ISC 2024

ENGLISH PAPER 2
QUESTION BANK WITH ANSWERS

THE TEMPEST

QUESTION 1

".............for I must
Bestow upon the eyes of this young couple
Some vanity of mine art."
In reference to the above lines from Act 4 sc 1 of The Tempest, show how Prospero
presents a spectacular vanity of his art, and culminates it with the characteristic
Shakespearean philosophy of life. Write your answer in 200 to 250 words.
(10 marks)

Answer: Prospero, desiring to amuse Ferdinand and Miranda with a show of his magic
art, bids Ariel ,summons band of spirits immediately to the place.

Soon enters Iris, the Goddess of the rainbow and messenger of Juno. She summons
Ceres (Mother Earth) from her favourite haunts, "thy rich leas/of wheat, rye,barley,
vetches, oats and peas". She bids Ceres come and entertain Juno, who is coming there
with her peacocks. Ceres soon appears and learns that she has been summoned "a
contract of true love to celebrate". However, Ceres expresses her unwillingness to meet
Venus and Cupid, whose company she has shunned since "they did plot/ The means that
dusky Dis my daughter got." Iris sets her mind at ease by telling her that Venus and
Cupid tried to do some mischief here, but failing in their purpose has retreated.

Soon Ceres is joined by Juno and both bestow their blessings upon Ferdinand and
Miranda. Juno gifts " Honour, riches, marriage-blessing,/ Long continuance, and
increasing hourly joys", and Ceres presents "Earth's increase, foison plenty".

Iris next summons the water-nymphs and reapers, who put on their "rye-straw hats on/
And these fresh nymphs encounter everyone/ In country footing." Towards the end of
this spectacle Prospero starts suddenly and dissolves the masque.

Ferdinand seems greatly agitated at this abrupt dissolution of the wonderful spectacle.
Prospero converses with him about the transitoriness of earthly things. He says that "like
the baseless fabric of this vision-/ The cloud -capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,/ The
solemn temple,the great globe itself", and all that it contains "shall dissolve/ And like the
insubstantial pageant faded/ Leave not a rack behind." He further says that humans
belong to a brief life that" is rounded with a sleep."
QUESTION 2

"If in Naples/ I should report this now,would they believe me?"

In reference to the above lines from Act 3 sc 3 of The Tempest, describe the series of
unbelievable or incredible events that unfold in this scene and the impact they have on
the royal personages. Write your answer in around 200 to 250 words.
( 10 marks )

Answer: When the royal travellers become "oppressed with travel", of a sudden, there is
solemn and strange music in the air. Then several strange shapes enter, bringing in a
banquet; they dance round it with gestures of salutation, and then, inviting the king to
eat, they depart.

After this occurrence,the travellers are half inclined to believe all the marvellous tales
told by them. Sebastian comments that he is ready to believe, "That there are unicorns"
and "the phoenix throne". Gonzalo adds that there is nothing wrong to believe in the
stories of "mountaineers dew-lapp'd like bulls", or of those "whose heads stood in their
breasts".

As they are going to sit down to the feast, it is snatched away by Ariel, disguised as a
Harpy. A spirit voice ( voice of Ariel ) denounces Alonso, Sebastian and Antonio as the
"three men of sin", whom the "never-surfeited sea" has belched them up on this island
as they "amongst men/ being most unfit to live". The Harpy reminds them that they had
"from Milan did supplant good Prospero" along with his innocent child Miranda. The
Gods, nature and destiny have become so incensed by this that they " thee of thy son,
Alonso,/ They have bereft; and do pronounce by me/ Lingering perdition - worse than any
death". There is no salvation from this except "heart's sorrow/ And a clear life ensuing".

Then Ariel vanishes in thunder. The shapes enter again and carry away the table.
Prospero is greatly pleased with this performance as he feels " a grace it had,
devouring".

