English VSQ (2 Marks)

It is not very clear who the speaker is. Perhaps, the speaker is the poet himself.

The first time when the speaker describes the shed, the speaker talks about a spider web hanging across the door of the shed. However, the next time when the speaker describes the shed, the speaker shares that t it had been a long time since the spider S and the web were not to be seen. Perhaps, the door of the shed had been opened by the speaker’s brother, thereby displacing the spider’s web that covered the door.

self

She/He plans to go inside the shed after some day soon.

The poet’s brother told the poet that there was a ghost in the shed hiding under the rotten floorboards. If the poet dared to set foot inside the shed, ghost would jump out and chop off his head.

self

In the first three stanzas the speaker seems to be scared of the shed. He thinks about the strange voices that come from the shed, somebody mysteriously staring at him, he believed in the ghost stories and so on. However, in the final stanza of the poem, there seems to be a major change in the speaker’s attitude. He has understood that all these ghost stories were a lie told to him. And, therefore, his resolve to go inside the shed becomes further firm.

self

There is a storeroom in my house which is in the backyard of the house. It is a little away from the main structure. It is full of odd objects and not even lit properly. Thus, going to the storeroom, at night, calls for a lot of courage. My mother once asked me to fetch certain things from the storeroom. When I entered the storeroom, I felt as if I saw the movement of shadows. I screamed with terror, but later got to know that those shadows were nothing but my mind’s imagination.

The speaker seems to be both curious as well as afraid to go inside the shed. He wants to find out what is inside the shed. At the same time, he is afraid because he thinks that strange voices could be heard from the shed and there is possibly a ghost who lives inside the shed.

self

From our reading of the poem, it becomes amply clear that the speaker is fully determined to go inside the shed. Even when his brother threatens him, he does not give up the idea of going inside to find for himself the truth. His desire to visit only gets postponed and delayed.

‘But not just yet…’ seems to suggest a lack of conviction. The speaker thinks that ^ he needs more time to gather enough courage to enter the shed.