Elective English Part II Paper IIB (5 th ) Poetry: Tennyson 01. Tennyson s Ulysses represents the eternal spirit of man. Do you agree? Substantiate your answer. 02. Ulysses and Telemachus stand for two kinds of philosophy of life. Discuss with reference to Tennyson s Ulysses. 03. Attempt a critical appreciation of Tennyson s Ulysses. 01. How is the contrast between youth and age is made in Tennyson s Ulysses? 02. He works his work, I mine. Comment on the two types of work. 03. Critically examine the last line of Tennyson s Ulysses. 04. Why is experience compared to an arch? Browning 01. Examine The Last Ride Together as a dramatic monologue. 02. Show how Browning s philosophy of life and philosophy of love are fused together in The Last Ride Together. 03. Browning s The Last Ride Together registers his characteristic optimism. Do you agree? 01. Who knows but the world may end to-night? Why does the speaker put this question? What light does this utterance throw on the speaker s characters? 02. I hoped she would love me; here we ride. Do you think that this summarises the speaker s position as a rejected lover? 03. My riding is better, by their leave. Why does the speaker make this claim? 04. Explain Browning s concept of the instant made eternity. Page 01 of 06
Owen 01. Attempt a critical appreciation of Strange Meeting. 02. My subject is war and the pity of war, said Owen. Do you think that Strange Meeting supports his assertion? 01. I mean the truth untold Who is the speaker, and what does he say about the truth untold? 02. Briefly comment on the title of the poem Strange Meeting. 03. Bring out the significance of the line I am the enemy you killed, my friend. Whitman 01. Appreciate Whitman as a poet with reference to the poems you have read. 02. Attempt a critical appreciation of I Hear America Singing. 03. Compare and contrast I Hear America Singing and I Sit and Look out. 01. Describe the varied carols the poet hears in I Hear America Singing. 02. Trace the note of optimism running through I Hear America Singing. 03. Account for the poet s silence in I Hear America Singing. Frost 01. Discuss Frost as nature poet with special reference to the poems prescribed for you. 02. Critically appreciate The Road Not Taken. 03. Human commitment and choice, and a subdued sense of loss often find lyrical expressions in Frost. Do the poems on your syllabus support the statement? 01. Bring out the significance of the line I have miles to go before I sleep. 02. Comment on the title The Road Not Taken. 03. What do the roads stand for? 04. How are a stern voice of duty and a lure of beauty contrasted in Stopping by Woods? Page 02 of 06
Drama: Essay-type Questions: [Marks 14] Macbeth Paper IIIB (6 th ) 01. Discuss Macbeth as a Shakespearean tragedy. 02. Does Macbeth measure up to your idea of a tragic hero? 03. Bring out the dramatic significance of the Banquet scene. 04. Trace the element of tragic irony in Macbeth. 05. How far does Lady Macbeth play the decisive role in Macbeth? Argue your answer. 06. Is Banquo a foil to Macbeth? Support your answer. 07. Comment on Shakespeare s use of the supernatural in Macbeth. 08. The porter scene both relives the tragic tension and accentuates the tragic irony of the play. Discuss. 09. Explain the nature of influence exerted by the Weird Sisters on Macbeth. 10. How does the Sleep-walking scene bring out Lady Macbeth s state of mind? Does it held us to understand his nature? Look Back in Anger 01. Critically examine the title Look Back in Anger. 02. Would you regard Look Back in Anger as a kitchen-sink drama? Give reasons. 03. Discuss Look Back in Anger as a modern drama. 04. Comment on Osborne s representation of woman characters in Look Back in Anger. 05. Does Look Back in Anger reflect on the post-war situation of England? Argue your answer. 06. Discuss Jimmy Porter as on Angry Young Man. 07. Jimmy Porter shows both rebelliousness and disillusionment. Discuss. 08. Comment on the Jimmy-Alison relationship in Look Back in anger. All My Sons 01. Do you agree with the view that All My Sons is an Ibsenesque play? Argue your answer. 02. All My Sons is an investigation to discover what exact part a man plays in his own fate. Discuss. 03. Examine the father-son relationship in All My Sons. 04. Bring out the significance of the title All My Sons. 05. Trace the development of Joe Keller in All My Sons. 06. Comment on Miller s treatment of women characters in All My Sons. She Stoops to Conquer 01. She Stoops to conquer is more a comedy of intrigue than a comedy of character. Do you agree? 02. Examine Goldsmith s use of comic devices in She Stoops to Conquer. Page 03 of 06
03. Would you call She Stoops to Conquer a comedy of youth? Argue your answer with adequate textual support. 04. Comment on the dramatic function of Toy Lumpkin in She Stoops to Conquer. 05. Examine the aptness of the title of She Stoops to Conquer. 06. Who do you think is the central character in She Stoops to Conquer? Support your answer. 07. What dramatic function is served by the Hastings-Neville sub-plot? 08. The incidents in She Stoops to Conquer are so designed as not to seem improbable. Do you agree? 09. She Stoops to Conquer is a comedy with some serious social message. Discuss. 10. Miss Neville is a foil to Miss Hardcastle. Do you agree? Arms and the Man 01. Discuss Arms and the Man as a play of ideas. 02. Justify the aptness of the title of Arms and the Man. 03. Is Bluntschli ant anti-hero? Argue your answer. 04. Compare and contrast Bluntschli and Sergius. 