Eulogy for a hermit crab - Short Q&A

Eulogy for a hermit crab - Short Q&A
1. Who is the author of the poem “Eulogy for a Hermit Crab”?
Ans. Pattiann Rogers
2. What is the style of the poem?
Ans. It is an elegy on the death of a hermit crab.
3. How does the poet describe the body of the hermit crab?
Ans. The hermit crab has a soft symmetrical abdomen which lives in a cast of mollusc shell for protection. Its gritty orange claws, soft worm like grip of its hinder body, its black pea eyes and the swing of its antennae are also described beautifully.
4. What is the structure of the poem?
Ans. The poem is divided into three stanzas, written in free verse.
5. What are the literary images in the poem?
Ans. Certain images are profusely used to create the world of the hermit crab. “Surf drenched rocks”, “Salty slough-holes”, “glinting grey sea”, “blinding spume and spray”, “orange curve of the claws”, “black pea eyes” and “swinging antennae”are some of the images used in the poem.
6. What does the first stanza of the poem deal with?
Ans. The first stanza deals with the consistently brave existence and  life of the hermit crab in the salty slough holes beside the hostile and vast sea.
7. How does the poet describe the daily routine of the hermit crab?
Ans. The hermit crab lives beside the glinting grey sea and the beam of the light from the sun that spins on account of the rocking nature of the sea. The white froth created out of the continuous disturbance of the sea blinds the vision of the crab. It often collides with other objects like rock pieces. The hermit crab faces the pistol shot collisions of the waves throughout its life, but still it survives. It also withstood nights and their icy cold winds. The hermit crab maintained its poise even in the most hostile of situations.
8. In which lines do the poet employ repetition to convey meaning?
Ans. “Of the sun went spinning and spinning and spinning” “By the mystified swing and swing and swing” “Circling your silver case night after night after night” “Your name intact exactly, day after day after day.”
9. How does the poet pay her tribute to the hermit crab?
Ans. When the poet stands close to the vast expanse of the sea which is endlessly rocking and moving in every direction, she sees the dead hermit crab. She is deeply moved by the sight and wants to pay a tribute to it. So she addresses the crab in an act of narrating its life and its mechanisms of everyday survival. She feels the hermit crab deserves a eulogy for its courageous life.

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