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ICSE Class 10 English Literature Question Paper 2015 Solved
**Answer is not provided due to change in the present syllabus.
Section — A (Drama)
The Merchant of Venice: Shakespeare
Question 1.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Portia : As from her lord, her governor, her king.
Myself and what is mine to you and yours
Is now converted : but now I was the lord
Of this fair mansion, master of my servants,
Queen o’er myself; and even now, but now,
This house, these servants, and this same myself,
Are yours, my lord :
(i) Where are Portia and Bassanio ? What has just taken place which makes Portia to speak these words ? What, was the inscription given in the lead casket ? [3]
(ii) What does Bassanio say in praise of Portia’s portrait ? [3]
(iii) What news saddens Bassanio on this happy occasion ? What does Portia ask him to do ? [3]
(iv) Who is Balthazar ? What was the work assigned to him by Portia ? [3]
(v) Where does Portia really plan to go ? What similarity do we find between Portia and Antonio ? What does this scene reveal about the character of Portia ? Give a reason to justify your answer. [4]
Answers:
(i) Portia and Bassanio are in a room in Portia’s house. Bassanio has just chosen the leaden casket which contained Portia’s portrait. Portia is oveijoyed at this.
The leaden casket had this inscription on it:
“Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.”
(ii) Looking at the portrait of Portia, Bassanio says that some semi-divine artist has made this portrait. It is so lifelike. The eyes seem to move and the lips seem to part to say something. It is really excellent.
(iii) On this happy occasion, Bassanio receives from Salerio Antonio’s letter. This letter informs him that Antonio’s ships have met with a disaster. His creditors have become cruel, as his means have fallen low. Antonio’s bond to Shylock has been forfeited.
When Portia, learns about Antonio’s plight, she asks Bassanio to expedite all his business immediately go to Venice to help Antonio.
(iv) Balthazar is the trusted servant of Portia. She asks him to go to Padua immediately and deliver a letter to her cousin Dr. Bellario. Moreover, whatever papers or garments he might give to him, he must bring them to her at a very fast speed.
(v) Portia plans to appear in the court disguised as a representative of Dr. Bellario.
Both Portia and Antonio are very sincere. Both of them love Bassanio and are ready to do anything for him. This scene reveals Portia’s essential wisdom. As soon as she sends Bassanio, she decides to send Balthazar to Dr. Bellario to seek legal opinion and help from him in the case of Antonio.
Question 2.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice.
(i) Name the speaker. Why did the speaker appeal to the Jew for mercy ? Earlier who else in the play appealed for mercy ? [3]
(ii) What are the three qualities of mercy which the speaker has statedjust before the extract ? [3]
(iii) Give the meaning of But mercy is above this sceptred sway ’. How does Shylock turn down Portia s plea for mercy ? What does he insist on ? [3]
(iv) What is Bassanio ready to do for Antonio in the court ? Why is Bassanio snubbed immediately by the disguised Portia ? [3]
(v) Mention two prominent character traits of Shylock as highlighted through the scene from which the extract has been taken. Substantiate your answer with examples from the text. [4]
Answers:
(i) The speaker is Portia dressed as a doctor of laws. The speaker appealed to the Jew for mercy to diminish the force of his demand for strict justice. She added that if he still insisted on his demand of a pound of flesh, the strict court of Venice would have to pronounce a judgement against Antonio.
Earlier the Duke himself had appealed to Shylock to show mercy.
(ii) The speaker has stated that mercy is shown by human beings as naturally and spontaneously as the gentle drops of rain fall from the sky above down to the ground below. Secondly, mercy is the most powerful feeling in those who have the highest authority. It suits a king more than his crown. Mercy is greater than the worldly authority which is symbolized by the sceptre which he holds. Thirdly, mercy is the essential quality of God who is the supreme power of the universe. Earthly power acquires a divine quality when a man softens the rigours of the demands of justice by showing mercy.
(iii) The line “But mercy is above this sceptred sway” means that the king’s sceptre is the emblem of his worldly power. It is the symbol of fear which kingship inspires in others. But mercy is higher and greater than the worldly authority which is symbolized by rod. Shylock turns down Portia’s plea for mercy asking her to let him face the consequences of his actions. He takes full responsibility for his act. He persists in his demand. He asks Portia to enforce the law and let him have the penality specified in the bond which Antonio has forfeited.
(iv) Bassanio is ready to pay twice the borrowed money. If that is not sufficient, he is ready to pay ten times that amount. If even this is not enough, he is ready to forfeit his hands and his heart.
Bassanio asks Portia (disguised as doctor of laws) to bend the law once and use the authority of the court to do what is morally right, to save the life of Antonio. But Portia snubs him saying that there is no power that can change the established law of Venice.
