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POEM
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO LULU?
By Charles Causley
Stanza 1
What has happened to Lulu, mother?
What has happened to Lu?
There’s nothing in her bed but an old rag-doll
And by its side a shoe.
Stanza 2
Why is her window wide, mother?
The curtain flapping free,
And only a circle on the dusty shelf
Where her money-box used to be?
Stanza 5
I heard somebody cry, mother,
In anger or in pain,
But now I ask you why, mother,
You say it was a gust of rain.
Stanza 6
Why do you wander about as though
You don’t know what to do?
What has happened to Lulu, mother?
What has happened to Lu?
Vocabulary:
Fill in the blanks with correct meanings from the list given.

Stanza 3 A Mental suffering or illness F Walk or move in a leisurely or

Why do you turn your head, mother,
And why your tear-drops fall?
And why do you crumple that note on fire
And say it is nothing at all?
Stanza 4
I woke to voices late last night,
I heard an engine roar.
Why do you tell me the things I heard
Were a dream and nothing more?
B A strong feeling of annoyance,
displeasure or hostility
C A piece of materials suspended
at the top to form a screen ,
typically movable sideways
along a rail and found as one of
a pair at a window
D A series of thoughts, images
and sensations occurring in a
person’s mind during sleep
E (of something) flutter or wave
aimless way
G Crush (something, typically paper or
cloth) so that it becomes creased
and wrinkled
H A box used for saving money in,
with a slit in the top through which
the money is dropped.
I A soft doll made from pieces of
cloth
J A sudden burst of something such
as rain, sound or emotion

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Words Meaning in English Meaning in BM 2 The curtain flapping free, missing.

Rag-doll 3 And only a circle on the Her money-box is
Curtain dusty shelf gone. In its place on
Flapping the dusty shelf, there
Money-box is only a circle.
Crumple
Dream 4 Where her money-box
used to be?
Anger
Pain
Stanza 3
Gust
Wander Line Stanza 1 Line-by-line Meaning of Stanza 3
meaning
1 Why do you turn your Why are you turning The persona asks his
LINE-BY-LINE MEANING head, mother, your head away and mother why she is
Stanza 1 2 And why your tear-drops crying, Mother? turning her head
Line Stanza 1 Line-by-line Meaning of Stanza 1 fall? away and crying. He
meaning 3 And why do you crumple Why do you crumple asks her why she
1 What has happened to What has happened The persona, a that note on fire that note and throw crumples and
Lulu, mother? to Lulu, Mother? young child is asking 4 And say it is nothing at all it into the fire and throws the note into
2 What has happened to Lu? There is nothing on his mother where tell me nothing is the fire and tells him
3 There’s nothing in her bed her bed except an his sister, Lulu is. He wrong? that nothing is
but an old rag-doll old rag-doll. And says there is nothing wrong.
4 And by its side a shoe. there is a shoe by on her bed except Stanza 4
the side of her bed. an old rag doll and a Line Stanza 1 Line-by-line Meaning of Stanza 1
shoe by its side. meaning
1 I woke to voices late last I woke up when I The persona wants
Stanza 2 night, heard voices and the to know why his
Line Stanza 2 Line-by-line Meaning of Stanza 1 2 I heard an engine roar. roar of an engine mother is saying
meaning late last night. that the voices and
1 Why is her window wide, Why is her window The persona is 3 Why do you tell me the But why are you the roar of an
mother? wide open and why asking his mother things I heard saying that what I engine implies that
is the curtain why Lulu’s window 4 Were a dream and nothing heard was just a his sister was driven
flapping free, is open and her more? dream. away in a car.
Mother? money-box is
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Stanza 5 PRACTICE 1
Line Stanza 1 Line-by-line Meaning of Stanza 1 Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate word given in the box below.
meaning
1 I heard somebody cry, I heard somebody The persona heard engine run throws Lulu safety
mother, cry in pain or anger, somebody cry in disobeyed rag-doll denies childhood upset
2 In anger or in pain, Mother. pain or anger but his
3 But now I ask you why, But when I ask you mother tells him
Lulu’s younger brother wakes up and finds his sister gone. Only her old (1)
mother, what it was, you say that it must have
been the wind. and a shoe are in her room. They indicate that she has left her (2) and previous
4 You say it was a gust of it was the wind.
rain. life behind. From all the clues, we know that she has (3) away from home with
someone in the middle of the night. Her brother heard the sound of people
Stanza 6 talking and the roar of the (4) late at night. The engine here suggests that
Line Stanza 1 Line-by-line Meaning of Stanza 1 someone drove her away in his car.
meaning The persona’s mother is terribly (5) and she is grieving. She cries and (6)
1 Why do you wander about Why are you talking The persona wants the note that Lulu wrote to her on the fire. She must have desperately tried to
as though about like you are his mother to restrain and control Lulu for her own (7). But her younger daughter has (8) her.
2 You don’t know what to confused? explain why she is Now her mother bravely bears the pain alone. Her son suspects that something is
do? confused and what
amiss. He feels the pain in his mother’s cry and connects the roar of the engine to
3 What has happened to What has happened has happened to his
(9). But when he tells her about what she saw and heard, she dismisses them and
Lulu, mother? to Lulu, Mother? older sister, Lulu.
(10) that anything is wrong. When he repeatedly asks her where Lulu is, she
4 What has happened to Lu?
remains silent.
THEMES AND MORAL VALUES
Themes Moral Values Answers:
Importance of close family We must have a close relationship with our 1. _______________________ 9. _______________________
ties family members to discuss our problems easily. 2. _______________________ 10. _______________________
Love for our family members We must love our family members 3. _______________________
Running away from home Running away from home does not solve our 4. _______________________
problems. 5. _______________________
Coping with the loss of family It is difficult to get over the loss of a family 6. _______________________
member member.
7. _______________________
The loss of a family member affects everyone in
the family. 8. _______________________

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PRACTICE 2 PRACTICE 3
(SPM 2016)
a) In stanza 1, what was left behind on Lulu’s bed?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… a) And why do you crumple that note on the fire [stanza 3]
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………... (i) What do you think the note is about?
[1 mark] ………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
b) And why do tear drops fall [Stanza 3]. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
What do you understand from this line? [1 mark]
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………... (ii) Why do you think Lulu’s mother crumpled the note on the
[1 mark] fire?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
c) I heard an engine roar [Stanza 4]. ………………………………………………………………………………………………
What do you think this statement means? ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… [1 mark]
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
[1 mark] b) The poem mentions waking up to voices. Whose voices do you think
are heard? Suggest one.
d) In your opinion, what are the signs from the poem that Lulu could’ve ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
run away? Explain. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… [1 mark]
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
................................................................................................................. c) In your opinion, why didn’t Lulu take the rag-doll with her when she
................................................................................................................. left? Explain.
[2 marks] ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[2 marks]

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