CBSE Class 9 English Oh I Wish I Looked After Me Teeth Notes

CBSE Class 9 English-Oh, I Wish I Looked After Me Teeth. Learning the important concepts is very important for every student to get better marks in examinations. The concepts should be clear which will help in faster learning. The attached concepts made as per NCERT and CBSE pattern will help the student to understand the chapter and score better marks in the examinations.

Oh, I Wish I’d Looked After Me Teeth

Author: Pam Ayres 

Read the extracts and answer the following questions,

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”

Q.a  How did the speaker harm her teeth?

Ans– The speaker harmed her teeth by eating toffees and sticky food.

Q. b What is the speaker’s regret?

Ans.– The speaker regrets for not taking care of her teeth.

Q.c Point out the poetic device used in the fourth line.

Ans.– It is ‘repetition’.

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

When 1 had more tooth there than film’.

To pass up gobstoppers.

From respect to my choppers,

And to buy something else with me shillin.”

Q.a What did the poet notice beneath her teeth ?

Ans.- The poet noticed cavities beneath her teeth.

Q.b What does the word ‘gobstoppers’ mean?

Ans.– It means a large, hard sweet.

Q.c What Is the rhyme scheme of the stanza?

Ans.– aa, bba.

3. “When I think of the blues I licked,

And the liquorice all sorts I picked ,

Sherbet dabs, big and little

All that hard peanut brittle

My conscience gets terribly pricked. ”

Q.a Why does the conscience of the poet prick her?

Ans.– The poet’s conscience pricks her because

Q.b What is the figure of speech used the first line?

Ans.- It is alliteration. 

Q.c What do the words ‘Sherbet dabs’ mean?

Ans.- They mean tiny sweets.

4. “she had been neglecting her teeth.

Oh ! I showed then the tooth paste all right

I flashed it about late at night

But up-and-down brushing And pokin’ and fussin

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

Q.a What did the poet not consider worthwhile to do?

Ans.- The poet did not consider it worthwhile to spend some time in cleaning her teeth.

5. “…But up-and-down brushin’

And pokin’ and fussin’

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

Q.a What do these lines convey?

Answer: These lines shows that the poet not realise the importance of regular brushing and proper hygiene, when she was child. She did not care for her teeth daily. She thought it was useless and worthless to clean her teeth after eating anything.

Answer the following question in about 30-40 words:

Q.1 Why does the poet wish she had taken better care of her teeth?

Answer: The poet wishes that she should have taken better care of her teeth because she feels guilty for not taking experienced advice. If she had, she wouldn’t have to face any dangers beneath her teeth. She could not have eaten sticky food and chewed toffees so recklessly that she ruined all her teeth.

Q. 2. Discuss the theme of confession in the poem.

Answer: The poem is a nice piece of confession. The poet, a victim of teeth cavity, wishes if she had been careful with sweets – especially the sticky ones. Confession is the result of realization. The poet had never paid attention to her elders who had advised her not to eat sweets. At this point she feels sorry for herself and blames her recklessness as a confession. 

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