05. Is Louka a foil to Raina? Support your answer with suitable illustrations. 06. Consider Arms and the Man as a maturation story of the heroine. 07. Summarise the Coat episode and comment on its dramatic function. 08. Show how Shaw combines entertainment with instruction in Arms and the Man. 09. Bring out the contrast between Nicola and Louka and comment on their respective roles. 10. Discuss Arms and the Man as an anti romantic comedy. 11. Assess the character of Raina. Short Questions: [Marks 4] Macbeth 01. So foul and fair a day I have not seen. Who says this and When? Bring out the note of irony underlying the statement. 02. why do you dress me in borrow d robes? Name the speaker and the person spoken to. Give the figurative meaning of the lines. 03. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. What does the speaker see? Is it a real object or a false creation? Support your answer. 04. Had I but died an hour before this chance, I had lived a blessed time Does the speaker feign grief? Do the words betray a deadly truth? 05. It is too full o the milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way Who is the person spoken of? How does the speaker describe his nature? 06. Alas, poor country, Almost afraid to know itself! Who is the speaker? What country does he refer to? How does he portray the condition of is country? 07. all the perfumes of Arbia will not sweeten this little land. Why does the speaker say so? Is there any irony in it? 08. I pull in resolution, and begin To doubt... Why does the speaker pull in resolution. What does he begin and why? Page 04 of 06
09. Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts Who invokes the spirits and why? 10. Duncan is in his sleeps well. Bring out the significance of the above lines. Look Back in Anger 01. Show your acquaintance with the character of Colonel Redfern. 02. Write a note on the role of Cliff. 03. How does the play Look Back in Anger end? 04. Nobody thinks, nobody cares Who is the speaker? What does the above speech signify? 05. Comment on the opening of Look Back in Anger. 06. Comment on Hellena s conduct towards Jimmy at the close of the second act. 07. Comment on the symbolical implications of bear and squirrel in Look Back in Anger. 08. Does Allison return to Jimmy a changed woman? All My Sons 01. What significance does the horoscope have in the Act-I of All My Sons? 02. Why does mother want Joe to stop that jail business? 03. That s a mistake, but it ain t murder. Who says this and about whom? Bring out the contextual meaning of the line. 04. Why did Chris once feel wrong to be alive? 05. Why does Joe feign to be sick when Steve calls him? 06. What does Jerry finally do as an idealist? 07. Why does Joe shoot himself? 08. Would you consider Chris as Miller s mouthpiece in All My Sons? She Stoops to Conquer 01. Its fopperies come down not only as inside passengers, but in the very basket. What is meant by the basket? Who are the inside passengers? What does the speaker mean to say here? 02. A very troublesome fellow this, as I ever met with. Who is the speaker? Who is the troublesome fellow and why is he so called? 03. Why does Marlow fail to recognise Miss Hardcastle when she reappears as the barmaid? 04. There s morality, however, in his reply. What is his reply? Why does the speaker think that there is morality in it? 05. I can bear witness to that. Who is the speaker? What does that refer to? What impression do you form of the speaker from the above line? 06. Tomorrow we shall gather all the poor of the parish about us, and the Mistakes of the Night shall be crowned with a merry morning. Who says this and to whom? What mistakes are referred to here? What is meant by a merry morning? 07. He s a very singular character. Page 05 of 06
Name the speaker and the parson spoken about. Why is the latter called a very singular character? 08. Was there ever such a sober, sentimental interview? Who is the speaker? What interview does she refer to? Why it is called a sober, sentimental one? 09. I never met so many accidents in so short journey. Describe the accident the speaker met with. What a according to the speaker, would make a complete night on t? 10. How does Tony Lampkin befool his doting mother? Arms and the Man 01. What a man! Is he a man? Who is the man spoken of? Is the speaker s estimate of the man is correct? 02. Give a brief account of Raina s first meeting with Bluntschli. 03. It is not a weapon of a gentleman. What is the weapon? Why does the speaker object to the weapon? 04. that man must be the very maddest. Who is the man referred to here? What compels the speaker s wonder? 05. What uses are cartridges in battle? Why does the speaker say so? What does he carry instead and why? 06. Soldiering, my dear Madam, is the coward s art of attacking mercilessly when you are strong, and keeping out of harm s way when you are weak. Does the speaker sound cynical? 07. Very fatiguing thing to keep up for any length of time. What is the thing that fatigues the speaker? How does he seek relief? 08. And there shall be no mistake about cartridges this time. What is the mistake spoken of? Why are cartridges needed once again? 09. Let them quarrel with me if they dare! Who is the speaker? What impressions do you from of his/her character fro the above line? 10. a man who has spoiled all his chances in life through an incurably romantic disposition. Who is the man Referred to here? Does the statement aptly sum of his character? Page 06 of 06