Class 12 Alternative English Chapter 8 Strange Meeting Question answer to each chapter is provided in the list so that you can easily browse throughout different chapters Assam Board HS Class 12 Alternative English Chapter 8 Strange Meeting, Class 12 Alternative English Question Answer, HS 2nd year Alternative English and select needs one.
Class 12 Alternative English Chapter 8 Strange Meeting
Also, you can read the SCERT book online in these sections Solutions by Expert Teachers as per SCERT (CBSE) Book guidelines. These solutions are part of SCERT All Subject Solutions. Here we have given Assam Board Class 12 Alternative English Chapter 8 Strange Meeting Solutions for All Subject, You can practice these here.
Strange Meeting
Chapter: 3
POETRY
| COMPREHENSION |
A. Answer these questions in one or two words.
1. Who is the speaker in ‘Strange Meeting’?
Ans: The Speaker in ‘Strange Meeting’ is a Soldier who died in World War Ⅰ.
2. When did the speaker realise that he was in hell?
Ans: The speaker comes to the realization that he is in hell when the other soldier he encounters in the underworld gives a “dead smile,” exposing the grim reality of their surroundings.
3. What does the poet mean by ‘chariot wheels’?
Ans: In, poets “chariot wheels” symbolize the machinery of war, representing destruction, violence, and the relentless advance of battle.
4. What does the speaker discover in the underworld?
Ans: The speaker discovers the soul of a soldier he had killed in battle.
B. Answer these questions in a few words each.
1. What do you mean by war poetry?
Ans: War poetry emerged during wartime as soldiers and civilians expressed deep emotions through verse. It explores themes like identity, guilt, courage, humanity, and death. While not always anti-war, it raises significant questions about life. War poetry transcends generations, shaping the language used to understand war history. Key themes include honor, injury, gender relations, and poetic formalism.
2. What are the poetic devices often used by Wilfred Owen in his poems?
Ans: Wilfred Owen frequently employed poetic devices such as imagery, simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, and onomatopoeia in his poetry. These elements intensify the vividness and emotional depth of his descriptions, enabling readers to connect with the horrors and realities of war.
3. Why is the meeting between the two soldiers called a ‘strange meeting’?
Ans: The title of Owen’s poem appears highly appropriate and justified, as it depicts his encounter with a mysterious man, his enemy on the battlefield, whose nationality remains unknown. The meeting is “strange” because the person the poet encounters is his foe (“I am the enemy you killed, my friend…”). However, that is not the only aspect that makes this meeting unusual. It occurs in a realm that resembles the battlefield yet feels distinctly different. Moreover, this is not a typical meeting between two acquaintances but rather an unexpected encounter between two individuals, both soldiers.
4. What does the poet mean by ‘titanic wars’?
Ans: “Titanic wars” refers to the immense and colossal scale of the battles fought during World War Ⅰ. The term “titanic” highlights the sheer magnitude and intensity of these conflicts, emphasizing their monumental proportions, massive destruction, and significant loss of life.
5. ‘Let us sleep now’. What does sleep signify in the poem?
Ans: The line of the poem ‘Let us sleep now’ raises fundamental questions about the human condition, and thus, can be interpreted as a metaphor for the idea of death and a desire for peace and rest in the afterlife, which is the only way that offers freedom from the pain and anguish of war.
C. Answer these questions briefly in your own words.
1. What is the significance of the title ‘Strange Meeting’?
Ans: In the Poem ‘Strange Meeting’ provides a powerful insight into the psychological and emotional impact of war. It depicts a conversation between two dead soldiers who meet in the afterlife, after fighting on opposite sides during World War Ⅰ. The meeting is deemed strange because it occurs in the afterlife, where enmity and divisions no longer exist. It underscores the irony and futility of war, as former adversaries ultimately find common ground and understanding beyond the battlefield.
2. Write a brief note on Wilfred Owen’s representation of the underworld to explore the horrors of war in ‘Strange Meeting’.