The effect of the spirit's denunciation of Alonso's crime leaves him much humbled and
penitent and confirms his belief that his son is lost forever. He says that he will seek
Ferdinand "deeper than e'er plummet sounded/ And with him there lie mudded". Alonso,
Antonio and Sebastian then disperse, "their great guilt/ Like poison given to work a great
time after,/ Now 'gins to bite their spirits". Gonzalo, fearing that they may do violence to
themselves or to one another, follows them and bids others follow.

QUESTION 3

In reference to Act 3 sc 1, show how Miranda and Ferdinand express unconditional and
pristine love for each other, notwithstanding the difference in the respective stations in
their lives. Write your answer in around 200 to 250 words. (
10 marks )

Answer: FERDINAND

Ferdinand is partly reconciled to the task of carrying wood. Even this menial labour is
quite bearable to him because "the mistress I serve quickens what's dead". He is "most
busy" in thoughts about Miranda when he is least occupied in the task.

When Miranda offers to bear the logs for him, Ferdinand says he would "rather crack my
sinews, break my back/ Than she should such dishonour undergo". He desires to know
her name so that he may set it down in her daily prayers,and Miranda lets him know her
name, forgetting her father's command to the contrary.

Ferdinand praises Miranda quite rapturously and says that though he has liked several
women for several virtues, he has never come across someone "but some defect in
her/Did quarrel with the noblest grace she ow'd", but Miranda is "So perfect and
peerless, are created/ Of every creature's best!" He then declares his love openly and
says that "Beyond all limit of what else I' the world/Do love, prize,honour you". He kneels
and offers his hand to her as a pledge of love and devotion.

MIRANDA

Miranda comes to Ferdinand while he is bearing the logs, and prays him to take rest a
while and wishes that "the lightning had/ Burnt up those logs that you're enjoined to
pile". She even offers to carry them herself. When Ferdinand asks her name, she can't
resist telling him even against her father's command.

She tells Ferdinand that before him she had seen no other men except her own father,so
"how features are abroad/ I'm skilless of". But she would not wish "Any companion in the
world but you".

When Ferdinand declares his love for her openly, Miranda starts crying and says "I am a
fool/ To weep at what I am glad of". She,prompted by "plain and holy innocence"
declares that she would be Ferdinand's wife " if you will marry me/ If not,I'll die your
maid".

The scene is an exquisite love-idyll, the beauty of which is enhanced by the freshness
and beauty of Miranda and Ferdinand's sentiments.

QUESTION 4
"If thy greatness will/ Revenge it on him- for I know thou dar'st"
In reference to the above lines from Act 3 sc 2, show how a revenge is planned out in this
scene. Write your answer in a single paragraph of about 100 to 150 words. (5)

Answer: Caliban informs Stephano and Trinculo that he serves a tyrant, Prospero,who
has robbed him of this island by his magical skills. He says that he can take Stephano to
Prospero's cave,where he would be asleep, where "thou mayst knock a nail into his
head". Caliban says that it is Prospero's habit to sleep in the afternoon. It is then that
Stephano can knock out his brains after "Having first seiz'd his books". Stephano can
smash his skull with a log of wood, or rip open his belly with a pointed stick, or cut his
windpipe with a knife. But first his magic books must be possessed, for "without
them/He's but a sot, as I am,not hath not/One spirit to command". Prospero also
possesses certain fine things which he calls "brave utensils" and desires that when he
has a house of his own,he will decorate it with these. And the most important thing to
consider is the beauty of Miranda. Prospero himself "Calls her a nonpareil". she will
become Stephano's wife.

