Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:
For he seemed to me again like a king,
Like king in exile, uncrowned in the underworld,
Now due to be crowned again.
And so, I missed my chance with one of the lords
Of life.
And I have something to expiate A pettiness.
Paraphrase. The snake seemed to the poet like a king again. He was a king in exile because he had gone into the black hole. He was the uncrowned king of the underworld. He was to be crowned again with all his glory and grandeur. The poet regrets that he missed his chance of meeting with one of the lords of life. He had to make amends of something. He had to make amends of his pettiness and his vulgar act of throwing a log at the snake.
Questions
(a) What is the poetic device used in the first line?
(b) The poet says that the snake was like a king in exile. Why?
(c) What is the word for ‘a low act’ in the passage?
