ARE YOU PLAYING YOUR FLUTE

1
Which lines in stanza 1 tell you that the flautist plays the flute
beautifully?
Uncovered by .depth of my heart
2
In the second stanza, what does the word deserted mean?
Empty / abandoned / neglected / vacant
3
In the second stanza, why are the rice fields deserted?
The farmers have left the fields for the city / better income jobs away from the
village.
4
In your own words, explain the meaning of the last stanza.
The persona is feeling anxious because there are political and economical problems
in her city and she feels the world is changing for the worst.
5
From stanza 1, what does the persona want to hear?
The flautists song / flute music. / The flautist playing his flute.
6
In stanza 2, what does the word here refer to?
The city / town / personas place
7
In stanza 3, why does the persona feel guilty for thinking about her
beloved?
She feels guilty because at present people around her are suffering.
8
Suggest two things you would do to stop the world from bleeding.
Spread the message of peace, tolerance and living in harmony
Learn to appreciate what life has offered and be happy with it.
9
How is the rice field?
Sick / unhealthy / infertile / neglected
10
i.
ii.

State two activities that I consider luxuries.

Spend time watching the rain / gazing at the evening rays
Collecting dew drops/ Enjoying the fragrance of flowers

11
Why do you the personas conscience is disturbed? Give reasons for
your answer.
Thinking of the flautist while feeling worried about the troubled with the situation
around her.
12
A flute

What musical instrument is the poets friend playing?

13
Describe the village.
It is empty has people have left for the city.
14
Who feels guilty?
The persona

15
While here it has become a luxury!
To spend time watching the rain
Why do you think the persona says it is a luxury to spend time watching rain? Give
reasons for your answer.
Life in the city is so busy that one has no time for simple pleasures and there are
other problems to worry about.
16
Why does the persona ask if the flute player is still playing his flute?
She does not know if he is still in the village enjoying his favourite pastime.
17
How does she feel about his music?
Nostalgic / desirous / wishful
18
Write down the line which shows that the persona thinks highly of his
music.
To the depth of my heart
19
In your own words,
i.
What kind of a person do you think is the flute player?
Passionate / Obsessed / An introvert / A sequester
ii.
Have you been involved in a similar passion over any interest or
hobby? Provide explanation.
20
Identify two words used to describe the village.
Quiet and deserted
21
What has happened to the village?
It is deserted as the people have left for better jobs.
22
In stanza 2, what does the words here refers to?
The city / town / personas place
23
In your own words,
i.
What do you of the things the persona consider luxuries?
Rain, sunset (evening rays) / dew / fragrance of flowers
ii.
What would you enjoy doing for pleasure?
24
Why does the poet feel guilty?
To be longing for the flautists song
25
Flute

What musical instrument does the poets love play?

26
How is the situation in the village?
Quite bad as it is empty because the villagers have left the village for better jobs
and conditions.

27
Why do think the poet is surprised that the flautist is still playing his
flute? Give reasons for your answer.
She thinks that he is undisturbed with the turmoil in the nation and the world.
28
Why is the village so quiet and deserted?
The villagers have left the village for better jobs and conditions.
29
Which phrase in stanza 1 implies how much the music affected the
poet?
To the depth of my heart
30
What does the poet mean by using the words concealed and
uncovered to describe the music?
It means that the melody is in the bamboo and will only be heard when the flautist
plays the flute.
31
What could the poem be about?
It is about upholding values, accepting changes in life and appreciating simple
pleasures of life.
32
Describe ONE emotion the poet is feeling in the first stanza.
Guilty / nostalgic
33
The flute

What does the phrase, slim hollow of the bamboo refer to?

35
In the city

Based on stanza 2, where do you think the persona is?

36
Based on stanza 2, what is the contrast between the personas place
and the flautists?
The flautists place is empty and deserted whereas the personas place is
undergoing a turmoil [ political and economical crisis].
37
Based on stanza 2, in the first line, what do you think the persona is
feeling?
A sense of doubt / unsure / puzzled
38
Based on stanza 1, which line reveals the intensity of the personas
feelings?
To be longing for your song
39
Based on stanza1, how does the persona feel about the flautist?
Longing / pining/yearning/passionate / love
40
Based on stanza 1, which line (s) reveal (s) that the persona is
struggling with her feelings?
Where there is hardly time for our love
41

Based on stanza 1, describe the personas mood.