QUESTION 5

What are the roles played by Iris, Ceres and Juno in effecting the masque in Act 4 sc 1 of
The Tempest? Write your answer in a short paragraph of about 100 to 150 words.
(5)

Answer: Iris, the Goddess of Rainbow, enters the scene and invites Ceres, the Goddess
of Agriculture,to come at the behest of Juno, the Goddess of Heaven, from her fertile
lands and grassy mountain slopes, to "a contract of true love to celebrate/ And some
donation freely to estate/ On the blest lovers". But Ceres is apprehensive of the presence
of Venus and Cupid, " whose scandaled company/ I have forsworn", as they had
connived with Dis to abduct Ceres' daughter Proserpine. Iris assures Ceres that Venus
and Cupid have been forced to divert to Paphos,as Mars has returned there and wants
Venus to join him. Juno and Ceres render their blessings on Miranda and Ferdinand.
Juno blesses with "Honour,riches, marriage blessing", and Ceres with "Earth's increase,
foison plenty". Then Iris summons the Naiads with "sedged crowns and ever-harmless
looks" to help celebrate a contract of true love.

REVERIE

QUESTION 6

"And all mankind that haunted nigh

Had sought their household fires".
In reference to the above lines from 'The Darkling Thrush', show how Thomas Hardy has
depicted nature in the poem. Write your answer in around 200 to 250 words.
( 10 marks )

Answer: In 'The Darkling Thrush', Thomas Hardy has depicted nature as indifferent to the
existence of mankind and suffering.

In the beginning, the narrator is found to lean upon a wooden gate "when the Frost was
spectre-grey". Winter is at its peak and the entire world is grey and desolate at "the
weakening eye of the day". The "tangled" stems of shrubs line the sky "like strings of
broken lyres". They remind the narrator of an old, broken instrument. The narrator is
outside on a barren landscape, while the rest of the world is comfortably inside, warmed
by their household fire.

The "land's sharp features" appear to the poet as the body of the dying nineteenth
century. The cloud is like a "crypt", and the winter wind is a "death lament". The "ancient
pulse of germ and birth/ Was shrunken hard and dry", which suggests that the very
processes of nature are at a standstill, and that next spring might not come. Every spirit
on the planet earth seems "fervourless",or lacking in passion and intensity, like the
narrator himself.

The narrator suddenly hears an aged thrush, "frail,gaunt and small",having "blast-
beruffled plume", pouring out its heart in a rapturous evening song. The song of the
thrush in the "growing gloom" is suggestive of both hope and desperation. It is an
indirect reference to Christ's suffering and death on the Cross; followed by resurrection
from the dead, bringing hope to mankind. The narrator is unable to comprehend what
"terrestrial things" could make the bird so happy and make it sing.

The word "blessed" and capitalisation of "Hope", suggests that there might be religious
or spiritual reasons for the bird's joyful singing. First, an "evensong" is a service of
evening prayers and so related to religious ceremonies in a church. Second, the
"carolings" are reminiscent of Christmas Carols. Third, hope is one of the three Christian
virtues ( Faith, Hope and Charity).

QUESTION 7

All of us desire escape from the world but there are limits imposed by the real world.
Discuss this statement with reference to the poem 'Birches'. Write your answer in about
200 to 250 words.

Answer: The poem "Birches" deals with the theme of the limits imposed by the real world
as a consequence of being in the world and existing as a person. The borders of the
world define a person and place him or her in the real world, just as the birch trees are
bent back towards the earth by ice-storms.
In his childhood, the boy, "whose only play was what he found himself", would swing on
the birches till he "subdued his father's trees/By riding them down over and over again",
until he took the stiffness out of them and made them permanently subdued. He took
pains carefully to reach the top of each tree, which is similar to the care that one must
take to fill a cup "Up to the brim, and even above the brim". The poet is here describing a
method of reaching to a realm beyond the real. The boy, after reaching the top of the tree,
kicks his feet, presumably holding one branch. Then "he flung outward, feet first, with a
swish,/ kicking his way down through the air to the ground".

The poet's desire to move upward, when he is "weary of consideration,/And life is too
much like a pathless wood", and when he is ravaged by the relentless rigours of life,
"face burns and tickles with the cobwebs/ Broken across it, and one eye is weeping/
From a twig's having lashed it open", is defeated by the limits imposed by the real world
and his own affinity to this mortal life and mundane earth, "Earth's the right place for
love:/ I don't know where it's likely to get better". The poet wants to get away from the
pressures of life, not in the sense of dying, but in the sense of returning to the innocence
and beauty of nature.

