Why I Like the Hospital Poem Short Answer Questions

Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 2 Why I Like the Hospital

Why I Like the Hospital Poem Long Answer Questions

Question 1.
In general, people do not like hospitals. But the poet expresses his liking For it. Why do you think he does that? Discuss.
Answer:
A hospital is a place with a depressing surrounding. People come here with several illnesses. Some get treated, some don’t and some even die there. So, there is no feel good vibe. But the poet expresses his liking for it because he is tired by seeing the materialistic world around him where people have become emotionless to survive.

People stop caring as they have become a machine. But things change when a person gets admitted to a hospital. This is the only place where people open their floodgates of emotions and thus feel all the pain, sadness and loneliness.

In hospitals, they understand how lonely they are as they have no one around to keep company. They have to face all the illnesses and the after-effects hopelessly. Asa hospital is the only place where people do feel, the poet says that he likes the hospitals, no matter how gloomy the surroundings are.

Question 2.
How does the poet use satire and humour in this poem? Discuss with reference to the context.
Answer:
In the poem, “Why I Like the Hospital” the poet expresses him liking for the hospitals because it is the only place where people do feel. They open their floodgates of emotions and thus feel all the pain, sadness and loneliness. In each stanza, the poet uses satire and humour to express his liking for the hospital. He humorously describes the ailments of the patients to mock at the human race.

The descriptions of the cancer-affected mother and her hesitation before telling her kid about her ailment, the bald girl with a missing breast or the old lady with her IV pole are actually horrifying but the poet presents these images before us like an amusing incident. While going through the poem, the loneliness of the patients and the helplessness of the terminal patient could not fail to tremble our heart in fear.

But the poet satirically says that he likes to witness all these because a hospital is the only place where people do not hesitate to express their feelings. The smell of the antiseptic, the biting cold air coming from the air-conditioner and the fresh flowers in the wastebasket add to the lifelessness of the hospital. Through satire and humour, the poet tries to make us understand the very fact of living. He wants us to live our life fully rather than spending our days in regret.

Question 3.
What is the theme of the poem “Why I Like the Hospital”?
Answer:
The very theme of this poem is to giving our feelings a chance to breathe freely which is a quite a difficult task is our modern world. People now have learnt to stifle their emotions and only express those in hospitals where they are left alone without anyone to hold their hands. Ironically, they are being praised for leaving their emotions.

The poet, through this poem has shown us some harsh realities of life and advises us to express our emotions without hesitation. The poet says that he likes visiting a hospital because only here, true emotions can be witnessed. This is also a place that shows how lonely a man is, nowadays. The poet wishes this scenario to be changed. Through this poem, by showing some grim realities, he wants us to value emotions.

Question 4.
Write in your own words, how does the poet describe the human sorrow and suffering in his poem “Why I Like the Hospital’’?
Answer:
In the poem “Why I Like the Hospital” the poet expresses the human sorrow and suffering, satirically. In this poem, we see a mother, having cancer, hesitates to tell her kids about her disease. A bald girl is also seen in a depressed mood gazing at the shunt placed “above her missing breast” and an old woman walking with an IV pole.

These images horrify the readers. The poet again portrays images of lonely, sick people looking for someone who would keep them company. Each sick person is compared with a lonely tree “wondering what happened to the forest.”

In this poem, there is a particular reference to a terminal patient who was “sobbing without shame” expressing his “overflowing bilge of helplessness and rage” as he did not have any hope left to be saved and he has no one to keep company, he was sympathising and talking to his own self. These shocking images show us how helpless a person could be. By satirising these grim realities, the poet wants to open our eyes so that we can understand the true meaning f living and value emotions.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem Short Answer Questions

Question 1.
In the poem “Why I Like the Hospital”, why does the poet express his liking for the hospital?
Answer:
In the poem “Why I Like the Hospital” the poet says that the contemporary world made us totally emotionless and for this, we even get appreciated. People have become self-centred and materialistic. But in hospitals, true emotions can be seen.

There, people express their grief and realize how lonely they are. They feel helpless but they have no one to get them out of their situation. That is why the poet expresses his liking for the hospital as it is the only place where true emotions are expressed.

