Multiple choice

Why and at whom does the poet show his emotion?

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question by selecting the most appropriate option.

Common Cold

1 Go hang yourself, you old M.D.! You shall not sneer at me. Pick up your hat and stethoscope, Go wash your mouth with laundry soap; I contemplate a joy exquisite I'm not paying you for your visit. I did not call you to be told My malady is a common cold.

2 By pounding brow and swollen lip; By fever's hot and scaly grip; By those two red redundant eyes That weep like woeful April skies; By racking snuffle, snort, and sniff; By handkerchief after handkerchief; This cold you wave away as naught Is the damnedest cold man ever caught !

3 Bacilli swarm within my portals Such as were ne'er conceived by mortals, But bred by scientists wise and hoary In some Olympic laboratory; Bacteria as large as mice, With feet of fire and heads of ice
Who never interrupt for slumber Their stamping elephantine rumba.

  1. At an old man because he has sneering at the poet

  2. At a doctor for an incorrect diagnosis of his medical condition

  3. At a friend who is happy at the poet's plight

  4. At a doctor who has said that the poet merely has a cold
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The poet is angry at the doctor because the doctor dismissed his serious illness as 'just a common cold' and sneered at him. Throughout the poem, the poet expresses rage at the doctor's casual attitude toward what he believes is a severe condition.

Keep practicing — related questions