2007 SSC ENGLISH (HONS./PG) HELD ON: 20/1/2008
1. What is Sidney’s ultimate realization in “Loving in Truth” ?
Answer: Sidney comes to realize ultimately that his true inspiration lies in his heart. It is by seeking inspiration from his spontaneous feeling that he can write effective verse to please his ladylove. [Courtsey: K.N.Dutta]
2. Bring out the allusion in the line “But the world would turn to coal”.
Answer: In this line there is an allusion to the destruction of the earth on the Day of Judgement or Doomsday, when God destroys sin and punish all sinners by burning out all existing things and creatures. Herbert has excellently made use of this biblical event in order to emphasize the sense of utter destructibility of the whole world in stark contrast to a virtuous soul.
[Courtsey: A. Bhattacharya]
3. Would you regard Rape of the Lock as a ‘triumph of the mock heroic’ ? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: The Rape of the Lock is the masterpiece of the mock-heroic because Pope wonderfully succeeds here in presenting a trifling theme (the sniffing off of a lady’s lock of hair) in a heroic setting, with the usual epic devices and conventions, such as the invocation, the proposition, the machinery, the description of the battle and the journey and so on. [Courtsey: K.N.Dutta]
4. Briefly discuss the various stages in Wordsworth’s response to Nature.
Answer: Tintern Abbey gives a memorable expression to the various stages of Wordsworth’s response to Nature. The first stage was as Hudson puts it so nicely, “Simple a healthy boy’s delight in freedom and open air”. The first stage was succeeded by the stage of sensuous delight. Third and last stage may be termed the stage of contemplation (i.e. spiritual perception).
The Essay on Mock-heroic features of Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock”
Mock-epic, also known as mock-heroic poetry is a juxtaposition of trivial subject matter and grandeur epic style. From the fundamental point of view, mock-epic is nothing but the most popular neo-classical burlesque used as a double-edged satirical weapon. Batrachomyomachia, an anonymous parody, attributed to Homer, is most probably the earliest example of mock-epic genre. Alexander Pope was the ...
[Courtsey: M.N.Siinha]
5. Mention the most remarkable feature of the ‘pleasure dome’ as depicted in Kubla Khan.
Answer: The most remarkable feature of the ‘pleasure dome’ of Kubla Khan as described in the first part of the poem is its sunny exterior and cold interior—— sensual pleasure followed by moral desolation.
[Courtsey: Gopal Mallik Thakur]
6. Which flowers does the poet mention in stanza V of Ode to a Nightingale ?
Answer: The flowers referred to in stanza V of Keats’s Ode to a Nightingale are white hawthorn, the pastoral eglantine, the fast fading violets and the musk-rose. The different flowers mentioned in the poem appeals to our senses of sight and smell, thereby producing superb sensuousness.
[Courtsey: Multan Khan]
7. What impression of the Duke of Ferrara do you get from your reading of My Last Duches ?
Answer: The Duke of the poem is a very embodiment of all human vices—– inordinate pride, excessive egoism, reprehensible greed, uncommon morality and inhuman cruelty. On the whole, the character of the Duke as revealed in the poem is a hateful one. The only good point about him is his love of art.
[Courtsey: M.N.Sinha]
8. Why does The Wild Swans at Coole end on a note of anxiety and despair ?
Answer: The poem The Wild Swans at Coole ends on a note of anxiety and despair because the poet fears that one day, the swans, symbolizing his creative relationship with Nature will have gone, leaving him desolate. [Courtsey: Multan Khan]
9. Explain the lines:
“I mean the truth untold
The pity of war, the pity war distilled.”
Answer: Taken from Owen’s poem, “Strange Meeting” the lines seem to be the predominant note of the poem. The stranger here bewails his death as preventing him from telling the world the truth that war is a demon and we should get rid of it. This truth is the pity of war, a pity that emerges as the essence after the horrors of war have been evaporated. [Courtsey: M.N.Sinha]
The Essay on Theme Of The Hollow Men
There is said to be a thin line between the planning and the execution a sinister action, as the idea is what first drives the motion. This is the central theme of T. S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men," in which the men depicted find themselves on the brink of hell, suffering not from their actions, but from their conspiracy to act. Throughout the poem, it appears that the men feel that they have ...
