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Oh, I Wish I’d Looked After Me Teeth Summary in English by Pam Ayres
Oh, I Wish I’d Looked After Me Teeth Summary in English
The poem is about the experiences of the narrator with her teeth. It is written on a humorous note. She looks back and regrets the fact that she has not taken care of her teeth the way she should have.
She recalls the various kinds of sweet, and sticky toffees she had consumed in the past, which has caused her teeth to decay now. She now wishes she had resisted the temptation to buy sweets with her money and paid more attention to the damage they could have caused to her teeth. She feels extremely guilty when she recalls all the sweet things she had relished, including lollipops, candy, and peanut brittle. She also recalls that though she had brushed her teeth, it had not been done thoroughly as she had felt it was all a waste of time.
However, now, as she sits in the dentist’s chair staring up at him, she feels remorseful about all the sweets that she had ever eaten. She complains that if she had known that she was going to suffer from cavities and tooth decay and would have to undergo fillings, injections, and drillings at the dentist’s office, she would have been more careful and thrown away all the sweets and sherbets that had tempted her.
In the end, she is reminded of the time when she had made fun of her mother’s false teeth and is sure that a similar fate awaits her now.
The poem is written in a humorous tone, making light of a painful visit to the dentist.
Oh, I Wish I’d Looked After Me Teeth Summary Questions and Answers
Question 1.
On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions by ticking the correct choice.
a. The title ‘Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth ’ expresses:
(i) regret
(ii) humour
(iii) longing
(iv) pleasure
Answer:
Regret.
b. The conscience of the speaker pricks her as she has:
(i) been careless
(ii) been ignorant
(iii) been fun loving
(iv) been rude
Answer:
Been careless.
c. The speaker says that she has paved the way for cavities and decay by:
(i) eating the wrong food and not brushing.
(ii) not listening to his mother
(iii) laughing at his mother’s false teeth
(iv) not listening to the dentist
Answer:
Eating the wrong food and not brushing.
d. The tone of the narrator is one of:
(i) joy
(ii) nostalgia
(iii) regret
(iv) sorrow
Answer:
Regret.
Question 2.
Answer the following questions.
‘…But up-and-down brushin’ And pokin’ and fussin’
Didn’t seem worth the time-I could bite!’
a. What do these lines convey?
Answer:
These lines convey the poet’s sense of regret for not brushing properly when she had the chance.
b. Why did the poet go to the dentist? How could she have avoided it?
Answer:
The poet went to the dentist because her teeth had decayed as a result of consuming too many sweets and chocolates and not brushing properly. She could have avoided going to the dentist by taking care of her teeth while she still had a chance.
c. ‘Ifyou got a tooth, you got a friend’, what do you understand from the line?
Answer:
Teeth are very important for human beings. Teeth grow only twice in man’s lifetime and stay with them throughout. Teeth are, therefore, like true friends that are rare to come by but are for life.
d. With reference to the poem, how can you look after your teeth?
(Encourage the students to come up with their own answers.)
Answer:
We can look after our teeth by brushing twice daily, ensuring that we brush every crevice of our teeth in the correct manner. We can also look after our teeth by controlling our urge to eat chocolates, toffees and other sweets.
e. Give an appropriate proverb that conveys the message that this poem carries.
Answer:
‘A stitch in time, saves nine.’