MATRIC POETRY 2025 QUESTIONS
TOUCH
Question 1 (4 marks)
Refer to lines 1–9:
“I’m going to ask someone / to touch me / very gently please / and slowly …”
Explain what the speaker hopes for in the future and why this is important to him.
Question 2 (3 marks)
Refer to lines 10–18:
“for seven years / I’ve been untouched / out of touch … the meaning of / untouchable.”
Discuss how the poet uses different forms of the word “touch” to describe his emotional
and physical state.
Question 3 (4 marks)
Refer to line 24:
“fierce mad fists”
Identify and explain two figures of speech in this line.
Question 4 (3 marks)
Refer to the final stanza (lines 40–50):
“I want to say / when I get out / Here I am / please touch me.”
What tone is created in this final stanza, and how does it contrast with earlier parts of the
poem?
OOM PIET
Question 1 (4 marks)
Refer to Stanza 1
Explain what the daughter’s behaviour reveals about how children view the world.
Why is this moment significant for the speaker?
Question 2 (3 marks)
Refer to:
"You spoke to me in the same low murmuring tones / you used for lame horses and bilious
dogs."
Identify the comparison being made in these lines. What do these lines reveal about Oom
Piet’s character?
Question 3 (3 marks)
Refer to lines 24-25
"You moved and I moved, but one thing stays: / the sense of a rescue, somehow being saved."
What does the speaker mean by 'a sense of a rescue'?
STRANGERS FOREVER
Question 1
Refer to the lines 1-8
a) Identify and explain the extended metaphor used throughout the poem(2)
b) What do these lines suggest about the speaker’s view of human connection and life’s
journey? (2)
Question 2
Refer to:
, "Who can read the whispers / of your mind / when they are hidden / even from you?"
a) What is meant by the phrase “whispers of your mind”? (1)
b) What idea about self-understanding is expressed in this stanza? (2)
Question
Refer to the lines:
"Though you open a window / in the chambers of your heart / though you strive to say / what
you feel / and in striving reach / a state of understanding"
a) Identify and explain one metaphor used in these lines. (2)
b) How do these lines highlight the difficulty of emotional connection? (2)
Question 4
Refer to lines 19-25
"there is still one part / one small part / that remains your own / one part / that neither I nor
anyone else / will ever penetrate. / Forever strangers."
a) What is the significance of the inversion “Forever strangers” at the end of the poem? (2)
b) What does this suggest about human relationships? (1)
COCKROACHES
Question 1
Refer to the lines 1-4:
a) What effect does the phrase “Turn on the light” have as the opening line? (1)
b) Identify and explain one sound device in lines 2–3. (2)
Question 2
Refer to LINES 5-11
a) How do the word choices in this stanza portray the speaker’s attitude toward the
cockroaches? (2)
b) Explain how the poet creates sympathy for the cockroaches. (2)
Question 3
Refer to:
“But / who ordained / the crash-fall / of sandals on these / shy creatures?”
a) Why is the word “But” important in the context of the poem? (1)
b) What does the use of the phrase “crash-fall of sandals” suggest about human behaviour?
(2)
c) What effect does the word “shy” have in this line? (1)
Question 4
Refer to the final lines:
“Or is it their love of darkness / holds them suspect?”
a) What is the tone in these final lines, and how does it differ from the earlier tone of the
poem? (2)
b) Discuss the symbolic meaning of the “cockroaches” in the context of colonialism. (4)
NAMAQUA LAND AFTER RAIN
TOUCH
Question 1 (4 marks)
Refer to lines 1–9:
“I’m going to ask someone / to touch me / very gently please / and slowly …”
Explain what the speaker hopes for in the future and why this is important to him.
Question 2 (3 marks)
Refer to lines 10–18:
“for seven years / I’ve been untouched / out of touch … the meaning of / untouchable.”
Discuss how the poet uses different forms of the word “touch” to describe his emotional
and physical state.
Question 3 (4 marks)
Refer to line 24:
“fierce mad fists”
Identify and explain two figures of speech in this line.
Question 4 (3 marks)
Refer to the final stanza (lines 40–50):
“I want to say / when I get out / Here I am / please touch me.”
What tone is created in this final stanza, and how does it contrast with earlier parts of the
poem?
OOM PIET
Question 1 (4 marks)
Refer to Stanza 1
Explain what the daughter’s behaviour reveals about how children view the world.
Why is this moment significant for the speaker?
Question 2 (3 marks)
Refer to:
"You spoke to me in the same low murmuring tones / you used for lame horses and bilious
dogs."
Identify the comparison being made in these lines. What do these lines reveal about Oom
Piet’s character?
Question 3 (3 marks)
Refer to lines 24-25
"You moved and I moved, but one thing stays: / the sense of a rescue, somehow being saved."
What does the speaker mean by 'a sense of a rescue'?
STRANGERS FOREVER
Question 1
Refer to the lines 1-8
a) Identify and explain the extended metaphor used throughout the poem(2)
b) What do these lines suggest about the speaker’s view of human connection and life’s
journey? (2)
Question 2
Refer to:
, "Who can read the whispers / of your mind / when they are hidden / even from you?"
a) What is meant by the phrase “whispers of your mind”? (1)
b) What idea about self-understanding is expressed in this stanza? (2)
Question
Refer to the lines:
"Though you open a window / in the chambers of your heart / though you strive to say / what
you feel / and in striving reach / a state of understanding"
a) Identify and explain one metaphor used in these lines. (2)
b) How do these lines highlight the difficulty of emotional connection? (2)
Question 4
Refer to lines 19-25
"there is still one part / one small part / that remains your own / one part / that neither I nor
anyone else / will ever penetrate. / Forever strangers."
a) What is the significance of the inversion “Forever strangers” at the end of the poem? (2)
b) What does this suggest about human relationships? (1)
COCKROACHES
Question 1
Refer to the lines 1-4:
a) What effect does the phrase “Turn on the light” have as the opening line? (1)
b) Identify and explain one sound device in lines 2–3. (2)
Question 2
Refer to LINES 5-11
a) How do the word choices in this stanza portray the speaker’s attitude toward the
cockroaches? (2)
b) Explain how the poet creates sympathy for the cockroaches. (2)
Question 3
Refer to:
“But / who ordained / the crash-fall / of sandals on these / shy creatures?”
a) Why is the word “But” important in the context of the poem? (1)
b) What does the use of the phrase “crash-fall of sandals” suggest about human behaviour?
(2)
c) What effect does the word “shy” have in this line? (1)
Question 4
Refer to the final lines:
“Or is it their love of darkness / holds them suspect?”
a) What is the tone in these final lines, and how does it differ from the earlier tone of the
poem? (2)
b) Discuss the symbolic meaning of the “cockroaches” in the context of colonialism. (4)
NAMAQUA LAND AFTER RAIN
