Read the following poem and answer the question that follows :
In Those Days
In those days - they were long ago-
The snow was cold, the night was black.
I licked from my cracked lips
A snowflake, as I looked back
Through branches, the last uneasy snow.
Your shadow, there in the light, was still.
In a little the light went out.
I went on, stumbling_till at last the hill
Hid the house. And, yawning,
In bed in my room, alone,
I would look out: over the quilted
Rooftops, the clear stars shone.
How poor and miserable we were,
How seldom together!
And yet after so long one thinks:
In those days everything was better.
What does the poet mean by the phrase "quilted roof tops"?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Roof top covered with snow
From his bed the poet looks out "over the quilted rooftops" on a snowy night. The snow lies on the roofs in a thick, soft, even layer, like a quilt spread over a bed; "quilted" is a metaphor for rooftops covered with snow.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Roof top with a quilt on it — Incorrect. Misread: this takes the word literally; there is no real quilt on the roofs.
Option 3: A house with many quilts in it — Incorrect. Wrong focus: the phrase describes the outside of the roofs, not what is inside the houses.
Option 4: People sleeping under quilts on roof tops — Incorrect. Not mentioned: no people are on the roofs; the poet sees only rooftops and the clear stars above them.