Question 1.
On the basis of your reading of the poem, complete the following table:
| Stages in the life of the poet | Activities | Consequences |
| (a) Youth | eating toffees ____________ |
|
| (b) Adulthood | ____________ | gazing at the dentist in despair. |
| Stages in the life of the poet | Activities | Consequences |
| (a) Youth | eating toffees | cavities |
| eating sweet sticky food, | fillings | |
| eating gobstoppers, | cavity | |
| licking lollies | caps and cavities | |
| eating Sherbet dabs | filling and cavities | |
| (b) Adulthood | sitting in the dentist s chair | gazing at the dentist in despair. |
Question 2.
On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions by ticking the correct choice:
(a) The title ‘Oh, 1 wish I’d looked after me teeth’ expresses ______
(i) regret
(ii) humour
(iii) longing
(iv) pleasure
(i) regret
Question 3.
Answer the following questions:
(a) ”… But up-and-down brushin’
And pokin’ and fussin’
Didn’t seem worth the time—I could bite!” What do these lines convey?
(b) Why did the poet go to the dentist? How could she have avoided it?
(c) “If you got a tooth, you got a friend”, what do you understand from the line?
(d) With reference to the poem, how can you look after your teeth?
(e) Give an appropriate proverb that conveys the message that this poem carries.
(a) The act of brushing her teeth up and down and checking them carefully didn’t help her much. It was too little and too late. Most of the time she hajl been biting lollies, toffees, sweets and candies. And that had already done the damage.
(b) The poet went to the dentist for fillings and drilling. She lay in the chair of an old dentist who was drilling into her teeth with his machine. She could have avoided all these if she had taken proper care of her teeth.
(c) ‘If you got a tooth, you got a friend’ expresses a practical truth of life. Without healthy teeth you can’t chew and eat things properly. Good teeth are your good friends. They keep your taste and digestion all right.
(d) The poem gives us a definite message. We should not neglect our teeth but take a proper care of them. We should not eat toffees, lollies, candies and sweets. If we don’t care, it means we are paving the way for cavities, caps and decay.
(e) Make hay while the sun shines.
Question 4.
Listen to the conversation between Doki and his sister, Moki. As you listen complete the idioms and expressions listed below:
1. sleep ……………….
2 ………………. me the willies
3. crack the ………………
4. take the …………….. to water
5. ……………tail.
6. wonders will …………….
7. ……………… can’t be undone.
8. reap what I …………….
Idioms are metaphorical expressions rather than literal. For example ‘give someone the willies’ does not simply mean ‘to hand over something called willies to someone’, but ‘to make someone feel nervous’. It is important for learners of English to understand them and be able to use them.
1. sleep like a log. (sleep very well)
2. unwanted guests give me the willies (make me nervous)
3. crack the whip (use your authority)
4. take the well to water (do the opposite)
5. I know neither its head nor its tail (know nothing about it)
6. Wonders will never cease (wonders will continue to happen)
7. What has been done, can’t be undone (can’t be changed)
8. Reap what I sow. (bad result of what you did in the past)
Question 5.
Read the following statement where 7’ refers to ‘you’
“I can’t afford to, after what Jack s done to his teeth. ”
What is it, you think you can’t afford and why? Write a diary entry of not less than 100-120 words.
(in-class activity; not to be set up as homework).
Classroom Activity.
Question 9.
In line 35, the poet has misspelt the word ‘amalgum’. Why do you think she has done that? Discuss.
(Teacher would point out the use of ‘me’ instead of ‘my’ and other linguistic variations that make the poem enjoyable.)
Classroom Activity.
Question 10.
Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth,
And spotted the perils beneath.
All the toffees I chewed,
And the sweet sticky food,
Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth.
Paraphrase: The poet wishes she had cared for her teeth. If she had done so, she would have spotted or located the dangers that cropped up below them. All this was the result of chewing toffees and eating sweet sticky food. She would have avoided them. She again wishes she’d looked after her teeth.