Question 2.
What are the things that the poet does not like in the hospital?
Answer:
The poet does not like the smell of the antiseptic or the biting cold air coming from the air-conditioner all night or even the fresh flowers in the wastebasket as these add to the gloominess and lifelessness of the hospital. These are also the signs of carelessness and antipathy that repel him. So he does not like these.

Question 3.
What hospital scenes are depicted in this poem?
Answer:
In this poem, a few hospital scenes are depicted which sadden the readers to a great extend. He portrays scenes of a cancer patient who is also a mother, has difficulty in deciding how to tell her kids about her illness.

There is a bald girl who is staring in depression at the tube that is fixed upon her missing breast. There is another old woman who is walking in great difficulty with her IV pole. The poet has also portrayed a number of sick persons who are helpless, lonely and eagerly waiting for company. These images show how pathetic a human life could be.

Question 4.
Describe the condition of the man mentioned in the stanza 6.
Ans.
In stanza 6 : we can see a patient wearing a lime- green dressing gown, bending over in a chair. He is not yelling at the doctors or pretending to be strong; he is just crying helplessly. He has no one to stand by his side.

He is afflicted with some deadly disease so he could not be saved. He is completely lonely in this world so he is consoling himself, listening to each word said and actually speaking to himself. By portraying this man, the poet actually shows the readers the harsh reality of today’s world.

Question 5.
Why was the terminal patient “sobbing without shame”?
Answer:
The terminal patient knew that no medication or surgery could save him from his illness. He was feeling helpless and he did not have anyone to console him. He did not even have a-wife to make a phone call. He was all alone in this earth and so he could not hold his emotions any longer.

Out of hopelessness, fear and anxiety he was “crying without shame”. He knew that he did not have much time left, so he did not care about what people would think.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem Logic-Based Questions

Complete the following sentences by providing a REASON for each:

Question 1.
The mother with cancer is hesitating because ………..
Answer:
She could not decide how to tell her kids about her illness.

Question 2.
The bald girl is gazing downward in depression because ………..
Answer:
She has tube installed above her missing breast.

Question 3.
The poet does not like the smell of the antiseptic or the high air-conditioning because ………..
Answer:
These heighten the depression.

Question 4.
The poet does not like to see fresh flowers in a waste basket because ………..
Answer:
This is a sign of carelessness and antipathy.

Question 5.
Patients in a hospital have “forced intimacy of the ‘self with the self’ because ………..
Answer:
They have no near and dear ones who would stand by them or take care of them.

Question 6.
Each sick person is compared to a tree in a forest because ……………
Answer:
They are suffering from loneliness.

Question 7.
Another man in a lime-green dress is sobbing without shame because ………..
Answer:
He knows that he could not be saved.

Question 8.
The man is not yelling at the doctors because ………..
Answer:
He is feeling hopeless.

Question 9.
The man is holding “his own hand in sympathy” because………..
Answer:
He is completely alone is this world.

Question 10.
The man is telling himself everything because
Answer:
He has no one to talk to.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem About the Poet Tony Hoagland

Tony Hoagland was born on November 19,1953, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Tony Hoagland authored witty, poignant poems that comment on contemporary American life and culture. He attended Williams College, the University of Iowa, and the University of Arizona.

His books of poetry include Unincorporated Personas in the Late Honda Dynasty Graywolf Press; What Narcissism Means to Me, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award; Donkey Gospel, which received the James Laughlin Award; and Sweet Ruin, chosen by Donald Justice for the 1992 Brittingham Prize in Poetry and winner of the Zacharis Award from Emerson College.

Hoagland’s other honors and awards include two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a fellowship to the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, the O. B. Hardison Prize for Poetry and Teaching from the Folger Shakespeare Library, the 2008 Jackson Poetry Prize from Poets & Writers magazine, as well as the Poetry Foundation’s 2005 Mark Twain Award in recognition of his contribution to humor in American poetry.

