This question is from the poem Night Mail by W. H Auden.
a. "Shovelling white steam over her shoulder snorting noisily as she passes silent miles of wind-bent grasses. "
I.)Who is this 'her' here, and what does the 'white steam' refer to? Marks-1
ii.)Why does she make snorting noise? Where does she takes the course of journey? Marks-3
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
When I need the text of a poem or indeed to check any poetic reference
I generally turn first to "Wondering Minstrels".
The other day I needed a copy of "From a Railway Carriage" by R. L.
Stevenson. It was for a music lesson where strong rhythms were being
illustrated under the theme of trains. And that poem of course was the
obvious choice.
Naturally I found it on this wonderful site but was rather surprised to find
that another 'railway' poem Was not in your list. This poem "Night Mail" was
written by W. H. Auden for a film advertisement for "British Rail".
The rhythms and rhymes are wonderfully evocative of the railways in the
steam age and bring back to me memories Of railway journeys on which my
sisters and I worked out phrases to fit the rhythms we could hear as the
wheels clicked over the joins.
I offer this for the collection partly because it has so many memories for
me and partly to ensure that it is Available when I next need to use it.