Robert Frost wants his imagination to allow him to approach "heaven" and then to bring
him to the real world. The poem's concluding lines, "One could do worse than be a
swinger of birches" - contains darker possibilities. On the other hand, the limits of the
real world may be painful, but they define one as a person; if it is a solitary existence,it is
still an existence. Without limits, there can be no love or any other human emotion.

QUESTION 8

"We were blessed and now we are not blessed"

In reference to the above lines from 'The Dolphins', show how the themes of
'enslavement' and 'human greed and cruelty' are manifest in the poem. Write your answer
in about 200 to 250 words. ( 10 )

Answer: Enslavement is one of the main themes of the poem. The poem begins with the
dolphin's words that "world is what you swim in, or dance". The words 'swim' and 'dance'
are playful words depicting joy and freedom, but in the very next line, reality strikes hard.
The dolphin's are in their element but are enslaved. Though they are in water, they live a
life totally opposite to their free and carefree life in the ocean. They are now restricted to
a limited space in a
pool where they cannot swim or dance freely. Their movements are constantly regulated
by a man in authority.

"We were blessed and now we are not blessed.

After travelling such space for days we began
To translate. It was the same space. It is
The same space always and above it is the man."

The narrow pool does not give these dolphins new experiences. It does not offer them
freedom and enjoyment. It is monotonous and tiring. Amid this captivity, they do not feel
blessed. Earlier, they had everything they wanted, but now they are in a world that does
not even let them dream.

"And now we are no longer blessed, for the world

Will not deepen to dream in."

The theme of human greed and cruelty are reflected in the poem through the dolphins
who give voice to the oppression and cruelty meted out to all animals.

Their life under the control of human beings is in sharp contrast with their free days. The
moon has disappeared for them as they are always indoors. Their life is monotonous,
circling the "grooves of water on a single note". The other dolphins felt a loss, and the
speaker dolphin's heart was turned into stone. There is no hope and what is left with
these majestic creatures is a plastic toy. Also, every day they have to sink to the limits of
this pool until the whistle blows.

"There is a plastic toy. There is no hope. We sin

To the limits of this pool until the whistle blows.
There is a man and our mind knows we will die here."

The poem indirectly requests human beings not to destroy the natural habitats of
animals and their lives. They have as much right to live in their natural habitat as we
humans have.

ECHOES

QUESTION 9

Discuss how the use of imagery and suspense add to the element of horror in Satyajit
Ray's 'Fritz'. Write your answer in around 200 to 250 words. ( 10 )

Answer: Satyajit Ray has used imagery in such a way as to bring the story visually alive.
He has harmoniously blended different images to create a feeling of creepiness
associated with such an unusual ghost story.

Firstly, the author has used the town of Bundi in Rajasthan for the setting of the story, in
contrast to the famous tourist spots like Jaipur, Udaipur or Chittor. Secondly, the main
characters in the story stay in an old circuit house built during the time of the British,
which is done to create the atmosphere for a ghost story. The visual images used to
describe the circuit house and the town of Bundi are:

"The rooms had high ceilings and the skylights had long, dangling ropes which could be
pulled to open and shut them."

"The only reminders of modern times were the electric poles. Otherwise it seemed as
though we were back in old Rajputana."

"It was difficult to believe we were living in the age of machines."

There are also examples of auditory images:

"A slight noise woke me a little later."

"The first time I heard a shuffling noise near the window."

"There was something eerie about the silence that afternoon. All we could hear was the
noise made by a few monkeys sitting on the gulmohar tree across the cobbled path."

Satyajit Ray has build up a sense of suspense and mystery in the story, which finally
leads to an unusual end. He has done so in the following ways:

By beginning the story with the trip to Bundi by Jayanto, thirty one years after his first
visit, when he was a six years old child.

Jayanto is described in a sad and pensive mood. At first he could recall his visit to the
place with his parents. But suddenly he goes into a flashback mode and remembers
everything.

