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VIBGYOR HIGH First Term Examination AY 2020-2021 LITERATURE IN ENGLISH ENGLISH Paper-2 Grade: IX Max. Marks: 80 Date :14/09/2020 Time Allowed: 2 hours INSTRUCTIONS: Answers to this paper must be written on the paper provided separately. You will not be allowed to write during the first 15 minutes. This time is to be spent in reading the question paper. The time given at the head of this paper is the time allowed for writing the answers. The intended marks for the questions or parts of questions are given alongside the questions. You must attempt at least one question from each of the Sections A, B and C and not more than two other questions from the same books you have already compulsorily chosen. Attempt five questions in all. This paper contains 7 pages. 1 SECTION A DRAMA Answer one or more questions from this Section. (The Merchant of Venice: Shakespeare) Question 1 Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that [16] follow: Jessica: Farewell, good Launcelot. Alack, what heinous sin it is in me To be ashamed to be my father s child! But though I am a daughter to his blood, I am not to his manners. a. Where does the scene take place? Who is Launcelot? Where is he [3] going? b. What does Jessica say in praise of Launcelot? Why is Launcelot leaving [3] Jessica s house? What does she give him as a parting gift? c. What else does Jessica give Launcelot? What instructions does she [3] give him? d. What does Launcelot address Jessica as? What prevents him from [3] speaking? e. What is Jessica s dilemma concerning her father and Lorenzo? What is [4] the heinous sin referred to in the extract? Is it really a sin? Why do you think so? Question 2 Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that follow: Portia: If I live to be as old as Sibylla, I will die as chaste as Diana, 2 [16] Unless I be obtained by the manner of my father s will. I am glad this parcel of wooers are so reasonable; For there is not one among them but I dote on his very absence; And I pray God grant them a fair departure. a. What was Portia s father s will as far as her marriage was concerned? [3] Who would she have to marry? What oath did the suitors have to take before making their choice? b. What does Nerissa say to introduce Bassanio? What does she call [3] Bassanio? What were the feelings of Portia for Bassanio in this scene? c. Which of Portia s suitors is compared to Heraclitus of Ephesus? Why is [3] this comparison made? What would Portia rather do than marrying him? d. What do you comprehend by parcel of wooers ? What decision had [3] they all taken? Why does Portia call them reasonable? e. Who is Sibylla? What wish did Apollo grant her? Who is Diana? Why are [4] they referred to in the extract? Question 3 Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that [16] follow: Salarino: My wind, cooling my broth, Would blow me to an ague, when I thought What harm a wind too great at sea might do I should not see the sandy hour-glass run, But I should think of shallows and of flats; And see my wealthy Andrew dock d in sand, Vailing her high-to lower than her ribs To kiss her burial. a. In what mood is Antonio in the scene? What do Salarino and Salanio try [3] to do? Do they succeed in doing so? b. Which thoughts would cause Salarino to tremble? [3] c. What do you mean by the sandy hour-glass ? What would it remind [3] 3 Salarino of? d. In this scene, Salarino also talks about Janus. Who is Janus? What is [3] unique about him? What does Salarino try to explain Antonio by referring to Janus? e. When Salarino would go to church what would he see? What would the [4] scene make him imagine? SECTION B POETRY Answer one or more questions from this Section. A Collection of Poems Question 4 Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that [16] follow: The last man of this forlorn group Did nought expect for gain. Giving only to those who gave Was how he played the game. Their logs held tight in death s still hands Was proof of human sin. They did not die from the cold without They died from the cold within. (The Cold Within-James Patrick Kinney) a. What does forlorn group refer to? Why is this phrase ironical? What [3] caused the group to be forlorn? b. What game is the poet referring to while mentioning the last man of the [3] group? On what condition did he help others? What stops him from parting with his log of wood? c. What proof of human sin is being referred to here? Explain. [3] d. Why did the first, third and fifth person refuse to lend their logs of wood? [3] e. Justify the title of the poem- The Cold Within . [4] 4 Question 5 Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that [16] follow: Some are like fields of sunlit corn, Meet for a bride on her bridal morn, Some, like the flame of her marriage fire, Or, rich with the hue of her heart s desire, Tinkling, luminous, tender, and clear, Like her bridal laughter and bridal tear. (The Bangle Sellers: Sarojini Naidu) a. What significance does red and yellow coloured bangles play in the life of a bride? What does it depict? [3] b. Name the literary device used in the last line of the extract. Explain bridal laughter and bridal tear . Why does the poet use it simultaneously? [3] c. What preference do maidens have in the choice of bangles? What is the [3] underlying significance? d. Earlier, the bangles are referred to as Rainbow- tinted circles of light [3] and shining load . What do they symbolize? e. Does the poem- The Bangle Sellers glorify the idea of Indian [4] womanhood? Elucidate. Question 6 Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that [16] follow: They say it was a shocking sight After the field was won; For many thousand bodies here Lay rotting in the sun; But things like that, you know, must be After a famous victory. (After Blenheim- Robert Southey) a. To whom does They in the extract refer to? Why do you think the sight 5 [3] was shocking even when the battle was won? b. Which famous victory is being referred to in the extract? Who were [3] responsible for this victory? c. What was the occupation of the speaker in these lines? How do you [3] know about his occupation? Who was he talking to? d. Highlight any three overwhelming themes of the poem- After Blenheim. [3] e. Give a character sketch of the speaker. [4] SECTION C PROSE Answer one or more questions from this Section. A collection of short stories Question 7 Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that [16] follow: The glum-faced man had been watching the girl s countenance with veiled glances from his keen, shrewd eyes. You ll excuse me for speaking, miss, but I see you are acquainted with the marshal here. If you ll ask him to speak a word for me when we get to the pen, he ll do it, and it will make things easier for me there. (Hearts and Hands-William Sydney Porter) a. Why does the glum- faced man excuse himself? Where was he being [3] taken to? What was the reason behind it? b. Give a character sketch of the marshal in Hearts and Hands . [3] c. What reasons does Mr. Easton give for becoming a marshal? [3] d. Which hand of the officer and the convict was handcuffed? Why is this [3] information necessary? e. Don t judge a book by its cover . How far is this adage applicable to the [4] story, Hearts and Hands . Question 8 Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that 6 [16] follow: He looked at me very blankly and tiredly, then said, having to share his worry with someone, The cat will be all right, I am sure. There is no need to be unquiet about the cat. But the others. Now what do you think about the others? (The Old Man at the Bridge- Ernest Hemingway) a. Why does the old man look blank and tired? How can you say that the [3] old man needed someone to talk to? b. What was the cause for the old man s worry and guilt? [3] c. Explain how the story brings out the conflict between man and his inner [3] self? d. Give reasons why the old man seems to have given up on his life. [3] e. How does the narrator try to relieve the old man of his worries? Does he [4] prove successful? Support your answer with instances from the story. Question 9 Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that [16] follow: Muni sat at the foot of the statue, watching his two goats graze in the arid soil among the cactus and lantana bushes. He looked at the sun; it was tilted westward no doubt, but it was not the time yet to go back home; if he went too early, his wife would have no food for him. Also he must give her time to cool off her temper and feel sympathetic, and then she would scrounge and manage to get some food. (A Horse and Two Goats- R.K. Narayan) a. Describe the statue, on the foot of which Muni sat, watching his goats. [4] b. Enumerate with instances from the story, the elements of comedy that [4] runs through the story. c. How is the clash of cultures brought about in the story? ***** 7 [8]
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