(a) What does the poet wish and why?
(b) What was the effect of all the toffees she chewed and the sticky sweet food she ate?
(c) What is the rhyme scheme of the given lines?
(a) The poet wishes if she had cared for her teeth and spotted the dangers that cropped up
below them.
(b) The effect of chewing toffees and eating sweet sticky food was quite disastrous on her teeth. She suffered from various ailments of the teeth.
(c) The rhyme scheme of the given lines is aa, bb, a.
Question 11.
I wish I’d been that much more willin’
When I had more tooth there than fillin’
To pass up gobstoppers.
From respect to me choppers,
And to buy something else with me shillin’.
Paraphrase: The poet feels that she was not wise enough to look after her teeth. She used her only shilling to buy hard sweets and candies like gobstoppers which she cut with all respect with her knife. She should have used her shilling for buying something that was good for teeth rather than buying gobstoppers. She should have taken all these precautions when she had many more healthy teeth than the ‘filled’ ones.
(a) Was the poet wise enough to look after her teeth?
(b) What should she have done with her shilling?
(c) What are ‘gobstoppers’?
(a) The poet was not wise enough to look after her teeth because she allowed them to decay and deteriorate.
(b) She should have made better use of her shilling and she should not have bought sweets and candies with it.
(c) Gobstoppers are a large, hard sweet made from the dried root of the liquorice plant.
Question 12.
When I think of the lollies I licked,
And the liquorice all sorts I picked,
Sherbet dabs, big and little,
All that hard peanut brittle,
My conscience gets horribly pricked.
Paraphrase: The poet says that when she thinks about the lollies she licked and all sort of liquorice candies, big and small sweets and hard but brittle peanuts that she bought, her conscience starts pricking her horribly.
(a) How does she feel when she thinks of the lollies that she licked?
(b) What is liquorice?
(c) Find a word in the extract which is same as to “moral sense’.
(a) Her conscience starts pricking her horribly when she thinks of the lollies that she liked.
(b) Liquorice is a black substance used as a sweet.
(c) Conscience.
Question 13.
Oh I showed them the toothpaste all right,
I flashed it about late at night,
But up-and-down brushin’
And pokin’ and fussin’
Didn’t seem worth the time— I could bite!
Paraphrase: The poet says that she did brush her teeth properly. She even tried to make them shining even late at night. But these up and down actions of the tooth-brush and her checking them carefully didn’t produce the desired results. The time that she spent on all these things was much less and not worthwhile than the time she spent on eating sweets and licking lollies and candies.
(a) Did she brush her teeth properly?
(b) Did her brushing give her the desired results? If not, why?
(c) How did she damage her teeth?
(a) Yes, she did brush her teeth properly.
(b) No, brushing her teeth didn’t give her the desired results. Sweets, lollies and candies had already damaged her teeth.
(c) She damaged her teeth by chewing lollies and candies and eating sweets.
Question 14.
If I’d known, I was paving the way
To cavities, caps and decay,
The murder of fillin’s
Injections and drillin’s,
I’d have thrown all me sherbet away.
Paraphrase: The poet regrets if she had known it before (that by eating lollies, candies and sweets) that she had been preparing the way for cavities, caps and tooth decay and suffer the fillings, injections and drilling machines in the future, she would
(a) Did she have any idea that she was paving the way for cavities, caps and decay?
(b) What would she have done if she had known that sweets and candies would do her harm?
(c) What is the rhyme scheme used in the above lines?
(a) No, she didn’t have any idea that she was paving way for cavities, caps and decay by eating sweets and candies. (b) She would have thrown all the sweets and candies if she had known that they would do her a lot of harm.
(c) The rhyme-scheme of the lines is: aa, bb, a.
Question 15.
So I lay in the old dentist’s chair,
And I gaze up his nose in despair,
And his drill it do whine,
In these molars of mine.
“Two amalgum,” he’ll say, “for in there.”