In 2002, the American Academy of Arts and Letters praised the poet’s work with a citation stating, “Tony Hoagland’s imagination ranges thrillingly across manners, morals, sexual doings, kinds of speech both lyrical and candid, intimate as well as wild.” He taught at the University of Houston and Warren Wilson College. He died of pancreatic cancer on October 23,2018. His latest book of poems, Unincorporated Persons In the Late Honda Dynasty, was published by Graywolf Press in 2010.

Why I Like the Hospital About the Poem

The poem “Why I Like the Hospital” written by Tony Hoagland expresses some harsh realities of life. Our world has become a contemporary materialistic world with no liveliness. People have become emotionless and self- centred and so they cannot express their feelings to anyone, openly, especially the western people who are accustomed with choking their feelings even if it is their personal loss.

This eventually leads to loneliness and depression that result in physical and mental instability including Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, cardiac failure and so on. Therefore, sarcastically, it is in the hospital where there is no restriction of any kind to express pathos. Therefore, in this poem, we can see many heartbreaking pictures of pain and suffering in the hospital in a humorous way. The poem begins with a saying that the hospital is the only place where anyone can be in their bad mood and also can witness many scenes of sufferings.

In this poem, the poet expresses that he kind of likes the way people count their good and bad actions performed in their life. He also likes the way people wait for other people to show up and ask for their well-being. He also recalls his several other experiences at the hospital that are depicted in a very realistic manner. The poet’s liking for the hospital is actually a satire on the way of contemporary life that allows no show for emotions as they are tagged as weakness. This poem also satirises the society that leaves patients on their own when they were in great need for warmth and empathy.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem in Detail

This poem opens up suddenly with a satire, “Because it is all right to be in a bad mood there” that expresses the miserable life of the people nowadays. A gloomy mood is presented where the underground garage and the elevator with “other customers staring at the closed beige door like a prison wall” evoke the perfect mood of resentment. The poet says that the hospital is the only place that grants permission letting out the emotions.

It is the only place where a mother having cancer, could not decide how to tell her kids about her disease, a bald girl is seen in a depressed mood gazing at the shunt placed “above her missing breast” and an old woman walking with an IV pole. The poet says that he does not like the smell of the antiseptics, or the excessive cold air coming from the air- conditioner or even the fresh flowers thrown into the wastebasket.

But ironically he says that he likes some people seeing in the hospital “break out a notebook and invent a complex scoring system” to calculate their days on earth doing good and bad deeds. The poet also expresses his like in seeing lonely, sick people looking for someone who would keep them company.

In this poem, there is a particular reference to a terminal patient who was “sobbing without shame” expressing his “overflowing bilge of helplessness and rage” as he did not have any hope left to be saved and he has no one to keep company, he was sympathising and talking to his own self.

Throughout the poem, though the poet has used a number of satires and humours to point out the poor condition of the humans, this final image of that dying person shows us a disturbing image of the contemporary society that has no feelings even for a dying person.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem Line Wise Explanation

“Because it is all right to be in a bad mood there,
slouching along through the underground garage,
riding wordlessly on the elevator with the other customers,
staromg at the closed beige doors like a prison wall.”

These opening lines of this poem hints at the very theme of the poem. The poet says that it is all right to be in a bad mood in a hospital as here, no one would judge. A gloomy mood is presented here where the “other customers” in underground garage and the elevator stare at the closed door in the hospital as if they are entering a prison world.

“I like the hospital for the way it grants permission for pathos the mother with cancer deciding how to tell her kids,the bald girl gazing downwards at the shunt installed above her missing breast, the crone in her pajamas, walking with an IV pole”:

These lines tell us that the poet likes the hospital only because it allows a person to open his/hers floodgates of emotions. This is the only place that permits a person to express his sorrow, loss and pain without hesitation. The poet ironically tells here that he likes to watch the mother who is having cancer, having difficulty in deciding a way to tell her kids about her ailment. There is also the mention of the bald girl who is staring with sad eyes at the shunt installed above her missing breast. He also mentions an old woman who is walking in the hospital with her IV pole, to survive.

“I don’t like the smell of antiseptic,
or the air-conditioning set on high all night,
or the fresh flowers tossed into the wastebasket,
but I like the way some people on thier plastic chairs
break out a notebook and invent a complex scoring system
to tally up their days on earth,
the column on the left that says, Times I Acted Like a Fool,
facing the column on the right that says,
Times I Acted Like a Saint.

