QUESTIONS
Can
you put the spider’s web back in place
That once has been swept away?
Can you put the apple again on the bough
Which fell at our feet to-day?
Can you put the lily-cup back on the stem,
And cause it to live and grow?
Can you mend the butterfly’s broken wing
That you crushed with a hasty blow?
Can you put the bloom again on the grape,
And the grape again on the vine?
Can you put the dewdrops back on the flowers,
And make them sparkle and shine?
Can you put the petals back on the rose?
If you could, would it smell as sweet?
Can you put the flour again in husk,
And show me the ripened wheat?
Can you put the kernel back in the nut,
Or the broken egg in the shell?
Can you put the honey back in the comb,
And cover with wax each cell?
You think that my questions are trifling, dear?
Let me ask you another one:
Can a hasty word be ever unsaid,
Or an unkind deed be undone?
Paraphrasing
Couplet one
Can you put spider’s web back in place
That once has been swept away?
Paraphrasing : In this couplet the poet asks that
once you have removed spider’s web is it
possible for you to place it back .
Couplet Two
Can you put the apple again on the bough
Which fell at our feet to-day?
Paraphrasing : The poet asks if an apple falls from a tree , is it possible
to reattach that apple to the branch .
Couplet three
Can you put the lily-cup back on its stem ,
And cause it to live and grow?
Paraphrasing : The poet asks that once the
lily-cup is plucked , if you could reconnect it to the stem.
Couplet four
Can you mend the
butterfly’s broken wing
That you crushed with a hasty blow?
Paraphrasing : The
poet asks that is it possible for you to repair butterfly’s wing that you have
damaged with the quick movement of your
hand.
Couplet five
Can you put the bloom again on the grape,
And the grape again on
the vine?
Paraphrasing : The poet asks that
is it possible for you to place the coating of grape on it and to reattach the
grape to vine.
Couplet six
Can you put the dewdrops back on the flowers ,
And make them sparkle and shine?
Paraphrasing : The poet asks that if it is possible for you to put the
dewdrops back on the blossoms and make them shiny and gleaming .
Couplet seven
Can you put the flour again in husk ,
And show me the ripened wheat?
Paraphrasing : The poet asks is it possible for
you to change flour into wheat grain and show me the ripe crop again.
Couplet eight
Can you put the petals
back on the rose ?
If you could , would it smell as sweet ?
Paraphrasing : The poet asks if it is possible for you to reattach the
rose petals to the flower , and if somehow you succeed in doing so , would the flower be fragrant like before.
Couplet nine
Can you put the kernel back in the nut ,
Or broken egg back in the shell?
Paraphrasing : The poet asks if
it is possible for you to put the grain of the nut or broken egg back in their shells.
Couplet ten
Can you put the honey back in the comb ,
And cover with wax each cell?
Paraphrasing : The poet asks if you
could put the honey back into honey comb
and coat the cells of honey comb with wax.
Couplet eleven
You think my questions are trifling ,dear?
Let me ask you another one :
Paraphrasing : The poet says that if my questions appear unimportant to
you , here is the real question.
Couplet twelve
Can a hasty word be ever unsaid,
Or an unkind deed be undone?
Paraphrasing :
The poet asks if it is possible to take back the words that
you have spoken hurriedly or can you undo your mean actions.
THEME/CENTRAL IDEA OF THE POEM
The central idea of the poem is to analyze your life,
to question whether every decision you made was for the
greater good, and to learn and accept the decisions you have made in your life.
One Answer to the Question would be simply to value the fact
that you had the opportunity to live.
SUMMARY
This is a poem written by a poet whose name is not known. In this poem the poet asks some really simple
questions about some trivial daily phenomena from our surroundings.
The poem consists of six stanzas and carries a
uniform rhyme scheme a,b,c,b. The poet has used rhetoric to emphasize and draw
our attention to the fact that the things which appear petty or unimportant to
us have a real significance for others.
Questions'
poem suggests that it is impossible to change the past. Once something has
occurred, it cannot go back to the way it previously was. The first five
stanzas show examples of how changing the past is impossible by using phenomena
within nature. The sixth and last stanza than refers these obviously impossible
events to human failures such as speaking hastily and being unkind to show that
these are also impossible to reverse .
POETIC DEVICES
The
poet has used rhetoric to draw our attention to the fact that things once done
cannot be undone and begins every line by using the same phrase “can you put”.
RHYME
SCHEME
A
uniform rhyme scheme ; a,b ,c, b is used
by the poet throughout the entire poem.
