English Solution Class 9 P6 Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth

P6 Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth

Lesson at a Glance

·         The poet regrets neglecting the care of her teeth.

·         She chewed lots of toffees and ate sticky food.

·         She couldn’t avoid a large, hard sweet ‘gobstoppers’.

·         Nor could she stop her from licking lollies and liquorice of all kinds.

·         Sherbet dabs (tiny sweets) and hard peanuts were her favourites.

·         When the poet developed all sorts of ailments of teeth, her conscience was pricked.

·         She realised that she should have spent her shilling on other things than on buying toffees, candies, lollies and sweets.

·         She didn’t know that by eating such things she was paving the way for cavities, caps and decay.

·          She had to suffer fillings, injections and drilling into her teeth.

·         There was a time when she used to laugh at the false teeth of her mother.

·         It is the time of reckoning and instead of her mother it might be her turn now.

REFERENCE TO CONTEXT

1.  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 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 his teeth.

i)  What does the poet wish and why?

The poet wishes she had care for her teeth and spotted the dangers that cropped up below them.

ii) What was the effect of all toffees she chewed and the sticky sweet food she ate?

The effect of chewing toffees and eating sweet sticky was quits disastrous on her teeth .She suffered from various ailments of the teeth.

iii) What is the rhyme scheme of the given lines?

The rhyme scheme of the given lines is a a b b a

2.  I wish I’d been that much more willin’

    When I had more tooth there than fillin’

   To pass up gobstoppers.

   From respected 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 ‘filled’ ones.

i) Was the poet wise enough to look after her teeth?

The poet was not at all wise enough to look after her teeth    and allowed them to decay and deteriorate.

ii) What had she done with her shilling that she used for buying sweets and candies?

She should have made better use of her shilling and had not bought sweets and candies with it .

iii) What are gobstoppers?

Gobstoppers are large, hard sweet made from the dried root of the liquorice plant.

3.  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 that she bought, big and sweets and but brittle peanuts, her conscience starts pricking her horribly.

i) How does she feel when she thinks of the lollies that she licked?

Her conscience starts pricking her horribly when she thinks of the lollies that she liked.

ii) What is liquorice?

Liquorice is a black substance used as a sweet.

iii) Why does that poet’s conscience prick her horribly ?

The poet’s conscience pricks her horribly when she realises that sweets, lollies and candies she ate only spoiled her teeth.

4. 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 action of the toothbrush and her checking them carefully didn’t produce the desired result. The time she spent on eating sweets and licking lollies and candies.

i) Did she brush her teeth properly?

Yes, she did brush her teeth properly.

ii) Did her brushing give her the desired results? If not, why?

No, brushing her teeth didn’t give her the desired results. Sweets, lollies and candies had already damaged her teeth.

iii) How did she damage her teeth?

She damaged her teeth by chewing lollies and candies and eating sweets.

5.  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 that if she had known it before(that by eating lollies, candies and sweets)that she is preparing the way for cavities, caps and tooth decay and suffer the fillings , injections and drilling machines in the future, she would have thrown all those sweets away.

i) Did she have any idea that she was paving the way for cavities, caps and decay?

No, she didn’t any idea that she was paving the way for cavities , caps and decay by eating sweets and candies.

ii) What would she have done if she had known that sweets and candies would do her harm?

She would have thrown all the sweets and candies if she had known that sweets and candies would do her harm.

iii) What is the rhyme scheme used in the given lines?

The rhyme-scheme of the lines is aa ,bb ,a .

6. 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 amalgam,” 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 in to the molars or the big teeth.

i) Where did the poet lie?

The poet lay in the old dentist’s chair.

ii) Why was the poet in despair?

The poet was in despair as she had developed many tooth aliments.

iii) What are molars?

The molars are twelve big teeth used for chewing food.

7.  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 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 and those false teeth of the mother are hinting at her. The poet regrets that she neglected her teeth and wishes she’d looked after them.

i) What did the poet do when she looked at the false teeth of her mother?

The poet used to laugh when she looked at the false teeth of her mother.

ii) How has the time for reckoning come for the poet?

Now, the time for reckoning has come for her as she is lying in the old dentist’s chair.

iii) Why does she regret?

She regrets neglecting her teeth and eating sweets and lollies that damaged her teeth.

4. On the basis of you understanding of the poem , answer the following question by ticking the choice:

(a) The title ‘Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth, expresses_________

(i) regret                        (ii) humour

(iii) longing                   (iv) Pleasure

(b) The conscience of the speaker pricks her as she has _______

 (i) been careless                      (ii) been ignorant

 (iii) been fun loving                (iv) been rude

(c) The speaker says that she has paved the way for cavities and decay by _________

(i) eating the wrong food and not brushing

(ii) not listening to his mother

(iii) laughing at his mother’s false teeth

(iv) not listening to the dentist

(d)  The tone of the narrator is one of _________

      (i) joy                                    (ii) nostalgia

     (iii) regret                             (iv) sorrow

5. Answer the following questions:

i) “…But up-and-down brushing’

      And pokin’ and fussin’

      Didn’t seem worth the time—I could bite!”

      What do these lines convey?