The narrator here tells his dislike about the smell of the anti-septic that is used in the hospital. He uses tells about his strong dislike for the excessive cold air coming from the air conditioner of the hospital and also the fresh flowers in the wastebasket as these are the signs of carelessness and antipathy. Again, the poet uses the image of a fool and a saint which are amusing and thought-provoking as well and through these images the poet expresses that it is only the hospital where a person is compelled to reflect over their own good or bad deeds.

“I like the long prairie of the waiting;
the forced intimacy of the self with the self;
each sick person standing in the middle of a field,
like a tree wondering what happened to the forest.”

Here, the poet shows us a picture of the sick and lonely persons who are waiting to be taken care of. But they have no one to keep them company and so their waiting is pointless as they are forced into loneliness. Each of the sick persons are compared with a lone tree, standing in the middle of a field wondering what could have happened with the forest.

“And once I saw a man in a lime-green dressing gown,
hunched over in a chair, a man who was not
yelling at the doctors, or pretending to be strong,
or making a murmured phone call to his wife,
but one sobbing without shame,
pumping it all out from the bottom of the self,
the overflowing bilge of helplessness and rage,
a man no longer expecting to be saved,

Here another image is shown. Here we can see a man in a lime-green dressing gown, “hunched over in a chair”. He is neither yelling at the doctors nor trying to be strong. He is not even making a phone call to his wife as he has not anyone to talk to. The man is actually crying “without shame” and expressing his innermost feelings through his tears. He is feeling helpless as he has no hope left for himself. He knows that he can’t be saved.

“but if you looked, you could see
that he was holding his own hand in sympathy,
listening to every single word,
and he was telling himself everything.”

The poet concludes by saying that as he has no one to whom he can depend, he is holding his own hand “in sympathy”. As he has none to talk to and express his feelings he is talking to himself. Through his poem, the poet expresses the harsh reality of today’s world where we are all alone to face our own need.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem Theme

The very theme of this poem is to giving our feelings a chance to breathe freely which is a quite a difficult task is our modem world. People now have learnt to stifle their emotions and only express those in hospitals where they are left alone without anyone to hold their hands. Ironically, they are being praised for leaving their emotions.

The poet, through this poem has shown us some harsh realities of life and advises us to express our emotions without hesitation. The poet says that he likes visiting a hospital because only here, true emotions can be witnessed. This is also a place that shows how lonely a man is, nowadays. The poet wishes this scenario to be changed. Through this poem, by showing some grim realities, he wants us to value emotions.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem Word Meaning

Slouching — To stand, sit, or walk with the shoulders hanging forward and the head bent slightly over so that you look tired and bored
Wordless — Without any words.
Elevator — A device like a box that moves up and down, carrying people or goods from one floor of a building to another or taking people up and down
Prison — A building where criminals are forced to live as a punishment.
Pathos — A quality that evokes pity or sadness.
Cancer — A serious disease that is caused when cells in the body grow in a way that is uncontrolled and not normal, killing normal cells and often causing death.
Gazing — To look at something or someone for a long time, especially in surprise or admiration, or because you are thinking about something else
Bald With little or no hair on the head Crone An unpleasant or ugly old woman.
Antiseptic — A chemical used for preventing infection in an injury, especially by killing bacteria Prairie ‘ A wide area of flat land without trees in Canada and the northern US.
Intimacy — A situation in which you have a close friendship or sexual relationship with someone.
Hunched — Leaning forward with your shoulders raised, or bending your back and shoulders into a rounded shape
Yelling — To shout something or make a loud noise, usually when you are angry, in pain, or excited.
Pretending — To behave as if something is true when you know that it is not, especially in order to deceive people or as a game
Murmured — To speak or say something very quietly
Sobbing — Noisy crying
Bilge — Nonsense
Rage — Violent uncontrollable anger
Sympathy — Feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else’s misfortune

Why I Like the Hospital Poem Critical Appreciation

The poem “Why I Like the Hospital” written by Tony Hoagland is a thought-provoking poem. The poet has used humour and satire to mock the humans of the contemporary society. Nowadays, people are practically emotionless and for this they are praised. They have learnt to stifle their emotions as emotions are now considered as weakness.

