Question

Q . Read the following poem carefully and answer the following questions.
Madam and Her Madam by Langston Hughes
I worked for a woman,
She wasn’t mean –
But she had a twelve-room
House to clean.
Had to get breakfast,
Dinner, and supper, too –
Then take care of her children
When I got through.
Wash, iron, and scrub,
Walk the dog around –
It was too much,
Nearly broke me down.
I said, Madam,
Can it be
You’re trying to make a
Pack-horse out of me?
She opened her mouth.
She cried, Oh no!
You know, Alberta,
I love you so!
I said, Madam,
That may be true –
But I’ll be dogged
If I love you!
a How did Alberta feel about her work? Why did she feel so?
b How did the ‘madam’ feel about Alberta?
c How did Alberta feel about her ‘madam’? Pick out the lines.
d Pick out the words in the poem which rhyme? What effect does the rhyme have?

Answer 1

a. Alberta felt that her work was too much for her, including all the cleaning, cooking, washing, ironing, scrubbing, taking care of the children and pet dog of her mistress –“It was too much, Nearly broke me down,”  

b. Madam said that she loved Alberta very much – “You know, Alberta, I love you so!”

c. “But I’ll be dogged/ If I love you!” – This was the feeling of Alberta for her Madam, who made her work too much.  

d. The pairs of words ‘mean’ and ‘clean’, ‘too’ and ‘through’, ‘around’ and ‘down’, ‘be’ and ‘me’, ‘no’ and ‘so’, ‘true’ and ‘you’ have rhythmic similarities. Rhyme is essential in a poem to make it sound much melodious.