Paraphrase: The poet lay in the old dentist’s chair and gazed up his nose in disappointment. She heard the whining noise of the drilling machine working into the molars or the big teeth.
(a) Where did the poet lie?
(b) Why was the poet in despair?
(c) What are molars?
(a) The poet lay in the old dentist’s chair.
(b) The poet was in despair as she had developed many tooth ailments.
(c) The molars are twelve big teeth used for chewing food.
Question 16.
How I laughed at my mother’s false teeth,
As they foamed in the waters beneath.
But now comes the reckonin?
It’s me they are beckonin’
Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth.
Paraphrase: When the poet’s mother put her false teeth in the foam, she just laughed at her and her false teeth. But now the time of reckoning has come. Those false teeth of the mother remind her that it is her turn now. The poet regrets that she neglected her teeth and wishes she’d looked after them.
(a) What did the poet do when she looked at the false teeth of her mother?
(b) How has the time for reckoning come for the poet?
(c) Find the phrase in the extract which means ‘took care of.
(a) The poet used to laugh when she looked at the false teeth of her mother
(b) Now, the time for reckoning has come for her as she is lying in the old dentist’s chair.
(c) Looked after.
Question 17:
‘Oh I showed them the toothpaste all right,
I flashed it about late at night,
But up-and-down brushin’.
And pokin ‘and fussin’.
Didn’t seem worth the time—I could bite.
(a) What is ‘them’ being referred to in the first line ? Why did the poet show them the toothpaste ?
(b) Explain the phrase ‘pokin’ and ‘fussin’.
(c) What didn’t seem ‘worth the time’ to the poet ?
(a) The word ‘them’ refers to teeth. The poet did not brush the teeth properly. She only showed them the toothpaste.
(b)The phrase pokin’ and fussin’ mean checking carefully.
(c) To the poet, brushing the teeth carefully is not worth the time.
Question 18:
When I think of the lollies I licked And the liquorice all sorts I picked,
Sherbet dabs, bit and little,
And that hard peanut brittle,
My conscience gets horribly pricked.
(a) How does the poet feel when she thinks of all the sweets she has taken ?
(b) What do you think of her as a child ?
(c) What are ‘liquorice’ and ‘sherbet dabs’ ?
(а) The poet feels guilty when she thinks of all the sweets she has taken.
(b) She was very fond of sweets and careless about her teeth.
(c) ‘Liquorice’ is a kind of candy. ‘Sherbet dabs’ are tiny sweets.
Question 19:
‘Oh I wish I’d looked after me teeth,
And spotted the dangers beneath All the toffees I chewed.
And the sweet sticky food
Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth.
(а) What is the poet’s wish ?
(b) What harmed her teeth ?
(c) Give the meaning of‘spotted’.
(а) The poet wishes that she should have taken proper care of her teeth.
(b) The toffees that she had chewed during childhood harmed her teeth.
(c) ‘saw’.
Question 20:
How I laughed at my mother’s false teeth.
As they foamed in the waters beneath.
But now comes the reckonin’
It’s me they are beckonin’.
Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth.
(а) What did the poet make fun of ?
(b) What do you mean by ‘they’ in fourth line ?
(c) Give the meaning of the word ‘beckonin’.
(a) The poet made fun of the false teeth of her mother.
(b) ‘They* refers to false teeth.
(c) ‘beckoning’ (calling)
Question 21:
“But now comes the reckonin’
It’s me they are beckonin’
Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth”.
(а)‘But now comes the reckonin’. Explain.
(b) Who are beckoning the poet ?
(c) What is the poet’s regret ?
(а) It means that she harmed her teeth by eating many sweets. Now the time has come to estimate or calculate the harm.
(b) The false teeth of the mother are calling the poet.
(c) The poet’s regret is that she did not take proper care of her teeth
Question 22:
If I’d known, I was paving the way
To cavity, caps and decay
the murder of fillin”s
I’d have thrown all me sherbet away
(а) Why did the poet develop cavities in her teeth ?