Ans: In Strange Meeting, Wilfred Owen depicts the underworld as a dark, desolate realm that serves as a metaphor for the horrors of war. The “profound dull tunnel” and the soldiers’ references to it as a “sullen hall” or “Hell” convey the overwhelming bleakness and despair caused by the violence and suffering of war. This underworld symbolizes the psychological and emotional aftermath of battle, where soldiers remain trapped in a perpetual state of trauma and remorse.
3. ‘I parried; but my hands were loath and cold. Let us sleep now…’
What is the significance of the last two lines in ‘Strange Meeting’?
Ans: In the last two lines of the poem, Owen presents a moment of physical combat between the two dead soldiers, where one attempts to defend himself but finds his hands unwilling to act. In the end, the speaker addresses the listener whom we can assume to be Owen himself revealing, “I am the enemy you killed, my friend,” as he recognizes him.
Despite having fought on opposing sides, there is no resentment from the man who was killed. It appears that the war has drained all his anger and violence if he ever felt any. Strange Meeting concludes on a melancholic, almost Keatsian note, as the speaker invites the listener to sleep beside him, suggesting that both have succumbed to death. Ultimately, the poem underscores the futility of war; nothing has been resolved, the conflict continues, and the men remain dead.
4. How does ‘Strange Meeting’ challenge the traditional view of war as noble and heroic?
Ans: Strange Meeting challenges the traditional view of war as noble and heroic by revealing its true horrors and futility. Owen portrays soldiers as victims rather than heroes, emphasizing the senseless loss of human life in war. The poem underscores the deep psychological and emotional toll of conflict, dismantling the romanticized notions of bravery and honor often associated with warfare. Through the encounter between two soldiers from opposing sides, the poem conveys a message of compassion, unity, and shared suffering, ultimately rejecting the glorification of war and advocating for peace.
D. Answer these questions in detail.
1. Bring out the central idea of ‘Strange Meeting’.
Ans: Strange Meeting is a dramatic war poem that challenges the traditional glorification of war. Set in an imagined underworld, the poem presents a conversation between two soldiers, one who has killed the other in battle. The poem highlights the shared suffering of soldiers on both sides, portraying them as victims rather than enemies.
Wilfred Owen uses pararhyme, enjambment, and unsettling syntax to emphasize the psychological and emotional toll of war. The speaker encounters a dead soldier who laments the “undone years” and the futility of conflict. The poem conveys the pity of war, showing that both British and German soldiers endured similar hardships. The revelation”I am the enemy you killed, my friend” underscores the irony of war, where those who fight against each other could have been companions in another life.
Ultimately, Strange Meeting critiques war’s senselessness, presenting it as an endless cycle of suffering and loss, with no true resolution. Some critics even interpret the dead soldier as the speaker’s “Other” or double, deepening the poem’s psychological dimension.
2. ‘… Whatever hope is yours, Was my life also; I went hunting wild After the wildest beauty in the world …’ How does the poet portray the hopelessness of war in ‘Strange Meeting’? Illustrate your answer in the context of the above lines.
Ans: In the lines “Whatever hope is yours, / Was my life also, I went hunting wild / After the wildest beauty in the world…”, the poet conveys the hopelessness of war by contrasting it with the pursuit of beauty and the joys of life. The speaker reflects on lost opportunities and unfulfilled dreams, which war has cruelly taken away.
The phrase “Whatever hope is yours” suggests that the soldiers’ aspirations before the war are now meaningless and unattainable. The line “I went hunting wild / After the wildest beauty in the world” expresses a deep yearning for a vibrant, fulfilling life, a pursuit of something extraordinary and awe-inspiring. However, war has stripped them of these possibilities, leaving only sorrow and despair.
By juxtaposing the desire to seek beauty with the grim realities of war, the poet highlights the stark contrast between the human longing for meaning and joy and the brutal destruction of warfare. The poem evokes a profound sense of loss, as the soldiers’ dreams are extinguished by violence, reinforcing the tragic consequences and futility of war.
Hi, I’m Dev Kirtonia, Founder & CEO of Dev Library. A website that provides all SCERT, NCERT 3 to 12, and BA, B.com, B.Sc, and Computer Science with Post Graduate Notes & Suggestions, Novel, eBooks, Biography, Quotes, Study Materials, and more.
