Practice Questions for 0486 Literature in English May/June Session 2013 onwards
S.NO
SONGS
1
A Different History
QUESTIONS
1. Explore how Bhatt critically conveys her ideas of language and culture in the poem A
Different History. CEQ
2. In the two poems, explore in detail lines, which you find particularly striking.
A Different History (by Sujata Bhatt)
Pied Beauty (by Gerard Manley Hopkins)
Summer Farm (by MacCaig) CEQ
2
Pied Beauty
3. Explore how Bhatt powerfully communicates the culture of India and loss of language
in the poem A Different History. PBQ
1. Explore how Gerard Manley Hopkins’ words create striking pictures of nature in the poem. PBQ
2. Explore how Gerard Manley Hopkins expresses his response to the natural world in
the poem ‘Pied Beauty'. PBQ
3. Explore the ways in which Hopkins memorably portrays creations of God in the
poem ‘Pied Beauty’. PBQ
3
Continuum
4. Explore the ways in which G.M Hopkins vividly portrays the dappled things in the
poem The Pied Beauty. CEQ
1. How does Allen Curnow vividly portray the hardships of writing a poem in
Continuum? CEQ
2. Explore how Allen Curnow vividly portrays the search for inspiration to write a poem
in Continuum. PBQ
4
Horses
3. Explore in detail Allen Curnow’s treatment of contradictions in the poem The Continuum. PBQ
1. Explore how Edwin Muir vividly conveys his admiration and fear of horses as child in
the poem Horses. PBQ
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Practice Questions for 0486 Literature in English May/June Session 2013 onwards
5
Hunting Snake
6
Pike
1. How does Judith Wright vividly convey her admiration and fear of snake in the poem
The Hunting Snake? PBQ
2. How does Judith Wright present her response to the snake in the poem? PBQ
1. How does Hughes powerfully convey the presence of violence in the natural world in
the poem Pike? CEQ
2. Explore how Ted Hughes’ words powerfully create eerie and chilling atmosphere
in the poem The Pike.
7
A Birthday
Support your ideas with detail from the poem CEQ
1. Explore the ways in which Christina Rossetti memorably conveys her feelings about
love in the poem. PBQ
2. Explore how Cristiana Rossetti memorably conveys her happiness in the poem A
Birthday. PBQ
8
The Woodspurge
9
The Cockroach
3. Explore how Cristina Rossetti memorably conveys her happiness through exotic
nature of things in the poem A Birthday. PBQ
1. Explore how Gabriel Rossetti powerfully conveys his grief in the poem The
Woodspurge. PBQ
1. Explore how Kevin Halligan presents his ideas through the movements of Cockroach
in the poem. CEQ
2. In the two poems, explore how the poets respond to animals/creatures to present
their ideas.
The Cockroach by Kevin Halligan
Pike Ted Hughes by
Horses by Allen Curnow CEQ
3. Explore the ways in which Halligan vividly develops his observations of the
movements of cockroach in the poem The Cockroach. PBQ
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Practice Questions for 0486 Literature in English May/June Session 2013 onwards
10
The City Planners
1. Explore how Margaret Atwood critically presents the image of nature and city
planners in the poem The City Planners. CEQ
2. Explore how either The City Planners (by Margaret Atwood) or Horses (by Edwin
Muir) conveys the powerful feelings of the speaker.
11
12
13
14
The Planners
Summer Farm
Where I Come From
Sonnet: Composed
Upon Westminster
Bridge
1. Explore the ways Boey Kim Cheng presents the planners in the poem. PBQ
2. How does Boey Kim Cheng critically express his thoughts/ideas/views about
soullessness of the city in the poem Planners? CEQ
1. Explore how MacCaig vividly portrays his self/the persona through the Nature in the
poem Summer Farm. PBQ
2. How does MacCaig vividly presents the idea of self in the poem Summer Farm PBQ
1. How does Elizabeth Brewster memorably convey her thoughts about people and
places in the poem Where I Come From? PBQ
2. Explore how Elizabeth Brewster vividly conveys her concerns with identity and place
in the poem Where I Come From. CEQ
1. Explore the ways in which William Wordsworth vividly conveys his amazement of the
city in the poem Sonnet: Composed upon Westminster Bridge. CEQ
2. In two of the following poems explore in detail lines which you find particularly
striking.
