Dust of Snow Extra Important Questions from Previous Exams Class 10

Poem ‘Dust of Snow’ Class 10: Important Extra questions selected from previous years’ Board exams are given here with their standard answers to get full marks in the exams. Fore such more study materials click here.

Dust of Snow – Previous Years Questions (PYQs)

Exam Year 2025

“The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood”

(i) Fill the blank to complete the sentence. 1
Shaking down of dust of snow gave the speaker a change of heart by ___________.

(ii) How does the interaction between the natural elements (crow, snow, hemlock tree) contribute to the speaker’s emotional transformation in the poem? Answer in about 40 words. 2

(iii) ‘Dust of Snow’ is referred to as: 1

1. mist
2. dust of branches
3. snow residue
4. snowflakes

(iv) The crow and the hemlock tree represent ___________. 1

1. sorrow
2. elation
3. hope
4. anxiety
5. enthusiasm

(A) 1 only

(B) 2, 3 and 5

(C) 4 only

(D) 1, 4 and 5

Answers:

(i) saving the rest of the day from regret.

(ii) The crow shakes snow from the hemlock tree on the speaker. This small act of nature changes his sad mood. The cold snow feels fresh. It helps him forget his worries. His mood becomes lighter and hopeful.

(iii) snow residue

(iv) (D) 1, 4 and 5

---

3 Marks PYQs (Dust of Snow)

Exam Year 2025

1. ‘Dust of Snow’, by Robert Frost is a poem about nature and simplicity. Elaborate.

Ans:  The poem shows how a small incident in nature can change a person’s mood. The poet was feeling sad and hopeless. When snow fell on him from a tree, his mood changed. The poem teaches that simple moments in nature can bring happiness and hope in life.

2. What happened to the poet when a dust of snow fell on him ? (Dust of Snow)

Ans: When the dust of snow fell on him, the poet suddenly felt fresh and active. His sad mood changed. He felt that the rest of his day would not be wasted.

3. What changes the mood of the poet in the poem ‘Dust of Snow’ ?

Ans: The falling of snow from the hemlock tree changes the poet’s mood. The crow shakes the tree and the snow falls on him. This small act of nature makes him feel happy and hopeful again.

4. In the poem “Dust of Snow”, the hemlock tree’ and the ‘crow’ hold specific meanings. Elaborate on how these symbols are utilized within the context of the poem.

Ans: In Dust of Snow, the hemlock tree and the crow stand for sorrow and fear. Both are usually seen as bad signs. But in the poem, they bring a positive change. Their simple action makes the poet feel fresh and hopeful again.

5. ‘Dust of Snow’ highlights the poet’s positive attitude towards nature. Comment on how Robert Frost presents the power of nature in his poem.

Ans: In Dust of Snow, Robert Frost shows that even a small moment in nature can change a person’s mood. The falling snow from the tree makes him feel better. It removes his sadness. This shows that nature has a healing and powerful effect on humans.

Exam Year 2024

1. What mood of the poet is reflected in the poem ‘Dust of Snow’ initially ? What images are used by the poet to bring about the effect ? Comment.

Ans: At first, the poet feels very sad and disappointed. He thinks his day has gone to waste. The crow and the hemlock tree create a dark and unhappy mood. These images are usually linked with fear and sadness. They help to show his negative state of mind.

2. How far would you agree that one’s positivity can bring in a spark of brightness even in adverse circumstances?

Ans: I strongly agree that positivity can bring light in hard times. In the poem, the poet’s mood changes because of a small natural act. He accepts the moment happily. This shows that positive thinking can turn sadness into hope.

3. It is our attitude towards a situation that makes it positive or negative. Do you agree with it ? Express your views with reference to the poem ‘Dust of Snow’.

Ans: Yes, I agree that our attitude decides everything. In the poem, the poet is first unhappy. But the falling snow makes him feel better. The situation was small, but his thinking changed it. So, our attitude makes life positive or negative.

6 Marks PYQs (Dust of Snow)

Exam Year 2025

1. Robert Frost’s view of nature changes when he talks about it positively in ‘Dust of Snow’, but negatively in ‘Fire and Ice’. Justify the statement.

Ans: In Dust of Snow, Robert Frost presents nature in a kind and helpful way. The poet is sad at first, but a small shower of snow changes his mood. Nature brings hope and happiness in his life. But in Fire and Ice, nature is shown in a negative way. Fire and ice are shown as forces that can destroy the world. Fire stands for desire and ice stands for hatred. Both are dangerous emotions. So, in one poem nature heals, but in the other it destroys.

2. Examine the role of Nature in the poems ‘The Dust of Snow’ and ‘Fog’.

Ans: In Dust of Snow, nature has a healing effect on the poet. The falling snow from the tree makes him feel fresh and hopeful. It saves his day from being wasted. In Fog, nature is shown as quiet and mysterious. The fog comes silently like a cat and covers the city. It does not harm anyone but shows its silent power. In both poems, nature plays an important role in affecting human life.

---

Other PYQs for Poem Dust of Snow

Q 1. A simple moment proves to be very significant and saves the rest of the day of the poet from being wasted. Explain on the basis of the poem ‘Dust of Snow’. [CBSE 2018]

Ans. (CBSE Marking Scheme, 2018)

(i) Nothing is good or bad only our thinking makes it so
(ii) Best things in life are free
(iii) Life is full of problems we should solve them rather than sitting and regretting
(iv) Sometimes unimportant things change the meaning of life
(v) Like a lesson taught by the crow and the hemlock on how to take adverse season in stride and work for
the better life.