Jayanto's description of his obsession with a strange doll, which his uncle had gifted
him.

The destruction of the doll by two stray dogs and Jayanto's act of burying it under a
deodar tree.

During his second visit, Jayanto suddenly remembered the deodar tree and his search
for the tree in the compound of the circuit house.

Jayanto's weird notion that something had walked over his chest at night, showing some
round marks on the cover of his quilt.

Jayanto's feeling that Fritz had come back to life and it was he, who came into his room
that night.
The narrator's suggestion is to dig the earth under the deodar tree to find something of
Fritz.

All the above points create suspense in the minds of the readers and suggest something
mysterious, unusual and evil is likely to happen.

QUESTION 10

The artist and his art choke in a highly commercialized world, where success is
determined not by excellence but by advertisement. Discuss this statement in about 200
to 250 words with reference to the story, 'Quality'. ( 10 )

Answer: The Industrial Revolution that began in England in the middle of the eighteenth
century and later on spread to the other parts of the world, had a far reaching impact on
the lives of the traditional artisans. The story 'Quality' depicts the woes of such artisans
in the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution, where mass production compromised on
quality and led to the slow decay of the cottage industries and the artists associated with
such industries.

The Gessler Brothers are portrayed in the story as traditional craftsmen associated with
the business of shoemaking. The narrator came to realize the woes of the Gessler
Brothers only when Mr Gessler discussed at length the conditions and hardships of his
business, caused by stiff competition from big firms, which mass-produced goods using
machines and sold them in the market by luring customers with advertisements. But the
Gessler Brothers were not willing to compromise on quality and they found it difficult to
exist in the industrialized world, marked by mass production and cut-throat competition.
Since they made everything by hand, without using any machine or help, they took a
pretty long time and in the process lost their customers. Whatever money they got, they
used it to pay rent and buy quality leather.

Despite losing his brother and a part of his shop, Mr Gessler could not give up his
commitment to excellence, because for him shoemaking was a sublime art. He never
worked for money, but for the love of his art. In fact, he was the personification of the
ideals of quality and excellence. He continued to endure hardships and helplessly
watched his business being taken over by the big firms. It shows that such craftsmen as
Mr Gessler resign themselves to their fate and continue to endure it silently as
manifested by the words 'slow starvation'. This shows the gradual decay and death of the
handicraft industry caused by the new factory system.

The narrator admired the Gessler Brothers' art of shoemaking as "incarnating the spirit
of all foot-gear". He felt that such beautiful shoes could only be made by the artists, who
had seen the very soul of the shoes and who even seemed to "dream of boots".
Whenever the narrator visited the Gessler Brothers' shop, he felt as if he had entered a
church due to its calm atmosphere and the way the Gessler Brothers holistically made
the shoes. He even seemed to like the aroma of leather shoes as he would sit calmly on
the only wooden chair and inhale the soothing smell of leather.

The story 'Quality' poignantly depicts the woes of the artisans, who did not go with the
tide by adopting new methods of production initiated by the Industrial Revolution. This
led to their downfall.

Solve the following questions:

Fritz

5 marks questions:
Q1. Cite the difference between Bundi of Jayanto's childhood days and the present
times.
Q2. What did Jayanta tell the narrator about Fritz?
Q3. What is your reaction to the ending of the story?
Q4. Discuss the theme of the story Fritz in details.
Q5. Comment on the significance of the last line of the story, Fritz.
Q6. Describe the Circuit House in which Jayanto stayed as a child.
Q7. How did Fritz meet his death?
Q8. What did Jayanto experience one night at the Circuit House? What was Shankar's
opinion about it?
Q9. What did they find when they dug the ground below the Deodar tree?
Q10. Comment on the reaction of the two friends when the Deodar tree was dug.

10 marks questions:

Q1. Fritz is an open ended story. Comment and elaborate on it.

