Poem 6 - Amanda

NCERT First Flight is the prescribed CBSE book for both English Prose and Literature. So help students such as you, solve questions of Class 10 English Literature chapters, we have come up with answers and solutions. For a better understanding of this chapter, read on.

Amanda Poem Class 10

The poem, Amanda is written by Robin McMaugh Klein. If you are finding this poem difficult to comprehend and are looking for a detailed explanation, you can refer to Amanda! Poem PDF.

The verse tells the tale of an imaginative young girl named Amanda, who is continuously admonished by her mother for not following the socially accepted norms of good behaviour. She is scolded for a variety of reasons- from biting her nails, hunching her shoulders, to eating chocolate. She gets nagged upon for completing her homework, tidying up her room, cleaning up her shoes. The constant rebuking and makes Amanda feel as if she is being constrained and thus she imagines herself as different persons in different stanzas of the poem. At one time, she imagines herself as a mermaid, all alone and free, in the green sea. She imagines herself as an orphan at times as it would have been peaceful. In one stanza, Amanda considers herself to be the fictional Rapunzel and living a tranquil life at a high tower and never “let down her hair,” i.e. not allow any person to come to her. Throughout the poem, the mother is constantly scolding Amanda, and yet, in the end, she is asking her the reason Amanda is moody. She tells her that if anyone were to see- the person would be thinking that Amanda gets always nagged on by her, but does not realize that it is the very thing she is doing in the name of parenting.

Due to the reference of the Mermaid and Rapunzel, it can be guessed that Amanda’s age is between 10 and 12 years. Little children usually read these stories.

It can be assumed that her mother is speaking to her. It is the general assumption that among the parents, it is the mother who stays at home and looks after the child.

The stanzas 2,4 and 6 are given in parenthesis as they are describing the thought/reaction of the child Amanda towards her mother’s continuous nagging.

Amanda, the child, is the speaker of the stanzas 2, 4 and 6.

She is paying no attention to what her mother is saying as she is lost in her dreamy world consisting of a mermaid, an orphan and Rapunzel.

Amanda wanted to be a mermaid and be the sole resident in the languid, emerald green coloured sea. She would have drifted blissfully, enjoying her Freedom.

Amanda is not an orphan. She is shown continuously her mistakes and rebuked by one of her parents.

Amanda describes her wish to be an orphan as she is tired of the constant scolding and nagging and wants to be left alone and free. She is of the opinion that Silence is ‘Golden’ while Freedom is ‘Sweet’.

Rapunzel is a fairytale written initially by Freidrich Schulz. The story narrates the tale of a beautiful young maiden named Rapunzel who was held captive in a high tower by a Witch. She used to climb the tower by ordering Rapunzel to let down her long golden hair. She was eventually rescued by a prince who had become enamoured hearing her sing.

The child Amanda wanted to be like Rapunzel as then she could have lived a tranquil life at the high tower away from the constant nagging. However, she would make it a point of never letting down her hair to live alone and peacefully.

Throughout the poem, it is apparent that the girl Amanda yearns for a peaceful life away from the nagging of her parent. She is a dreamy girl who wants to live freely away from the constant complaining nature of her parent who is unimaginative and rather bothered about the daughter’s mistakes and what others might think without ever doing a single bit of introspection.

Amanda is neither sulking nor is she moody. She wants to go out, enjoy her freedom and have a peaceful life away from the nagging and scolding of her parent.

Find more about Amanda Extra Questions and Answers and Class 10 English Amanda Solution at UrbanPro.