     

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 had been biting lollies, toffees, sweets and candies. And that had already done the damage.

ii) Why did the poet go to the dentist? How could she have avoided it?

 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.

iii) “If you got a tooth, you got a friends”, what do you understand from the line?

‘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.

iv) With reference to the poem, how can you look after your teeth?

The poem gives us 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 paying the way for cavities, caps and decay.

v) Give an appropriate proverb that conveys the message that this poem carries.

Make hay while the sun shines.

More questions solved

I. Short answer type questions (Word limit 30-40 words)

i) Why does the poet wish that she’d looked after her teeth ?

The poet regrets that she didn’t look after her teeth properly. She neglected them. She couldn’t locate the growing ‘perils’ or ailments ‘beneath’ them. She had consumed so much sweet, toffees and candies that they affected her teeth adversely. It led to their decay and fillings.

ii) Why does the poet say that she should have ‘’something else’’ with (her shilling) on buying all sorts of sweets, candies and lollies. She was also fond of ‘liquorice’ and ‘sherbet dabs ‘.

These created all sorts of filling, caps and decays. She regrets spending her shilling on such unhygienic things.

iii) Why was the poet’s conscience got pricked?

The poet was fond of chewing toffees, licking lollies and eating candies. All these things led to tooth decay, cavities and fillings. She realised the gravity of the situation rather late. But the moment she realised it, her conscience got pricked. She was filled with remorse. But it was too late. Now she couldn’t escape the disastrous effects of her liking for sweets, toffees, candies and lollies.

iv) How did the poet pave the way to cavities, caps and decay?

The poet neglected her teeth during her childhood. She used to chew toffees, lick lollies and eat sweets of all kinds. She didn’t realise that these habits would lead to tooth ailments. Thus, by not giving proper care on time, she paved the way to cavities, caps and decays.

v) How did the poet feel in the old dentist’s chair ?

The poet found her very helpless and miserable in the old dentist’s chair. She gazed at him in despair. She had to suffer the whining of the drilling machine that was operating in his teeth. The doctor advised fillings of mercury and silver in the affected teeth. All these things were totally repulsive but she had to suffer them silently.

vi) Why does the poet say, “But now comes the reckoning?”

There was a time when the poet used to laugh at the false teeth of her mother. Little did she know that one day she would have to be accountable to her past actions. She used to enjoy toffees, lollies, candies and sweets of all kinds. As a result of her unhealthy food habits she developed several kinds of tooth ailments. And now the time was not far away when it would be her turn to have false teeth like her mother.

vii) Justify the title and also the message Which is inherent in the poem. What can we learn from the poet’s bitter experience?

Pam Ayres has very aptly and logically titled the poem, “Oh, I wish I’d Looked after Me Teeth”. The title says the whole story. The poet paid a very high price for neglecting her teeth. She had a liking for sweet sticky things which led to all the problems. Her love for lollies, candies, toffees and all kinds of sweets led to cavities, caps and decay of her teeth. It is lessons for all of us not eat so many sweets and candies and take proper care of our teeth. Otherwise we will have to suffer like the poet.

II. VALUES BASED LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS (word Limit: 80-100 words)

1. Why does the poet regret? Do you think she is herself responsible for her woes? Why does she say that she should have spent her shilling on buying better things than lollies, candies and toffees?

The regretted neglecting her teeth. She couldn’t spot ‘the perils’ that were growing beneath them. Her habit of eating sweet sticky things led to unhealthy result. She was fond of chewing toffees. Sticky foods used to be her favourite choice. And so the damage was done. Once she had healthy teeth but now she had more ‘fillings’ than the real teeth. She continued eating hard sweets like gobstoppers. The matter didn’t end there. She didn’t stop licking lollies and picking all sorts of liquorice and sherbet dabs. So he herself paved the way for various ailments of the teeth. She regretted that her neglect led to cavities, caps and decay in the teeth.

The poet had a genuine reason for regretting. She is herself responsible for her sufferings and woes. She had spent her shilling on buying things which brought damage and decay to her teeth. It led her to the old dentist’s chair and suffers the pain of injections and drilling machines. All these unfortunate and unhealthy things were the result of her neglecting of her teeth. She should have spent her money on better things than buying sweets, toffees, lollies and candies.

2. How did the ‘poet pave the way ‘for “cavities, caps and decay?” Why and when his conscience was got pricked? What message or lesson does the poem give to its readers?

The poets remained indifferent to the health of her teeth. Little did she know that teeth. Now she realised that she spent her shilling on buying wrong things. She was fond of chewing toffees, licking lollies and eating candies and sweets of all kinds. She didn’t know that by eating them she was paving the way for cavities, caps and decay. When she realised the damage that she herself had done to her teeth her conscience got pricked. But it was too late. She couldn’t stop the rot now. It was in her fate to sit in the chair of an old dentist. She had to suffer filling and drilling into the teeth. There was a time when she used to laugh at the false teeth of her mother. Now the time for reckoning had come. It was her turn now.

The poem gives a definite message to the readers. Negligence of teeth leads to disastrous result. We should not eat so many lollies, toffees and candies. Otherwise, we are paying the way for cavities, caps and decay. The chair of an old dentist, his drilling machine is waiting for us.