Sombre / solemn / Sad

42
What is so distinctive about the melody from the flute?
It touches the depth of her heart
43
Why is the rice field described as sick?
It has been neglected so it is no longer productive and fertile.
44
What is the meaning of the metaphor slaughtered mercilessly?
People are no longer tolerant of each other and people are being killed cruelly.
45
What kind of feeling is expressed by the persona in the poem?
A sense of sadness, hopelessness, despair and misery
46
Why does the persona feel guilty?
To be longing for the flautists song.
47
Why is the personas conscience disturbed?
She is worried about the present situation in her nation which is facing a crisis.
48
In your opinion, does the persona feel depressed about this world?
Give your reasons.
Yes,..
49
Based on stanza 2, how would you describe the person who seems to
be very interested in his flute?
Idle / unaffected by the crisis / carefree / in his own world
50
Write the two words that relate to how a flute is played?
Breath and fingers
52
What is the main theme in the stanza above?
Upholding values, appreciating simple pleasures of life, accepting changes in life
53
Write two words that are related to the condition of the village.
Quiet and deserted
55
Who is playing the flute?
The flautist in the village / The personas love
56
Why does the persona feel guilty?
To be longing for the flautists song
57
Where does the melody originate from?
The bamboo / The slim hollow of the bamboo
58
Which two lines best describe how a flute is played?
Uncovered by the breath of an artist & composed by his fingers

59
Which word would you use to describe the personas village? Name
one.
Quiet / deserted
60
What does the persona mean by the sick rice field?
The paddy fields are neglected so they are barren and unproductive.
61
What are the evening rays referred to?
Sunset
62
Write two activities that are considered a luxury by the persona.
Spend time watching the rain / gazing at the evening rays
Collecting dew drops/ Enjoying the fragrance of flowers
63
Why is the person still thinking of her beloved?
She has feelings for him. / She still loves him.
64
Write two problems faced by the persona as mentioned in the stanza
above.
Her brothers are unemployed and desperate / Her people are disunited by politics /
Her friend is slaughtered mercilessly
65
What is the tone used? Give a reason for your answer.
Sad / Hopelessness / Despair / Anxious
66
Where do you think the persona is likely to be?
In the city / town
67
Where is the flautist playing his flute?
In the village
68
Tradition

What does the flute represent?

69
Why is the phrase, Are you still playing your flute?, repeated three
times in the poem? Using your own words, give reasons to support your answer.
To reinforce the emotion (wondering/puzzled) behind the question and create a
dramatic effect
70
In stanza 1, what poetic device does the first line above refer to?
Rhetorical question
71
In stanza 1, what does line 2 tell us about the relationship between the
persona and the flautist?
They loved each other when they were together.
72
What is the persona guilty about?
To be longing for the flautists song.
73

The poet used certain words to indicate where the melody is:

i.
What are these words?
Concealed in the slim hollow of the bamboo
ii.
Do you think they are suitable? Why?
Yes, because the flute is played by blowing into hollow of the bamboo and melody is
created by the fingers.
74
In stanza 1, why does the persona feel guilty listening to music of the
flautist?
She is very busy and also her nation is undergoing a crisis.
75
Why is enjoying the fragrance of flowers regarded as a luxury by the
persona in stanza 2?
In the city, one can be very busy in the rat race that they have no time to even
appreciate the flowers growing around them.
76
Give one problem the nation is undergoing.
Political crisis / Economical crisis / Disharmony
77
Explain in your own words why the persona feels her world is too old
and bleeding.
The world is changing for the worst and non-renewable resources cannot be
replenished.
78
Tradition

What do you think the flute represents?

79
What do you think the phrase, the world is too old and bleeding
represents?
The world is changing for the worst and non-renewable resources cannot be
replenished.
80
Suggest a reason why the persona cannot forget the music from the
flute?
The music must have been beautiful and special that it has embedded in her heart.
82
What is it like in the village?
Quiet and empty
83
What does the word sick imply about the rice field?
Barren / Unproductive / Infertile / Neglected
84
What are the luxuries mentioned by the poet? State two of them.
Spend time watching the rain / gazing at the evening rays
Collecting dew drops/ Enjoying the fragrance of flowers
86
In the last stanza, what is the personas feeling when she remembers
the flautist?
Guilty / Remorseful /
87

Why is there disunity among the citizens of the country?

They lack tolerance and understanding.

88
What happened to the personas friend?
Killed cruelly
89
What do you think the last line of the stanza mean?
The world is changing for the worst.