Sonnet Composed Up on Westminster Bridge (by William Wordsworth)
The Woodspurge (by Dante Gabriel Rossetti)
Where I Come From (by Elizabeth Brewster) CEQ
3. How does William Wordsword vividly portray the city of London close to the Nature in
the poem Sonnet: Composed upon Westminster Bridge? PBQ
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Practice Questions for 0486 Literature in English May/June Session 2013 onwards
STORIES
1
The Son’s Veto
QUESTIONS
1. Explore some of the ways in which Thomas Hardy memorably ridicules prejudice
about social class in ‘The Son’s Veto’. Support your ideas with details from the writing. CEQ
2. Do you think Thomas Hardy makes it possible to sympathise with Sophy in any way
or is she simply an incapable poor woman unable to shape her life well? Support
your ideas with details from the writing. CEQ
3. How does the writer make any one of the following characters particularly
memorable?
Muni (A Horse and Two Goats by Rarayan)
Sophy (The Son’s Veto by Thomas Hardy)
The red-faced man (A Horse and Two Goats by Rarayan)
Remember to support your answer with details from your chosen story. CEQ
4. You are Sophy in the story The Son’s Veto. You buy time from Sam Hobson after Randolph denied the proposal of remarriage for the first time.
Write your thoughts.
2.
Her First Ball
5. How does Thomas Hardy movingly portray the power the son has over Sophy in the
story The Son’s Veto? CEQ (If passage based, “It was on an evening….’I owe this to my father!’ he said.)
1. Explore the ways in which Mansfield presents Leila’s thoughts and feeling before and during the ball. CEQ
2. How does Mansfield vividly capture the excitement of the ball? PBQ
3. How does Mansfield vividly portray Leila’s excitement and apprehensions in the story? CEQ
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Practice Questions for 0486 Literature in English May/June Session 2013 onwards
3
The Fly in the Ointment
1. How does Pritchett vividly portray the relationship between Harold and the father in
the story The Fly in the Ointment?
Support your answer with details from the writing. CWQ
2. You are Harold. You have offered to raise money for your father and he asked ‘By when’. Write your thoughts. EEQ
4
The Destructors
3. How does Pritchett make you feel sympathy for the old man in the passage? PBQ
(Page 170 -171)
1. How does Graham Greene powerfully create suspense in this passage? PBQ
2. Explore how Graham Greene presents the shifting power within the group as
leadership passes from Blackie to T. CEQ
5
A Horse and Two Goats
3. How does Graham Greene vividly portray the act of destruction as a form of creation
in the story? PBQ
1. Explore how in this passage Narayan develops the humour of the conversation. PBQ
2. How does the writer make any one of the following characters particularly
memorable?
Muni (A Horse and Two Goats by Narayan)
Sophy (The Son’s Veto by Thomas Hardy)
The red-faced man (A Horse and Two Goats by Narayan) CEQ
6
The Rain Horse
Remember to support your answer with details from your chosen story.
1. Explore how Ted Hughes vividly builds up sense of fear and menace as the horse
stalks the young man in the story.
Support your answer with details from the writing. CWQ
2. How does the sudden charging of the horse contribute to the dramatic impact of the
writing? PBQ
3. Explore how Ted Hughes vividly creates the effects of relentless rain on the young
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Practice Questions for 0486 Literature in English May/June Session 2013 onwards
7
My Great Ambition
man. PBQ
1. How does Morris Lurie vividly portray the feelings of anxiety and excitement of the
boy in the story? CEQ
2. How does Morris Lurie movingly capture the disillusionment of the boy’s ambition? PBQ (Page 370 Jim said, ‘Mr Randall’ till the end of the story)
3. How does Morris Lurie vividly present the development of the boy’s ambition in the story?
4. Explore the ways in which Morris Lurie vividly depict the father-son relationship in the
story. CEQ
5. You are the narrator at the end of My Great Ambition (by Morris Lurie). You have
decided not to be a comic-strip artist after all. Write your thoughts. EEQ
1. Explore how Ahdaf Soueif movingly portray the disappointment of fading relationship
between the speaker and her husband.
8
Sandpiper
9
At Hiruharama
1. How does Penelope Fitzgerald make this such a moving and dramatic moment in the
story? PBQ (Page 411 ‘I don’t want you to feel that you are not welcome.’…..Throw Nothing Away.’)
10
The Custody of Pumpkin
1. Explore the moments in the story The Custody of the Pumpkin by P.G Wodehouse
that you find so amusing, showing how the writing creates the humour for you.
Support your ideas with detail from the story. CEQ
2. You are Lord Emsworth in The Custody of the Pumpkin. You have just fired Mr
McAllister from the job as head-gardener. Write your thoughts. EEQ
3. You are Lord Emsworth. You are taking a ride in the cab to Kensington Gardens after
a reading Freddie’s note. Write your thoughts.
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Practice Questions for 0486 Literature in English May/June Session 2013 onwards
JULIUS CEASAR-PLAY
1
QUESTIONS
1. Explore how Shakespeare makes the characters of any two conspirators (Marcus
Brutus, Cassius, Casca and Decius Brutus) so sad for you. CEQ
2. How does Shakespeare make this such a moving and dramatic moment in the play?
ACT IV Scene 3 PBQ
3.
