Nissim Ezekiel Practice Questions

Correct answer: The Bene Israel Jewish community

Nissim Ezekiel belonged to the ancient Bene Israel Jewish community of Maharashtra. This unique background gave him the perspective of a minority observer within the vast fabric of India. His sense of being an 'outsider-insider' is a major thematic strain running through his entire body of work.

Correct answer: Latter-Day Psalms

'Latter-Day Psalms' won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983. The collection is notable for its title sequence, which re-examines and structurally deconstructs the traditional Biblical Psalms from a modern, skeptical, and humanistic perspective. It represents the peak of his mature philosophical phase.

Correct answer: A Time to Change

'A Time to Change and Other Poems' was Ezekiel's first published collection, printed in London in 1952. The volume introduces his signature focus on structural precision, moral anxiety, and the daily struggles of urban existence. It effectively signaled the dawn of modern post-independence Indian English poetry.

Correct answer: They believe the scorpion's movement spreads its poison in mother's blood.

In 'Night of the Scorpion', the peasants chant that with every movement the scorpion makes, its poison moves in the mother's blood. This highlights the rural folk beliefs and communal empathy that Ezekiel observes with detached, ironic affection. The poem contrasts this traditional mindset with the father's rationalist attempts to treat the bite.

Correct answer: Thank God the scorpion picked on me and spared my children.

The final lines of the poem are, 'My mother only said / Thank God the scorpion picked on me / and spared my children.' This simple declaration underscores the theme of maternal self-sacrifice. It effectively undercuts both the superstitious chants of the villagers and the futile medical rationalism of the father.

Correct answer: Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S.

'Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S.' is written in what critics call 'Babu Angrezi' or Indian English, using present continuous tenses erroneously and literal translations of vernacular phrases. The poem satirizes the rambling, digressive style of public speeches in India. Ezekiel uses this technique not to mock, but to capture an authentic sociological voice.

Correct answer: Home is where we have to gather grace.

The final line of 'Enterprise' states, 'Home is where we have to gather grace.' The poem allegorically tracks a journey or pilgrimage that starts with great enthusiasm but disintegrates into internal squabbles, desertion, and exhaustion. The conclusion suggests that meaningful fulfillment lies in ordinary, everyday reality rather than grand, romantic quests.

Correct answer: W. B. Yeats

The title and epigraph of 'The Unfinished Man' are taken from W. B. Yeats's poem 'A Dialogue of Self and Soul'. The excerpt reads: 'The unfinished man and his pain / Brought face to face with his clumsiness.' This framing emphasizes Ezekiel's focus on self-examination, urban alienation, and psychological fragmentation.

Correct answer: Bombay

Bombay (now Mumbai) was Ezekiel's birthplace and lifelong home, and he frequently referred to it as his 'backward place'. In poems like 'A Morning Walk' and 'Island', he explores its squalor, crowds, and vibrant energy. He viewed the city as an inescapable extension of his own flawed, modern identity.

Correct answer: To stay where he is, accepting his home among others.

At the end of 'Background, Casually', Ezekiel writes, 'I have made my commitments now. / This is where I stay in India, / My backward place which I accept.' The poem is a candid autobiographical sketch tracking his childhood alienation, his broke student days in London, and his ultimate decision to commit to the landscape of India.

Correct answer: A retired professor's rambling talk with a former student on aging, family, and progress

'The Professor' is a monologue featuring Professor Sheth, who runs into a former student. He discusses his health, his retirement, and his children's careers while displaying typical Indian social anxieties and linguistic quirks. The poem balances humor with the poignant reality of aging and social change.

Correct answer: Quest

Nissim Ezekiel was a founding editor of the quarterly 'Quest' in the mid-1950s. He later worked at 'The Illustrated Weekly of India' and edited 'Poetry India.'

Correct answer: Patient waiting, absolute stillness, and slow movement.

The poem asserts that 'To force the pace and never to be still / Is not the way of those who study birds / Or women.' Ezekiel argues that the poet, lover, and birdwatcher must all practice patience and quiet observation to capture rare moments of grace, love, or inspiration. This reflects his own commitment to deliberate craftsmanship.

Correct answer: Satirical social comedies dealing with the urban Indian middle class.

Ezekiel's 'Three Plays' contains social comedies that mock the superficiality, intellectual pretension, and marital discords of the urban Indian bourgeoisie. 'Nalini' parodies the advertising and public relations world, while 'Marriage Poem' explores domestic entrapment. These plays demonstrate his versatile interest in everyday human behavior across different mediums.

Correct answer: Padma Shri

Nissim Ezekiel was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1988. This award officially recognized his pivotal role as a poet, playwright, editor, and critic who helped legitimize and shape modern Indian poetry in English. His academic tenure at the University of Bombay further cemented his cultural legacy.

Correct answer: They are brief, aphoristic poems meant to be read like public slogans.

The 'Poster Poems' are short, sharp, and epigrammatic verses that mimic the directness of posters or signs. They combine philosophical irony with everyday language, reflecting Ezekiel's later desire to strip his poetry of unnecessary ornamentation and engage directly with the public space of the city.

Correct answer: The Vietnam War and Middle East clashes

In 'The Patriot', the comic persona talks about reading newspapers and mentions 'All men are brothers, no? / What you think of prospective of world peace? / Pakistan behaving like this, / China behaving like that... / Vietnam War fighting fighting.' This captures the rambling, slightly confused geopolitical awareness of a common citizen.

Correct answer: Disciplined, ironic, lucid, focused on metric control and everyday speech.

Ezekiel was a master of a clear, disciplined, and ironic style that favored lucidity over abstract ornamentation. Influenced by modern British and American poets, he brought a sense of formal structure, metric control, and emotional restraint to Indian English poetry. This set a standard against the sentimental romanticism of earlier colonial-era writers.

Correct answer: She is going foreign to improve her prospects.

The speaker in the poem announces that 'Miss Pushpa is going foreign / in two three days / we are meeting today / to wish her bon voyage.' The phrase 'going foreign' is a common Indian idiom for traveling abroad, and the poem gently satirizes the predictable platitudes spoken at such corporate or institutional farewell parties.

Correct answer: Professor of English and Head of the Department

Ezekiel served as Professor of English and Head of the Department at the University of Bombay. He was a deeply dedicated teacher who supported young, upcoming writers by reading manuscripts and providing constructive critiques. His presence made Bombay the vibrant epicenter of post-independence Indian writing in English.