(v) The trial scene shows that Shylock is a revengeful and bloodthirsty man. He turns down the appeals of the Duke and Portia for mercy and insists on having a pound of flesh. He is offered ten times the amount of the borrowed money but he refuses it. He wants only revenge. Secondly, the scene shows that Shylock is firm in his resolve. He bluntly tells Portia that there is no power in the tongue of man to alter his resolve to take a pound of flesh. He says, “My deeds upon my head”. Thus he invokes the law to let him have the penality as mentioned in the bond.
Loyalties : John Galsworthy
Question 3.**
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Inspector : [Sharply] Are you sure there was nobody in the room already ?
De Levis : [Taken aback] I don’t know. I never thought. I didn’t look under the bed, if you mean that.
Inspector : [Jotting] Did not look under bed. Did you look under it after the theft ?
De Levis : No. I didn’t.
Inspector : Ah ! Now, what did you do after you came back from your bath ? Just give us that precisely.
(i) What reply did De Levis give to the inspector’s last question in the extract? [3]
(ii) What made De Levis check the contents of his pocket book ? What did he find there ? Whom did he go to upon discovering the theft ? [3]
(iii) Who was Robert ? Where was Roberts room ? At what time did he take De Levis ’clothes and boots ? [3]
(iv) What is the Inspector s final theory of the theft? [3]
(v) Whom did De Levis accuse of stealing his money ? What were his reasons for making this accusation ? [4]
Question 4.**
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Mabel: [ Utterly surprised] Ronny! Do they want me in Court?
Dancy: No.
Mabel: What is it, then ? Why are you back ?
Dancy: Spun.
Mabel: [Blank] Spun ? What do you mean ? What’s spun ?
Dancy : The case. They’ve found out through those notes.
Mabel: Oh ! [Staring at his face.] Who ?
(i) Where are Mabel and Dancy at this time? What was Mabel doing just before this conversation ? [3]
(ii) Why did Mabel say, “Do they want me in court? ” Explain the meaning of ‘spun ’in the extract ? [3]
(iii) What ‘notes ’ is Dancy talking about now ? How does Mabel react immediately after the extract? [3]
(iv) Dancy leaves a note for his best friend towards the end of the play. What is the name of his best friend ? What is written in the note ? [3]
(v) What does Dancy do at the end ? Why does he do that ? What is your opinion of Mabel and Dancy ? [4]
Section – B (Poetry)
A Collection of Poems
Question 5.**
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
(Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening: Robert Frost)
(i) Who is ‘I’referred to in the extract ? Which season of the year is it ? What evidence is there in the poem to support your answer ? [3]
(ii) Who has made him aware of his mistake ? How does it make the speaker aware of his mistake? What does it seem to say ? [3]
(iii) What are the three sounds heard ? [3]
(iv) What has been said earlier by the poet about the owner of the woods ? [3]
(v) What does lovely, dark and deep suggest ? What is the underlying significance in the repetition of the last two lines of the extract ? Mention the moral tag that the poet attaches to the poem. [4]
Question 6.**
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
The morning stretched calm, beautiful, and warm.
Sprawling half clad, I gazed out at the form
Of shimmering leaves and shadows. Suddenly
A strong flash, then another, startled me.
I saw the old stone lantern brightly lit.
(i) In which country did the incident described in the poem occur ? What had caused the flashes? What happened to his home soon after ? [3]
(ii) Describe the injuries suffered by the Doctor. [3]
(iii) What was his wife s name ? What happened to a house standing before them ? [3]
(iv) How does he describe the people he met on the way ?[3]
(v) Why were the people walking with their hands away from their bodies ? What was common to all of them ? What message does the poem convey ? [4]
Section – C (Prose)
Collection of Short Stories
Question 7.**
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
“That only leaves October, November and December,” said the Queen. “And after that we shall have to begin all over again.”
“No, we shan’t,” said the King, “because I think twelve daughters are enough for any man and after the birth of dear little December I shall be reluctantly compelled to cut off your head.”
He cried bitterly when he said this, for he was extremely fond of the Queen.
(i) Why did the king change the names of his daughters so many times ? [3]
(ii) In what way was Princess September different from her sisters ? What reason does the author give for this difference
in their temperaments ? [3]
(iii) Which unusual birthday tradition did the King of Siam observe ? Mention some of the gifts that he gave. [3]
(iv) Why did Princess September put the Nightingale in a cage? What reasons did she give to the bird for putting it in a cage and then keeping it there ? [3]
(v) How did the bird behave upon being locked in a cage ? What is the message of the story ? [4]
Question 8.**
The Last Leaf explores the theme of Friendship and Self-sacrifice. Discuss this with close reference to O’Henry’s ‘The Last Leaf. ’ [16]