GUIDE FOR SCHOOL ENGLISH LITERATURE (PAPER – II)

Study guide for students PAGE : ~ 1 ~

THE TEMPEST

SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:

Ariel:

 What role does Ariel play in the Tempest?

 Comment on the significance of Ariel as a harpy.
 What were the magic/miracles that Ariel did on them (Alonso, Ferdinand, ….) after being ordered by
Prospero?
Miranda:

 Explain and illustrate the statement : “The character of Miranda resolves itself into the very elements

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of womanhood”
 What is Miranda’s function in the play, “The Tempest”? How does her character help to move the play
forward to its resolution?
 Examine the relationship between Miranda and Ferdinand in The Tempest.
Caliban:

 Who is Caliban? Describe his appearance and nature. What kind of relationship did he share with his
tormentor earlier? How is he tormented by the spirits of his enemy? What plan does he think of to
change the situation he is in?
 How does Caliban get his freedom?
 Caliban is the real victim of a colonizer who simply rules by force much against the native’s will.
Comment.
Prospero:

 Attempt a character sketch of Prospero highlighting what you feel are his strengths and his
weaknesses?
 How does Pospero deal with the people who have wronged him?
 How far can Prospero be called perfect?
General:

 Write about the comic elements present in the play and the reason for their inclusion.
 Give the dramatic significance of Act III.
 How does Gonzalo stand out from the rest of the characters?

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 GUIDE FOR SCHOOL ENGLISH LITERATURE (PAPER – II)
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SOME IMPORTANT PASSAGES :

You taught me language, and my profit on’t

Is I know how to curse. The red plague rid you
For learning me your language! (I.ii.366–368)

There be some sports are painful, and their labour

Delight in them sets off. Some kinds of baseness
Are nobly undergone, and most poor matters
Point to rich ends. This my mean task

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Would be as heavy to me as odious, but
The mistress which I serve quickens what’s dead
And makes my labours pleasures. (III.i.1-7)

[I weep] at mine unworthiness, that dare not offer

What I desire to give, and much less take
What I shall die to want. But this is trifling,
And all the more it seeks to hide itself
The bigger bulk it shows. Hence, bashful cunning,
And prompt me, plain and holy innocence.
I am your wife, if you will marry me.
If not, I’ll die your maid. To be your fellow
You may deny me, but I’ll be your servant
Whether you will or no (III.i.77–86)

Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises,

Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep
Will make me sleep again; and then in dreaming
The clouds methought would open and show riches
Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked
I cried to dream again (III.ii.130–138).

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 GUIDE FOR SCHOOL ENGLISH LITERATURE (PAPER – II)
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Our revels now are ended. These our actors,

As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air;
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve;
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life

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Is rounded with a sleep. (IV.i.148–158)

O, I have suffered
With those that I saw suffer.
(Miranda, Act 1 Scene 2)

My library was dukedom large enough.

(Prospero, Act 1 Scene 2)

Ferdinand,
With hair up-staring – then like reeds, not hair –
Was the first man that leaped; cried ‘Hell is empty
And all the devils are here.’
(Ariel, Act 1 Scene 2)

For I am all the subjects that you have,

Which first was mine own king.
(Caliban, Act 1 Scene 2)

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 GUIDE FOR SCHOOL ENGLISH LITERATURE (PAPER – II)
Study guide for students PAGE : ~ 4 ~

Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.

(Trinculo, Act 2 Scene 2)

Hast thou not dropped from heaven?

(Caliban, Act 2 Scene 2)

I am your wife, if you will marry me:

If not, I'll die your maid: to be your fellow

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You may deny me, but I'll be your servant,
Whether you will or no.
(Miranda, Act 3 Scene 1)

The clouds methought would open and show riches

Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked,
I cried to dream again.
(Caliban, Act 3 Scene 2)

Our revels now are ended. These our actors,

As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air;
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on: and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.
(Prospero, Act 4 Scene 1)

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 GUIDE FOR SCHOOL ENGLISH LITERATURE (PAPER – II)
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Where the bee sucks, there suck I:

In a cowslip's bell I lie:
There I couch when owls do cry.
On the bat's back I do fly
After summer merrily.
Merrily, merrily, shall I live now
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.
(Ariel, Act 5 Scene 1)

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O, wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't.
(Miranda, Act 5 Scene 1)

As you from crimes would pardoned be,

Let your indulgence set me free.
(Prospero, Epilogue)

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 GUIDE FOR SCHOOL ENGLISH LITERATURE (PAPER – II)
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STORY (ECHOES)
Main Focus :
 Fritz
 B.Wordsworth
Next Focus:

 The story of an hour

 The Singing Lesson
Extra:
 Salvatore
 Chinese Statue

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 A Gorilla in the guest room.

SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:

Fritz

 Satyajit Ray's short story the Fritz is about a Swiss doll. Elaborate.
 Referring closely to the short story ‘Fritz’, relate why Jayonto wanted to visit Bundi instead of any
other place.
B. Wordsworth

 In the story B. Wordsworth, VS Naipaul contrasts two modes of life. Discuss

 From you reading of B Wordsworth by VS Naipaul, describe how failure and disillusionment are two
important aspects of the story.
 What does B. Wordsworth's nature symbolise.
 Do you think the narrator is very sensitive and emotional young boy? Justify your answer from
examples from the text.
 Describe the first meeting between the narrator and B. Wordsworth.
 How does this encounter develop into a companionship? Illustrate using two concrete examples from
the text.
 What does the narrator discover when he re-visits B. Wordsworth's house after the poet's death.
Explain its significance in the context of the story.
 The short story ‘B. Wordsworth’ explores an unusual friendship between an old man and a boy.
Discuss.
The story of an Hour

 Mrs. Mallard is described as descending the stairs "like a goddess of victory". In what ways does she
feels herself victorious? Discuss the idea of being 'free' as it is presented in 'The story of an Hour' by
Kate Chopin.
The Singing Lesson

 Katherine Mansfield through The Singing Lesson reveals that the point of grief affects everyone and
not the person who is directly involved. Discuss.
 ‘The Singing Lesson’ by Katherine Mansfield explores the intrinsic tie between human emotions and
music. Discuss with close reference to the text.

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 GUIDE FOR SCHOOL ENGLISH LITERATURE (PAPER – II)
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 In ‘The Singing Lesson’ by Katherine Mansfield it is learnt that our moods determine the course of our
life and colour our surroundings. Discuss with close reference to the text.
 Narrate how the students get involved in Miss Meadow’s emotional journey in the story, ‘The Singing
Lesson’
Salvatore

 What made Salvatore a responsible brother and a man of emotion

 Salvatore was a man of inherent goodness. Comment
 How was salvatore's relationship with Assunta and the two children?
 W. Somerset Morgan in his short story entitled 'Salvatore' writes about a simple fisherman's life.
Describe the character of the fisherman with close reference to the text.
The Chinese Statue

 Alexander Heathcote's love for art is one of the most important themes of the story 'The Chinese
Statue'. Explain.
 Describe the journey of the statue in England till it was handed down to Alex Heathcote.

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 Narrrate the fate of the statue in the hands of Alex Heathcote.
A Gorilla in the Guest Room

 Referring closely to the short story ‘A Gorilla in the Guest Room’ describe the slow development of
the narrator‟s relationship with a gorilla.

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 GUIDE FOR SCHOOL ENGLISH LITERATURE (PAPER – II)
Study guide for students PAGE : ~ 8 ~

POEM (REVERIE)
Main Focus :

 The Spider and the Fly

 The Gift of India

Next Focus:
 Dover Beach
 The Dolphins
Extra:

 Crossing the Bar

 Desiderata

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SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:
The Spider and the Fly

 How does the spider try to lure the fly in the poem' The Spider and the Fly'.
 State how the fly Falls prey to the trickery of the spider.
 How is the poem a didactic one.
 Describe the spider's den in Mary Botham Howitt 'The Spider and the Fly'. How does the silly fly finally
get caught in it.
 'The spider and The Fly' makes a profound observation on human character under the garb of a
simple Children's tale. Comment.
The Gift of India

 Referring closely to the poem ‘The Gift of India’, relate what Mother India says about her brave
sons.
 What idea does the poem give you of the role of Indian soldiers during British rule?
 In what way is the poem a celebration and yet suffused with pathos?
Dover Beach

 How does Matthew Arnold in Dover Beach describe the crisis of faith during the Victorian Era?
 Referring closely to the poem ‘Dover Beach’, show what picture of life and human condition is being
painted in the poem by Matthew Arnold?
 What does Arnold mean by the “Sea of Faith” and what does he think has replaced it?
 What does the term “love” signify in the line “Ah, love, let us be true”?
 How does the poem ‘Dover Beach’ imply that love is the only consolation amidst the spiritual crisis in
the contemporary world?
 Describe the scenes in the opening lines of the poem Dover Beach. Standing on the sea shore, what
can the poet hear?
 Why does the speaker refer to Sophocles in this poem? What is the cause of the poet’s sorrow?
 To whom is the poem addressed? What does the speaker ask of himself and the listener?
The Dolphins

 'The Dolphins' though written from the perspective of dolphins, captures the voice of all the animals
who are trapped, abused and exploited exploited by human beings. Discuss.

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 GUIDE FOR SCHOOL ENGLISH LITERATURE (PAPER – II)
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 Show how the poem The Dolphins by Carol Ann Duffy is a dramatic monologue that captures the
plight and the agony of animals in captivity.
 ‘The Dolphins’ is a poem of protest against the slow destruction of Nature and natural creatures by
Man. Discuss.
Desiderata

 What are the values underscore in the poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann how can these values
improve human life.
 Analyse the poem ‘Desiderata’, as a guide to live a meaningful life.
Crossing the Bar

 Describe Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s ‘Crossing the Bar’ as the poet’s preparation for death.
 Crossing the Bar can be percieved as symbolizing the final journey of Man. Comment.

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