Detailed Answer:
The poet, Robert Frost tries to convey that even simple and ordinary incidents have great significance in our life. Nothing is good or bad. It is only our thinking that makes it so. Best things in life are free of cost. Life is full of problems and obstacles. We should try to solve them rather than sitting and regretting. Sometimes even the unimportant things change the meaning of life. A simple action of a crow, who shook off the dust of snow on the poet, taught him a great lesson. The poet realised that he had wasted his day in repenting rather than doing some useful activity. He understood how to take adverse season in stride and work for a better life.

Q 2. In the poem, ‘Dust of Snow’, how does the poet’s mood get changed? [CBSE Comptt., 2018]

Ans. [CBSE Marking Scheme, 2018] – While sitting under a tree, dust of snow falls from a poisonous hemlock tree. A seemingly upsetting incident proved a blessing in disguise for the poet.

Detailed Answer:
In the poem ‘Dust of Snow’ when the crow shakes off the dust of snow from the hemlock tree, it falls on the poet. The poet was then standing or sitting under the tree with melancholy mood. The magical effect of this fall of powdery sow and its feel changed his mood from one of dejection to one of joy and acceptance of the positive thinking. All this made him realise the importance of the rest of day and which now appeared saved from any spoilt.

Q 3. What is the underlying message for us in our hectic life with reference to the poem, ‘Dust of Snow’ ? [CBSE 2016-17]

Ans. The underlying message for us with reference to the poem ‘Dust of Snow’ is that we should always be optimistic towards life. In the grave hours of depression, the smallest act of nature can lead to a drastic positive change.

Q 4. How has the poet observed ‘nature’ in the poem ‘Dust of Snow’? [CBSE 2011]

Ans. The poet has observed nature as a positive medium of change for him. The poet had been in pensive mood in the poem. But when the way a crow shakes snow dust off, it changes his mood. Nature gave him the inspiration to behave in a positive manner.

---

CBSE Question Bank (Official)

Q 1. Rationalise what you think the poet was probably doing when the dust of snow fell on him? [CBSE QB, 2020-21]

Ans. The poet he was in a depressed mood with a thought that the day had been quite gloomy and wastage for him. When the dust of snow fell on the poet, he might probably be standing under or passing through the hemlock tree.

Q 2. What does the presence of a hemlock tree tell you about the setting of the poem? [CBSE QB, 2020-21]

Ans. The Hemlock tree is often related to some bad omens. Here, the presence of the hemlock tree tells us that the poet has used it to symbolize his depressed and negative mood.

Q 3. The dusting of snow on account of the crow helped to make the poet’s day better. How do you think the crow’s droppings might have impacted the poet? [CBSE QB, 2020-21]

Ans. The dust of snow removed all the laziness of the poet. It saved the whole day of the poet. The crow’s droppings might have ruined the poet’s mood from bad to worst.

Q 4. ‘Dust of Snow’ is one of Frost’s most loved poems. Elaborate why you think this is so. [CBSE QB, 2020-21]

Ans. ‘Dust of snow’ is a beautiful poem written by Robert Frost. It depicts a simple moment, but it is of great significance. The poet is depressed and has lost all hope. He is sitting under a hemlock tree. A small incident changes his sad mood. The poem teaches us that one should never be desperate and hopeless.

Q 5. The poem evokes a sense of black and white. Justify. [CBSE QB, 2020-21]

Ans. In the poem ‘Dust of Snow’, the poet wants to convey that sometimes certain moments or actions which are simple have larger significance. They can change the mood or life of a person. The way a crow shakes down the dust of snow on the poet inspires and gives him the idea to shake off his depressive thoughts and become cheerful.

Q 6. The crow and hemlock are usually used as negative references in literature. How is this different in this poem? [CBSE QB, 2020-21]

Ans. The crow and hemlock tree are used as a negative means to demonstrate the mood of the poet. Often the crow is symbol of ill omen and the hemlock tree is a poisonous one. But the poet used them beautifully to portray the fact that inauspicious things too can bring joy and happiness.

Q 7. Imagine that Frost is of present day and has been invited to write for an e-zine – “Teen Talk”. He chooses to draw upon his experience with the crow and the dusting of snow to share his thoughts on ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’. As Frost, express your thoughts for the e-zine. [CBSE QB, 2020-21]

Ans. ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’. We should never leave confidence in difficult times because it will lead us to better days. A dark cloud is a kind of difficulty, misfortune and worst times in life. The silver lining is a hope for progress and an opportunity to go ahead in life.

Similarly, in the poem, the poet is in a depressed and hopeless mood. He feels that the whole day has been wasted. But fortunately, it is not so. The falling of the dust of snow on him bring a sudden change in his mood. He realizes that all is not lost. There is still hope for redemption. The change of landscape has changed his mood. Cheerfulness had replaced the feeling of regret. Hence, falling of dust of snow proved to be a silver lining on the cloud of gloom.

Q 8. As a crow you feel highly insulted by the incorrect perception humans have about your species. Imagine yourself to be a crow and write your opinion about this prejudice. Make an appeal for breaking stereotypes. [CBSE Question Bank 2021]

Ans. As per human perceptions the word ‘crow’ is often related to ‘bad omens’ and ‘inauspiciousness’. This stereotype thinking towards our species is illogical and heart-breaking. I feel hopeless that without even having any valid evidence to it, people refer to us as being ‘ominous’. Perhaps because we are ‘black’, people consider us inauspicious and doves are considered ‘good omen’ maybe because they are ‘white’. This ruthless prejudice makes me emotionally hurt. I want to break this stereotype for all my fellow crows too in the same way my friend did by changing a person’s mood and making him happy. I hope that one day, judgmental humans will realize that what they think of us is completely wrong.

---