Once Upon a Time (Poem)

Question 1

What is the poem about?

Answer 1

The Poem is about a father talking to his son and telling him how sincere people use to be now they are now superficial and seek only to take from others. The father tells his son how he has learnt to be like those people but now wants to be sincere like his son.

Question 2

what does the expression “ice-block-cold eyes “ mean?

Answer 2

It means the people’s eyes are as cold as ice. There is no warmth or feeling in the words in they say.

Question 3

Explain Stanza 1

Answer 3

The father is looking back and telling his son how sincere people use to be but now how people are fake and superficial.

Question 4

what does the poet mean when he says “people search behind his shadow”?

Answer 4

He means people say things they do not mean and how they are hypocritical

Question 5

Explain stanza 2

Answer 5

The poet is saying that there was a time when a greeting was genuine nowadays when people greet you its not genuine and fake.

Question 6

Explain Stanza 3

Answer 6

When people invite you to there homes making it sound as if you’re important, once you don’t meet up to their standards they wont invite you again.

Question 7

Explain stanza 4

Answer 7

The speaker says that he has learnt to deal with all the fakeness by turning himself into on of those people.

Question 8

What does the speaker mean by “I’ve learnt to wear many faces like dresses?”

Answer 8

Just like how people change dresses the poet has learnt to change his behavior in different situations.

Question 9

Explain stanza 5

Answer 9

The poet admits that instead of speaking the truth he learns to say what fits each situation.

Question 10

Explain stanza 6

Answer 10

The poet is telling his son that he wants to be a sincere person again. He wants to laugh with people genuinely and not be fake.

Question 11

What does “muting” refer to in the poem?

Answer 11

changing all the time

Question 12

Explain stanza 7

Answer 12

The poet is asking his son to show him how to be sincere because children do not fake things, they show what they feel inside.

Question 13

what does the phrase “once upon a time” mean in the poem?

Answer 13

he uses it because the poet wants to be what he used to be once.

Question 14

Who’s the author of the poem?

Answer 14

Gabriel Okara

Question 15

What is the external conflict in the poem?

Answer 15

The external conflict is man versus society/environment because it is society that caused him to change.

Question 16

Whats the internal conflict in the poem?

Answer 16

The internal conflict is man versus himself because the poet is angry at the man he had become.

Question 17

Give a metaphor from the poem

Answer 17

“ice-block-cold eyes”

Question 18

Give two similies from the poem

Answer 18

“I’ve learnt to wear many faces like dresses” and “their conforming smile like a fixed portrait smile”

Question 19

“my laugh in the mirror shows only my teeth
like snake’s bare fangs” what does this line mean?

Answer 19

The speaker is comparing his laugh to a snake’s bare fangs. When you think of a snake sneaky and deceitful comes to mind so therefore he is implying that he’s fake jus like the person he despises.

Question 20

What’s an Enjambment?

Answer 20

When lines run unto each other without any pause or comma maintaining the sense

Question 21

What’s an example of an enjambment in the poem?

Answer 21

And I have learnt to
to laugh with only my teeth
and shake hands without my heart

Question 22

How is irony introduced in the poem?

Answer 22

The situation might seem ironic and the father is asking his son to teach him to be sincere while normally the father is the one teaching the son these qualities.

Question 23

How is imaginary used in the poem?

Answer 23

The poet use of simile and metaphor helps to create a visual image and throughout the poem.

Question 24

What does stanza 1-3 point out?

Answer 24

Stanza 1-3 points out the three aspects of the new hypocrisy

Question 25

What does stanza 4-5 point out?

Answer 25

Stanza 4-5 points out the personas adoption of these aspects

Question 26

What does stanza 6 show?

Answer 26

Stanza 6 shows his desire to undo what he has learnt.

Question 27

What does stanza 7 show?

Answer 27

Stanza 7 show his appeal for help from his son

Question 28

What type of tone does the poet uses in the poem?

Answer 28

A conversational tone or reflective tone

Question 29

What’s the mood in the poem?

Answer 29

Nostalgic

Question 30

What type of poem is it?

Answer 30

The poem is a free verse with no rhyming patterns

Question 31

What are some of the themes in the poem?

Answer 31

Childhood experiences, hypocrisy, loss of innocence, Desire/Dreams

Question 32

Who wrote the poem once upon a time?

Answer 32

Gabriel Okara