Q2. Who was Fritz? What significance does it have in the story?
Q3. The story Fritz has a sting in the tail. Does this make it more interesting or more
intriguing? Give your opinion.
Q4. Describe how memory plays an important role in Fritz.
Q5.Fritz can be called a strange and unusual ghost story.Discuss.
Q6. In the short story Fritz, show how Jayanto, a man profoundly influenced by
memories is drawn by them to a horrifying reality at the climax.
Q7.Fritz depicts Ray's unique ability to conjure up an unusual plot with supernatural
connotations. Elucidate.

Quality

5 marks questions :
Q1. How were the Gessler brothers in the story 'Quality 'different from the other
shoemakers of their time?
Q2. How did the author come to know Mr.Gessler? Why did he visit the shop of Gessler
brothers?
Q3. What were the two special qualities of shoes made by Gessler brothers?
Q4. What was Mr Gessler's complaint against the big firms?
Q5. How did the author come to know about Mr.Gessler's death? What was his reaction
to the news?
Q6. Why did the author order so many pairs of boots every time he went to the shop of
Gessler brothers? Did he really need them?
Q7. Describe briefly the shop of Mr Gessler.
Q8.What should be the attitude of a customer when he goes to buy shoes from Gessler
brothers?

10 marks:
Q1. Narrate the circumstances that led to the tragic end of the Gessler brothers.
Q2. Substantiate with examples to show the woes and sufferings of traditional artisans in
the industrialised world, in the story Quality.
Q3. Do you think Quality is an appropriate title for the short story. Give reasons to
support your answer.
Q4. Quality establishes and upholds the dignity of labour and the almost spiritual
character of craftsmanship . Discuss.
Q5. Give a brief character sketch of Mr. Gessler as depicted in the story Quality.
Q6. Mr Gessler was destroyed but not defeated. Do you agree with the statement? Justify
your answer with examples from the story.

Birches

Q1. What exactly differentiates the swinging of birches in adulthood from that in the
poet's childhood?
Q2. Why does the poet conclude that "one could do worse than be a swinger of
birches"?
Q3. How does the poet bring out his wish to escape temporarily from routine adult life in
the poem Birches? Why does he wish for a temporary escapade?
Q4. Relate the nostalgia one experiences on revisiting places where childhood was
spent. How does nostalgia play a major role in the poem Birches.
Q5. With reference to the poem Birches, answer why was swinging the birches the best
sport for the young boy?
Q6. Why is the temporary escape so essential for the poet?
Q7. Why does an adult person long for the simple actions and experiences of childhood?
Q8. It is more often said that Frost's poems begin in delight but end in wisdom. How far
is this true for the poem Birches?

The Darkling thrush

Q1. How is hope ushered in by the end of the poem?(5)
Q2. How does the poet bring out a sense of dreariness in Nature?(10)
Q3. Describe some imageries which Hardy has used in the poem The Darkling thrush.
Also mention their significance in the poem.(10)
Q4. How has Hardy depicted nature in the poem, The Darkling thrush?(10)
Q5. Discuss The Darkling thrush as an elegy for the troubled 19th century.(10)
Q6.In what ways is the poem The Darkling thrush an attempt by the poet to search for
meaning in the world?(10)

Dolphins

Q1. The dolphins' captivity shows the importance of freedom .Explain with reference to
the poem 'Dolphins'. (10)
Q2. What is the' constant flowing guilt' according to Duffy? (5)

Q3. How is the poem suffused with the lament and indignation suffered by the innocent
dolphins? ( 10)
Q4. Bring out the theme of isolation, dislocation and nostalgia as brought out in the
poem The dolphins. (10)

Solve the following questions:

Fritz

5 marks questions:
Q1. Cite the difference between Bundi of Jayanto's childhood days and the present times.
Q2. What did Jayanta tell the narrator about Fritz?
Q3. What is your reaction to the ending of the story?
Q4. Discuss the theme of the story Fritz in details.
Q5. Comment on the significance of the last line of the story, Fritz.
Q6. Describe the Circuit House in which Jayanto stayed as a child.
Q7. How did Fritz meet his death?
Q8. What did Jayanto experience one night at the Circuit House? What was Shankar's opinion
about it?
Q9. What did they find when they dug the ground below the Deodar tree?
Q10. Comment on the reaction of the two friends when the Deodar tree was dug.

