By Elimu Assistant Team 
QUESTIONS
Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow
AN ELEGY
When he was here
We planned each tomorrow
With him in mind
For we saw no parting
Looming in the horizon
When he was here,
We joke and laughed together
And no fleeting shadow of a ghost
Ever crossed our paths
Day by day we lived
On this side of the mist
And there was never a sign
That his hours were running fast
When he was gone,
Through glazed eyes we searched
Beyond the mist and shadows
For we couldn’t believe he was nowhere
We couldn’t believe he was dead
(Laban Erapu)
a) What is the message of this poem? (4 marks)
……………………………………………………………………………
b) Comment on the use of repetition in line 1 of stanza 1 and 2 (2 marks)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
c) What is the significance of the last line of poem? (2 marks)
………………………………………………………………………..
d) What would the persona miss in his friend’s absence? (2 marks)
……………………………………………
e) Describe the mood of this poem (3 marks)
………………………………………………………
f) Paraphrase the following line: Through glazed eyes we searched (2 marks)
……………………………………………………………………………………
g) Which two lines in the poem show that the persona has nostaligic tone? (2 marks)
………………………………………………………………
h) Explain the meaning of the following lines as used in the poem.
i. Ghost (1 mark) …………………………………………..
ii. And there was never a sign: that his hours were running fast (2 marks)
……………………………………………………………..
MARKING SCHEME
(a) Message of this poem (4 marks)
A person mourning a friend
The friend died unexpectedly
He will miss his friend/He remembers the good time with the friend
He has not come to terms with the death of his friend
Or
Death: We couldn’t believe he was dead
When he was gone
(b) When he was here: It emphasizes the (death) absence of the deceased (2 marks)
(c) It captures the subject matter of the poem (Death) (2 marks)
(d) The Persona misses (2 marks)
Planning together
Joking and laughing together
(e) Mood of this poem (3 marks)
Sad/melancholic/sombre: We couldn’t believe he was dead
(f) Paraphrase (2 marks)
Tearfully people (many of us) looked for him
(g) Nostalgic tone (2 marks)
We planned each tomorrow
We joked and laughed together
(h) Meaning of the following lines as used in the poem
Bad spirit
There was no indication that his friend was soon dying