Impractical and gullible
Noble and honourable
Which of these views do you think more accurately describes Shakespeare’s portrayal of Marcus Brutus? Support your answer with details from the play. CEQ
4. Explore how Shakespeare makes this moment in the play so powerfully emotional.
PBQ (pp)
5. Does Shakespeare make you sympathise with Brutus or despise him? Support your
ideas with details from the play. CEQ
6. You are Antony. You have just given conceited political speech in front of the people
of Rome at Caesar’s funeral. Write your thoughts. EEQ
7. How does Shakespeare make you feel about the relationship between Brutus and
Cassius at this point in the play? ACT IV Scene 3 PBQ
8. In what ways does Shakespeare make Julius Caesar continue to dominate the play
even after his death? CEQ
9. You are Brutus. You have just killed Julius Ceasar with other conspirators at Senate
House. Write your thoughts. EEQ
10. In what ways does Shakespeare make Cassius so persuasive at this moment in the
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Practice Questions for 0486 Literature in English May/June Session 2013 onwards
play? PBQ
11. ‘The noblest Roman of them all.’ How far do you agree with this description of Shakespeare’s portrayal of Brutus? CEQ
12. You are Calpurnia. Ceasar has just left for the Senate House on the morning of Ides
of March. Write your thoughts. EEQ
13. You are Julius Ceasar. Your wife has requested you not to go to the Senate House
as she had a terrible nightmare the previous night. Write your thoughts. EEQ
14. You are Cassius. You have just left the other conspirators on the night before the
assassination of Caesar.
Write your thoughts. EEQ
15. What does Shakespeare make you feel about Octavius by the end of the play? Refer
to details from Shakespeare’s writing as you answer. CEQ
16. In what ways does Shakespeare vividly convey the feelings of Calphurnia and
Caesar at this moment in the play? PBQ (pp)
THE SIEGE-NOVEL
1
QUESTIONS
1. Explore the ways in which Dunmore in this extract memorably conveys both Marina’s powerful personality and Anna’s mistrust of her. PBQ
2. What features of The Siege do you think are most vividly created in this novel?
Support your views with detail from Dunmore’s writing. CEQ
3. Explore the ways in which Dunmore in this novel makes vivid what it was like to live
in Russia when Stalin was in power. CEQ
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Practice Questions for 0486 Literature in English May/June Session 2013 onwards
4. You are Marina, just after you have tried to give Mikhail Levin a renewed will to
live. He has gone to sleep.
Write your thoughts. EEQ
5. You are Andrei as you walk back through Leningrad after your first night out with
Anna. Write your thoughts. EEQ
6. What do you think makes this scene such a touching and sad moment in the novel?
Be sure to support your ideas with detail from the passage. PBQ(pp)
7. What do you find particularly memorable about Dunmore’s portrayal of Anna?
Remember to support your views with detail from the novel. CE
8. You are Pavlov going on the plane to Leningrad to take control of food distribution in
the city. Write your thoughts. EEQ
9. Explore how Dunmore powerfully portrays Marina’s love for Mikhail in the novel. Support your ideas with details from the novel CEQ
10. Explore how Dunmore vividly portrays Marina’s feelings in the passage. (Page 262263) PBQ
11. How does Dunmore powerfully convey vivid impressions of Marina? (Page 211-212)
PBQ
12. Explore how Dunmore movingly portrays cruelty of hunger and winter during the
block out in the novel. Support your ideas with details from the novel CEQ
13. What do you think makes Evgenia such a striking and significant character in the
novel? Support your ideas with details from Dunmore’s writing. CEQ
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Practice Questions for 0486 Literature in English May/June Session 2013 onwards
14. You are Anna at the end of the novel as you walk silently with Andrei and Kolya in
the May sunshine. Write your thoughts. EEQ
15. What do you think makes the developing relationship between Anna and Marina so
fascinating? Support your ideas with details from the novel. CEQ
16. You are Anna’s father, Mikhail Levin. After having volunteered to fight the Germans, you are on your way to the Luga line. Write your thoughts EEQ
NOTE: The above are possible questions that might appear in the board examinations. Obviously, I strongly believe that
the wording of the questions would definitely change to bring out deeper and varied insights from the students. However,
the questions set would greatly help the students to practice and check themselves of their perceptions of the songs,
stories, play and the novel.
Teachers are recommended to choose appropriate and suitable extracts from stories/play for passage based questions.
I would love to receive your comments and feedback. Please do not hesitate to write to asciefl@gmail.com
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PBQ : Passage based question
CEQ : Critical essay question
EEQ : Empathic essay question
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