Summary of the poem“Ammanda”
Class 10 English
Answers
1st stanza:
Don’t bite your nails, Amanda!
Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda!
Stop that slouching and sit up straight,
Amanda!
In this stanza, we hear Amanda’s mother speaking to her. She tells Amanda in a very strict voice not to bite her nails. Then she tells Amanda not to slouch her shoulders. Instead she wants Amanda to sit up with her back straightened.
2nd stanza:
(There is a languid, emerald sea,
where the sole inhabitant is me—
a mermaid, drifting blissfully.)
In this stanza, we see Amanda’s reaction to her mother correcting her on the proper way to sit. She withdraws from her real life to an imaginary world. She imagines that there is a beautiful green sea, in which only she lives and there is nobody there to bother her. Moreover, she is no longer a human being, but has taken the form of a mermaid, and is drifting along in a relaxed fashion within that sea.
3rd stanza:
Did you finish your homework, Amanda?
Did you tidy your room, Amanda?
I thought I told you to clean your shoes,
Amanda!
In this stanza, we again hear Amanda’s mother speaking to her. She takes on an authoritative tone like before and asks Amanda whether she has completed the homework given to her by her teacher at school. Following this, she asks Amanda whether she has cleaned up her own room. Finally, she tells Amanda that she had commanded Amanda to clean her shoes, but that Amanda has not done so yet. At this point, it is clear that Amanda’s mother is both irritated, and angry at Amanda.
4th stanza:
(I am an orphan, roaming the street.
I pattern soft dust with my hushed, bare feet.
The silence is golden, the freedom is sweet.)
In this stanza, we once again see Amanda’s reaction to her mother’s harsh words. Amanda withdraws into another imaginary world. She imagines that she is an orphan and that she is romancing around on the street. She has no shoes on her feet at all, and instead, she is getting them even dirtier by making designs on the dusty ground with them. However, she makes no sound while making these dusty designs. She cherishes the silence as well as the freedom to do as she likes in that world of her imagination.
5th stanza:
Don’t eat that chocolate, Amanda!
Remember your acne, Amanda!
Will you please look at me when I’m speaking to you,
Amanda!
In this stanza, Amanda’s mother is once again telling her what to do and what not to do. She tells Amanda not to have any chocolate for they might cause her to develop acne on her face. It seems that acne is a recurring problem for Amanda because her mother warns her to remember how they had looked on her face at some previous time, confident that she cannot have forgotten the sight so easily. Perhaps this unpleasant memory has made Amanda turn her face away, for her mother then tells Amanda to look at her while she is speaking as a sign of respect towards her.
6th stanza:
(I am Rapunzel, I have not a care;
life in a tower is tranquil and rare;
I’ll certainly never let down my bright hair!)
In this stanza, Amanda withdraws into her fantasy world for the last time in order to escape from her mother’s ragging. She imagines herself to be Rapunzel. She imagines that she is perfectly happy to live alone in the tower, for she has nothing to worry about. Life over there is peaceful, and not too many people know what that is like. In fact, she is so happy with her life that she will never let down her hair in an attempt to escape from the tower.
7th stanza:
Stop that sulking at once, Amanda!
You’re always so moody, Amanda!
Anyone would think that I nagged at you,
Amanda!
In this stanza, Amanda’s mother tells her to stop sulking. She also accuses her daughter of having mood swings very frequently. Finally, she tells Amanda that anyone who saw her would think that her mother has been nagging at her. It is obvious that Amanda’s mother feels it is her duty to correct her daughter and to teach her the proper way to behave, and she does not believe that this can be an exhausting or irritating experience for Amanda.