At this, the poet mockingly says that he likes visiting hospitals as a hospital is the only place where people open the floodgates of their emotions. In a hospital, terrifying scenes can be seen. Sick people are seen in a hospital, sad, looking for company. They do not know what to do or how to overcome the situation. They are full of emotions but no one to take care of.

The poem is deeply meaningful with many humorous yet pathetic incidents are expressed. The disturbing images of loneliness and alienation of a lone sick person waiting for company or a patient sobbing helplessly as he knows that he cannot be saved are also heart-touching.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem Style

The poem “Why I Liked the Hospital” is divided into eight stanzas, containing four lines each. The poet has used simple language to express his point of view. The poet has used the enjambment technique to give a flow to this poem. His words and phrases are thought-provoking and bear rich meanings.

In this poem, we can witness the poet’s usage of imageries like, “the bald girl gazing downward at the shunt”.and similes like, “staring at the closed beige doors like a prison wall”. and metaphors like, “fresh flowers tossed into the wastebasket” that give richness to the poem. Moreover, it can be said that the style of writing this poem is lucid and unique.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem MCQs

Choose the correct alternative to complete the following sentences:

Question 1.
Where is the garage located?
a. At underground
b. At rooftop
c. At an open ground
c. At a river bank
Answer:
a. At underground

Question 2.
Who is the narrator in this poem?
a. A sick man
b. A bald girl
c. The poet himself
d. the mother with cancer
Answer
c. The poet himself

Question 3.
With what are the beige doors compared?
a. Like a wall
b. Like a prison wall
c. Like a bed room wall
d. Like a bathroom wall
Answer:
b. Like a prison wall

Question 4.
Why 10es the poet like the liospital?
a. Because it grants permission for pathos
b. The food is very good there
c. The environment is cozy
d. People there are friendly
Answer:
a. Because it grants permission for pathos

Question 5.
Who is in lier pajamas?
a. The bald girl
b. The mother with cancer
c. The crone
d. None of them
Answer:
c. The crone

Question 6.
What does the poet flot like about hospital?
a. Smell of the antiseptic
b. air-conditioner set on high all night
c. The fresh flowers tossed into the wastebasket
d. All of these
Answer:
d. All of these

Question 7.
With what are sick persons compared?
a. A tree wondering what happened to the forest
b. Flowers in wastebaskets
c. Dead people
d. Saints
Answer:
a. A tree wondering what happened to the forest

Question 8.
What was the colour of the dressing gown?
a. Lime red
b. Lime green
c. Green
d. White
Answer:
b. Lime green

Question 9.
What for Hoagbnd’s poetry are knowiì?
a. The acerbic take on contemporary life
b. Wit
c. Straight talk
d. All of these
Answer:
d. All of these

Question 10.
Who wrote the poem “Why I Like the Hospital”?
a. Tony Hoagland
b. Rabindranath Tagore
c. William Shakespeare
d. William Wordsworth
Answer:
a. Tony Hoagland

Question 11.
Who has the cancer in the poem “Why I Like the Hospital”?
a. The kids
b. The narrator
c. The mother
d. The bald girl
Answer:
c. The mother

Question 12.
Who is sobbing without shame?
a. A terminal patient
b. The old lady
c. The mother
d. The kids
Answer:
a. A terminal patient

Question 13.
Why was the bold girl depressed?
a. Because she was ill
b. Because was in a hospital
c. Because she is in danger
d. Because she lost her breast
Answer:
d. Because she lost her breast

Question 14.
What is the full name of the poet?
a. Tony Hoagland
b. Anthony Dey Hoagland
c. Hoagland
d. None of these
Answer:
b. Anthony Dey Hoagland

Question 15.
In which year was Tony Hoagland died?
a. 2020
b. 2017
c. 2018
d. 2019
Answer:
c. 2018

Rhapsody: A Collection of ISC Poems Workbook Answers