their own (f) benefits.

People utter words of welcome and exchange (g) , but those words come only from the tip of their tongues and not from the depth of their hearts. Humans have learnt the art of changing their (h) according to situations merely to ensure social acceptance. They wear(i) and exhibit multiple faces. The narrator admits that he has also changed into a hypocrite.

However, he tells his son that though he (j) his expressions, he does all these against his will. He says he wants to become a (k) and laugh genuinely. He wants to (l) the unreal things and (m) to laugh as he had done once upon a time. When he laughs before the (n) , he sees no expression.

His teeth are bare like that of the (o) of a snake. So, he asks his son to show him how to laugh the way he used to laugh, when he was a kid like him. relearn adults facial personal fangs child fakes superficially duplicity genuine unlearn falsity masks mirror pleasantries . A.

Interpret each of the following expressions used in the poem, in one or two lines. i. laugh with their eyes ii. shake hands without hearts iii.

like a fixed portrait smile iv. hands search my empty pockets v. to unlearn all these muting things B. Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow.

i. ‘But now they only laugh with their teeth, While their ice-block-cold eyes…’ a) Who are ‘they’? b) Explain: ice-block-cold eyes c) Identify the figure of speech used here. ii.

‘Most of all, I want to relearn How to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror Shows only my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs!’ a) Why does the poet want to relearn how to laugh? b) Whom does the poet want to relearn from? c) Mention the figure of speech used here. C.

Explain the following lines with reference to the context. i. Once upon a time, son They used to laugh with their hearts: ii. There will be no thrice.

iii. I have learned to wear my faces Like dresses … iv. I want to be what I used to be. .

Answer the following questions in about – words each. i. Explain the things the poet has learnt when he grew into an adult. ii.

This poem is nothing but a criticism of modern life. Justify this statement. iii. ‘Face is the index of the mind.’ Does this adage concur with the views of the poet?

. Listening Activity First read the questions given below. Next, listen to an excerpt from a poem read out by your teacher or played in a recorder. Note how a child admires and praises the abilities of his/her father.

Then tick the right answers from the options given. i) When the to be repaired, they have to hire a man. a) heater b) furnace c) stove d) oven ii) Father knows no word . a) fail b) frail c) jail d) snail iii) It is certain that the father would restore the the family members.

a) glory b) prosperity c) confidence d) happiness iv) The father will not be able to mend a . a) table b) bench c) chair d) stool v) The children expect their to guide them in action. a) mother b) father c) teacher d) guardian . Parallel Reading: In the poem Once Upon a Time, a parent wishes to shed falsehood and regain true ways as a child.

Here is a poem where a woman longs to become a child once again to enjoy the comfort, warmth and love she received as a child from her mother, once upon a time. Rock Me to Sleep Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight, Make me a child again just for tonight! Mother, come back from the echoless shore, Take me again to your heart as of yore; Kiss from my forehead the furrows of care, Smooth the few silver threads out of my hair; Over my slumbers your loving watch keep; Rock me to sleep, mother, – rock me to sleep! Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years!

I am so weary of toil and of tears, Toil without recompense, tears all in vain, Take them, and give me my childhood again! I have grown weary of dust and decay, Weary of flinging my soul-wealth away; Weary of sowing for others to reap; Rock me to sleep, mother – rock me to sleep! Tired of the hollow, the base, the untrue, Mother, O mother, my heart calls for you! Many a summer the grass has grown green, Blossomed and faded, our faces between: Yet, with strong yearning and passionate pain, Long I tonight for your presence again.

Come from the silence so long and so deep; Rock me to sleep, mother, – rock me to sleep! Over my heart, in the days that are flown, No love like mother-love ever has shone; No other worship abides and endures, Faithful, unselfish, and patient like yours: None like a mother can charm away pain From the sick soul and the world-weary brain. Slumber’s soft calms o’er my heavy lids creep; Rock me to sleep, mother, – rock me to sleep! Come, let your brown hair, just lighted with gold, Fall on your shoulders again as of old; Let it drop over my forehead tonight, Shading my faint eyes away from the light; For with its sunny-edged shadows once more Haply will throng the sweet visions of yore; Lovingly, softly, its bright billows sweep; Rock me to sleep, mother, – rock me to sleep!

Mother, dear mother, the years have been long Since I last listened your lullaby song: Sing, then, and unto my soul it shall seem Womanhood’s years have been only a dream. Clasped to your heart in a loving embrace, With your light lashes just sweeping my face, Never hereafter to wake or to weep; Rock me to sleep, mother, – rock me to sleep! - Elizabeth Akers Allen b. i.

Find out when the International Day of Friendship is celebrated. ii. How is that day celebrated? c.

We have heard of the proverb ‘ Familiarity breeds contempt’ . Do you think that the passage of time strengthens friendship? Share your reasons with your class. Here is a story entitled ‘After Twenty Years’ which is about two best friends who had to part ways.

They return to keep an appointment they had made twenty years ago. Read to find out what happens when they meet again. The policeman on the beat moved up the avenue impressively. The impressiveness was habitual and not for show, for spectators were few.

The time was barely o’ clock at night, but chilly gusts of wind with a taste of rain in them had well nigh depeopled the streets. Trying doors as he went, twirling his club with many intricate and artful movements, turning now and then to cast his w a t c h f u l eye adown the pacific thoroughfare, the officer, with his stalwart form Warm Up: a. What do you expect your close friends to do for you? Beautify the petals with your thoughts.