10 marks questions:

Q1. Fritz is an open ended story. Comment and elaborate on it.

Q2. Who was Fritz? What significance does it have in the story?
Q3. The story Fritz has a sting in the tail. Does this make it more interesting or more intriguing?
Give your opinion.
Q4. Describe how memory plays an important role in Fritz.
Q5.Fritz can be called a strange and unusual ghost story.Discuss.
Q6. In the short story Fritz, show how Jayanto, a man profoundly influenced by memories is
drawn by them to a horrifying reality at the climax.
Q7.Fritz depicts Ray's unique ability to conjure up an unusual plot with supernatural
connotations. Elucidate.

Quality

5 marks questions :
Q1. How were the Gessler brothers in the story 'Quality 'different from the other shoemakers of
their time?
Q2. How did the author come to know Mr.Gessler? Why did he visit the shop of Gessler brothers?
Q3. What were the two special qualities of shoes made by Gessler brothers?
Q4. What was Mr Gessler's complaint against the big firms?
Q5. How did the author come to know about Mr.Gessler's death? What was his reaction to the
news?
Q6. Why did the author order so many pairs of boots every time he went to the shop of Gessler
brothers? Did he really need them?
Q7. Describe briefly the shop of Mr Gessler.
Q8.What should be the attitude of a customer when he goes to buy shoes from Gessler brothers?

10 marks:
Q1. Narrate the circumstances that led to the tragic end of the Gessler brothers.
Q2. Substantiate with examples to show the woes and sufferings of traditional artisans in the
industrialised world, in the story Quality.
Q3. Do you think Quality is an appropriate title for the short story. Give reasons to support your
answer.
Q4. Quality establishes and upholds the dignity of labour and the almost spiritual character of
craftsmanship . Discuss.
Q5. Give a brief character sketch of Mr. Gessler as depicted in the story Quality.
Q6. Mr Gessler was destroyed but not defeated. Do you agree with the statement? Justify your
answer with examples from the story.

Birches

Q1. What exactly differentiates the swinging of birches in adulthood from that in the poet's
childhood?
Q2. Why does the poet conclude that "one could do worse than be a swinger of birches"?
Q3. How does the poet bring out his wish to escape temporarily from routine adult life in the
poem Birches? Why does he wish for a temporary escapade?
Q4. Relate the nostalgia one experiences on revisiting places where childhood was spent. How
does nostalgia play a major role in the poem Birches.
Q5. With reference to the poem Birches, answer why was swinging the birches the best sport for
the young boy?
Q6. Why is the temporary escape so essential for the poet?
Q7. Why does an adult person long for the simple actions and experiences of childhood?
Q8. It is more often said that Frost's poems begin in delight but end in wisdom. How far is this
true for the poem Birches?

The Darkling thrush

Q1. How is hope ushered in by the end of the poem?(5)
Q2. How does the poet bring out a sense of dreariness in Nature?(10)
Q3. Describe some imageries which Hardy has used in the poem The Darkling thrush. Also
mention their significance in the poem.(10)
Q4. How has Hardy depicted nature in the poem, The Darkling thrush?(10)
Q5. Discuss The Darkling thrush as an elegy for the troubled 19th century.(10)
Q6.In what ways is the poem The Darkling thrush an attempt by the poet to search for meaning in
the world?(10)

Dolphins

Q1. The dolphins' captivity shows the importance of freedom .Explain with reference to the poem
'Dolphins'. (10)
Q2. What is the' constant flowing guilt' according to Duffy? (5)

Q3. How is the poem suffused with the lament and indignation suffered by the innocent
dolphins? ( 10)
Q4. Bring out the theme of isolation, dislocation and nostalgia as brought out in the poem The
dolphins. (10)