CLASS: XII F.

M–80
SUBJECT: English Literature TIME- 3 Hours

Answer all questions in Section A and Section B. You will not be allowed to write within the first 15 minutes.
Internal choice has been given in the long answer questions on Drama, Prose and Poetry.
Do not exceed the prescribed word limit while answering the questions in Section B.
The intended marks for questions are given in brackets [ ].

SECTION A
Question 1
Choose the correct options for the following questions: [10]
(i) Macbeth’s reference to “fruitless crown” and “barren sceptre” in Act III Scene I symbolize:
(a) Macbeth’s frustration of being a king.
(b) Destruction in Scotland.
(c) Power that is empty and unfulfilling.
(d) Royalty and power.

(ii) In Act III Scene I of the play, Macbeth becomes insecure of Banquo because:
(i) He holds a kingly dignity. (ii) He is a close friend to Malcolm.
(iii) Possesses great wisdom and valour. (iv) Has declared that Fleance will be the next king.
(a) (i) and (iv)
(b) (i) and (iii)
(c) (ii) and (iv)
(d) (iii) and (iv)

(iii) In Act IV Scene I of Macbeth, the Second Witch says, “By the pricking of my thumbs”, or “Something wicked this
way comes”. What exactly does she imply?
(i) Macbeth has always been inherently more evil than the Witches.
(ii) Macbeth has acquired kinship with the witches.
(iii) Macbeth is now completely controlled by evil.
(iv) She recognizes the evil in Macbeth.
Which of the above pairs of reasons are correct?
(a) (i) and (ii)
(b) (ii) and (iv)
(c) (i) and (iv)
(d) (ii) and (iii)

(iv) In Act III Scene I, Macbeth says of Banquo: “That every minute of his being thrusts/against my near’st of life”
Macbeth’s words are an example of which figure of speech/literary device?
(a) Metaphor
(b) Simile
(c) Foreshadowing
(d) Irony

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(v) Why has the poet assumed a stance of pity towards death in Death Be Not Proud? Which pair of reasons given below
justify the poet’s stance?
(i) Death is just one short sleep. (ii) Death is an instrument for the soul’s delivery.
(iii) Death itself dies. (iv) Death is a slave.

(a) (iii) and (iv)

(vi) Read the two statements given below from the short story, The Medicine Bag. Select the appropriate relation between
the two.
Statement A: Iron Shell gave the medicine bag to Martin and told him he need not wear it in time and place where no one
will understand.
Statement B: Martin could wear the medicine bag once he had replaced the sacred sage.
(a) Statement B is similar to Statement A.
(b) Statement B is a condition for Statement A.
(c) Statement B is the reason for Statement A.
(d) Statement B is the result of Statement A.

(vii) “In the kitchen the breakfast stove gave a hissing sigh.” Which figure of speech has been employed in this expression
taken from There Will Come Soft Rains?
(a) Hyperbole
(b) Simile
(c) Personification
(d) Alliteration

(viii) Shamed
By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfounded to beg simplification
Which of the following statements is true with respect to the above extract taken from Telephone Conversation?
i. The silence of the landlady was ill-mannered.
ii. ii. The speaker broke his silence for explanation.
iii. The silence of the speaker was ill-mannered.
iv. iv. The landlady broke her silence for explanation.

(a) (i) and (iii) (b) (ii) and (iii)

(ix) In the poem, Small Towns and the River by Mamang Dai, the flower tuberose symbolize:
(a) The tube-like structures that grow on the plant.
(b) Love and memory towards the dead.
(c) Our respect to all the elders in our towns.
(d) Beauty and impermanence of nature.

(x) Shane Koyczan begins his poem Beethoven with the word ‘Listen’ to:
(a) State that the audience must listen to Beethoven’s music.
(b) Imply that the audience must listen to appreciate Beethoven’s music.
(c) Insist that readers must listen to what the poet was saying.
(d) Draw our attention to the suffering behind Beethoven’s talent.

