Context Questions

Answer ALL questions.

1. “By my soul I swear there is no power in the tongue of man to alter me. I await my due
forfeit”
a) Where are these lines taken from? Who is the writer? (2m)
b) Who is the speaker of these words? Who is the listener? (2m)
c) Where does the above conversation take place? (1m)

d) What is the “due forfeit” awaited by the speaker? (1m)

e) Why are the above lines uttered by the speaker? (2m)
f) According to the above extract, what can be understood about the speaker’s character?
Justify your answer. (2m)

2. “The water’s murmur is the voice of my father’s father.”

a) Where are these lines taken from? Who is the author? (2m)

b) Who is the speaker of these words? To whom are they spoken? (2m)
c) Who is addressed as “father’s father”? (1m)
d) Mention a prominent characteristic of the speaker. Justify your answer (2m)
e) Name and identify a literary device in the given line. (2m)
f) What is the significance of the “water’s murmur”? (1m)

3. “There’s knocking at the gate; come, come…give me your hand; what’s done cannot be
undone.”

a) Where are these lines taken from? Who is the author? (2m)
b) Who is the speaker of these words? (1m)
c) Whose hand is referred as “your hand”? (1m)
d) How is “your hand” symbolic in the given extract? (1m)
e) Where does the above extract take place? (1m)
f) What made the speaker react in this manner? (1m)
g) Who were witnessing this incident and how did they feel? Explain (3m)

Answer the following question.

1. “Chief Seattle’s Letter” emphasizes on the everlasting bond between mankind and
nature.” Do you agree? Justify your answer with suitable examples from the text. (10
marks)
Answer any TWO questions.
1. Compare and contrast the characters of Macbeth and Malcolm in the play “Macbeth”. (10
marks)
2. “The Merchant of Venice” deals with kindness and compassion of human beings”.
Comment on this statement with examples from the text. (10 marks)
3. Explore the idea how quest of greed and power often result in negativities in one’s life, with the
evidences from the play “Macbeth”. (10 marks)
4. The play “The Merchant of Venice” teaches us the importance of showing mercy.
Discuss with evidence from the text. (10 marks)
5.
Unseen Poetry

Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow. (10 marks)

What Has Happened to Lulu?

By Charles Causley

What has happened to Lulu, mother?

What has happened to Lu?
There's nothing in her bed but an old rag-doll
And by its side a shoe.
Why is her window wide, mother,
The curtain flapping free,
And only a circle on the dusty shelf
Where her money-box used to be?
Why do you turn your head, mother,
And why do tear drops fall?
And why do you crumple that note on the fire
And say it is nothing at all?
I woke to voices late last night,
I heard an engine roar.
Why do you tell me the things I heard
Were a dream and nothing more?
I heard somebody cry, mother,
In anger or in pain,
But now I ask you why, mother,
You say it was a gust of rain.
Why do you wander about as though
You don't know what to do?
What has happened to Lulu, mother?
What has happened to Lu?

1. Who is the speaker in the poem? (1m)

2. According to the first stanza, what can be seen on Lulu’s bed? (1m)
3. Give two pieces of evidence which indicate Lulu has disappeared. (2m)
4. Name and identify a poetic technique. (2m)

5. What does the “curtain flapping free” symbolize? (1m)

6. Which line suggests that mother is crying? (1m)

7. What is understood about the speaker’s mother’s feelings? (2m)