(b) Which poetic device does the poet use in the second line ?
(c) Give the meaning of‘sherbet’.
(a) The poet developed cavities in her teeth because she had been eating too much sweets, lollies and toffees, etc.
(b) It is alliteration.
(c) ‘A sweet candy’.
Question 23:
What are the different kinds of sweets that the poet ate which led to the cavities ?
The poet, as a child, used to eat all sweets things such as lollipops, caramels, chocolates and chewing gums. She enjoyed candies and the other sticky stuff.
Question 24:
Why has the line, “Oh ! I wish I’d looked after me teeth’ been repeated in the poem by Pam ?
The line has been repeated for emphasis. The poet realizes and regrets that she has not been taking proper care of her teeth. That is why, her teeth were now in a bad state.
Question 25:
What should the poet have known ?
The poet should have known the consequences of eating many sweets and neglecting the teeth. She should have known that if she continued to neglect the care of her teeth they would be causing her a lot of trouble.
Question 26:
What were the consequences of the poet’s actions in her childhood according to the poem ‘Oh!I wish I’d looked After Me Teeth’ ?
In her childhood the poet ate a number of sweets of all kinds. She did not brush her teeth carefully. The result was that cavities developed beneath her teeth, and she had to go to the dentist and underwent a lot of pain.
Question 27:
“Two amalgum”. What does this expression mean ?
Or
Why has the word ‘amalgum’ been misspelt in the poem ‘Oh ! I wish I’d looked After Me Teeth’ ?
The poet deliberately misspells the word ‘amalgam’ as ‘amalgum’. She wants to emphasise in an amusing way that there were two cavities beneath her teeth which the dentist was to fill with amalgam—a mixture of mercury and another metal used for such purposes.
Question 28:
Why does the child find brushing a useless activity ?
The child found brushing a useless activity because she was ignorant about dental hygiene at that time. She casually brushed her teeth and thus harmed them greatly.
Question 29:
What perils did the poet spot ?
The poet spotted perils, that is, cavities beneath her teeth. These cavities were caused by her eating sweets and sticky stuff and by her neglect of her teeth.
Question 30:
How does the poem successfully ‘awaken the reader to his dental hygiene and care’ ?
The poem repeats the line ‘Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth’ to emphasise the necessity of dental hygiene. She repeatedly expresses her regret and tells the reader how she had harmed her teeth by eating many sweets and by the neglect of her teeth. Thus, the poem succeeds in its explicit aim of making the reader aware of the significance of dental care.
Question 31:
Who is whining a ‘drill’ in the poem, ‘Oh, I wished……………….. ’, and why ?
The dentist is using his drill- which gives the sound of whining-in filling the holes in the teeth of the poet. It is so because there are cavities beneath the poet’s teeth, caused by her neglect of her teeth.
Question 32:
“But up-and-down brushing and pokin’ and fussin”. What do you understand by the line.
The line tells us that the poet did not brush her teeth properly and carefully. She did not move the brush up and down as recommended. She took the activity of brushing as useless.
Question 33:
On what should the poet have spent her money ?
The poet should have spent her money on the right kind of food. She should have spent money on healthy and nutritious food that would have made her teeth strong and healthy. She should not have wasted money on buying toffees, lollies, candies and sweet, sticky food.
Question 34:
Why does the conscience of the poet prick her ?
The conscience of the poet pricks her because she had been eating wrong kind of food. She had been eating toffees, lollies and candies and sweet, sticky food. This kind of food caused cavities in her teeth. She had to bear painful injections and the pain of the dentist’s drill. Thus, she feels guilty.
Question 35:
What did the poet do with her cavities in her teeth ?
She went to the dentist for treatment. She wanted to get the cavities filled medically. She had to get the painful injections. She had to sit in the dentist’s chair and bear the pain of the dentist’s drill. She regretted that she had not looked after her teeth.