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Question 2
Complete the following sentences by providing a reason for each (Attempt all questions) [10]
(i) In Act III Scene (iv) of the play, ‘Macbeth’, Lady Macbeth had to dismiss her guests because…………………………
(ii) In Act V, Macbeth is not scared of the cry of women because_______________
(iii) In Act IV Scene (iii), Malcolm’s observation that Macbeth “hath not touched you (Macduff) yet” is ironic
because__________________________________.
(iv) In Act III Scene (ii) of the play, ‘Macbeth’, Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that he has scorpions in his mind because
___________________________________________.
(v) In the short story, The Medicine Bag, Martin’s mother checks her move of embracing her grandfather because
_________________.
(vi) In the story, Indigo, the author states that it being April, the sun should still be up, but it seemed more like late evening
because ____.
(vii) The Cookie Lady, begins with a description of a rundown house with an overgrown garden because___________.
(viii) A simile has been used to compare Beethoven’s fingers to gnarled roots because ________________________.
(ix) The speaker refers to Death as ‘slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men, because____________________.
(x) The speaker has described Death as a picture of rest and sleep because_________________________________.

SECTION B – 60 MARKS
MACBETH –WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Question 3
(i) Towards the end of the play, Macbeth realises that he has been duped and beguiled by the witches. What made him feel
so? Write the answer in about 150 words incorporating the following details. [5]
(a) Macbeth’s false sense of security.
(b) His realisation that the security is false and misleading.

(ii) Attempt a comparison between Macbeth and Edward, the Confessor as kings by closely referring to Act IV Scene (iii).
Write the answer in about 150 words incorporating the following details. [5]
(a) Qualities of Edward the Confessor and Macbeth.
(b) The manner in which they affect their subjects.

(iii) (a) How does Act V bring about the resolution in the play? Do you sympathise with Macbeth? What are your impressions
about him at this point in the play? Give three reasons with supporting evidence from the play for doing so. Write the answer
in about 250 words. [10]

OR

(b) With reference to the events in Act III of the play, Macbeth, analyse how Macbeth’s ambition to retain his kingship
destroys his conscience. Clearly state four instances from the text to support your evaluation.
Write your answer in about 250 words.

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Question 4
(i) The indigo planter had “light blue eyes from which shone a strange mixture of hardness and suffering.” Account for his
strange mixture of hardness and suffering. Take this with close reference to the story, ‘Indigo’. [5]
Write your answer in about 150 words incorporating the following details.
(a) The guilt that the planter carried with him of suppressing the natives.
(b) The fear of the consequence of his actions.

(ii) The short story, The Medicine Bag, mirrors the position of women in a Native American Society. Justify this statement
with at least four instances from the text. [5]
Write your answer in about 150 words incorporating the following details.
(a) Your answer must highlight the instances where Grandpa follows stereotypical traditions where he prefers the male to a
female.
(b) Four instances from the text.

(iii) (a) “The dog ran upstairs, hysterically yelping to each door, at last realising, as the house realised that only silence was
here.”
Comment on how this excerpt from There Will Come Soft Rains, shows that although the automated house has been attributed
with distinct human and animalistic qualities, it is sadly devoid of any human touch.
Write your answer in about 250 words. [10]
OR

(b) How does Philip P. Dick turn the story, The Cookie Lady, from a narrative of an innocent boy visiting a kindly old
neighbor into a tale of terror?
Write your answer in about 250 words.

RHAPSODY: POETRY

Question 5
(i) In reference to the poem Death Be not Proud, why should Death not be proud? What is Donne’s point about Death? Write
your answer in about 150 words incorporating the following details. [5]
(a) Explain why the speaker regards Death as weak.
(b) Explain Donne’s message in the poem.

(ii) How does Shane Koyczan capture the essence of Beethoven’s music and the profound impact it had upon his audiences?
Write your answer in about 150 words incorporating the following details. [5]
(a) Comment on the transformative power of Beethoven’s music.
(b) Pick out evidence from the poem that employs figurative devices to describe the enormous effect his music had on
listeners.

(iii) (a) The poem ‘Small Towns and the River’ begins on a somber note but ends on an optimistic note . Discuss within 250
words. [10]

OR

(b) There are intervals of silence in the interaction between the African man and the Landlady. What are the reasons for his
silence? Give references and from the text to support your answer within 250 words.

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