10. Bring out the significance of the title of Eliot’s poem, Hollow Men.
Answer: The poem contains the poet’s meditations on the sterile, meaningless existence of the hollow men in the realm of nothingness, and on the lament of the hollow men—- their despair, frustration, spiritual deadness. Thus, the subject of the entire poem is hollow men and nothing else. Such a title has, however, no subtlety and no special significance. All that is said in the five sections of the poem is related to the hollow men. So, it is natural to choose such a title.
[Courtsey: Jibesh Bhattacharya & R.Tilak]
11. Is the image of ‘borrowed robe’ applicable to the character of Macbeth ? Give answer for your answer.
Answer: The image of ‘borrowed robe’ is applicable to the character of Macbeth as it suggests a contrast between the real Macbeth and his outward appearance. Macbeth is essentially good and noble, but he is led to the evil. Also, he has usurped royalty, but his virtues fall sort of regal qualities. So, he is ill-at -ease. [Courtsey: Ramji Lall & S. Sen]
12. Explain the significance of the secondary title of She Stoops to Conquer.
Answer: The secondary title of the play, She Stoops to Conquer is ‘The Mistakes of a Night’. The dramatist was right in retaining it as the sub-title, for it stresses the mistakes of the night on which the play hinges. The whole story begins, develops and ends through mistakes and these mistakes are the source of much hilarious laughter. He was again justified in not making it the main title, for it is not so attractive and eye-catching. [Courtsey: Prof. M.N.Sinha]
13. Does Louka have the ‘soul of a servant’ ? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: Louka does not have the soul of a servant in her. She has soul above her station. She is proud and arrogant. She acts and speaks as if she were subordinate to none. She has no respect for the members of the family she serves. She frets and fumes over her servitude and lower social position.
[Courtsey: M.N.Sinha & Ramji Lall]
14. Comment on the tragic endurance of the mother in Riders to the Sea.
Answer: In spite of Maurya’s intolerable bereavements, she does not complain against the unjust, demoniac cruelty of fate. Rather she shows tragic endurance. She endures her misery and desolation with the thought that with no son living, the sea can now do her no harm. Her tragic endurance also proceeds from her realization of the inevitability of death. This realization lends true tragic dignity to her character. [Courtsey: M.N.Sinha & Ramji Lall]
The Term Paper on Men Are From Mars Women Are From Venus Gender Differences In Communication
Men are From Mars, Women are from venus, gender differences in communication "MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS: GENDER DIFFERENCES IN COMMUNICATION" Men and women typically use different discourse strategies in communication, and, in general, women's linguistic behavior is disadvantageous compared to men's. This paper will attempt to demonstrate this fact, through the many stereotypes ...
15. What ‘taught’ Darcy ‘to hope’ that Elizabeth had not ‘absolutely, irrevocably decided against’ him ?
Answer: On her way from Longbourn to Hunsford, Lady Catherine, meeting Mr. Darcy in London gives him an account of her interview with Elizabeth and the answers which Elizabeth has given to her. On hearing this Mr. Darcy feels convinced that Elizabeth has a soft corner for him. In other words, it is Lady Catherine’s version of her meeting with Elizabeth that ‘taught’ Darcy ‘to hope’ that Elizabeth had not ‘absolutely, irrevocably decided against’ him. [Courtsey: Ramji Lall & Rajinder Paul]
16. What is the sentence that has made Barkis in David Copperfield immortal ?
Answer: The sentence that has made Barkis in David Copperfield immortal is: “Barkis is willing.” This is his way of proposing marriage to Peggotty. [Courtsey: Rajider Paul]
17. What does Arsat do after Diamelen’s death and why ?
Answer: After Diamelen’s death, Arsat was left alone, pricked by his deep sense of remorse and sad frustration of hope. He declined the White man’s proposal to go with him and decided to strike vengeance on those who had killed his brother. [Courtsey: K.N.Dutta & Gopal Mallik Thakur]
18. “I imagined that I bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes,” says the narrator in Araby. Explain the myth associated with the chalice.
Answer: The word chalice which means a wine-cup is associated with the legend of the Holy Grail. Chalice is the wine-cup which was used by Jesus for his last drink. After his crucifixion Joseph of Arimathea contained some drops of Jesus’s blood into the cup which was later brought to England. Because no guardian was worthy of it, it disappeared. Though many were in quest of it, only a few noble and pure Knights like Galahad and Perceval were able to see the cup, the symbol of supreme bliss. The word here implies the holy and untainted love of the boy for the girl. [Courtsey: Gopal Mallik Thakur]
The Essay on Sentence Completion Missing Word
Explanation: The first part of the sentence is a statement: the more severe an inherited disease is, the more likely it is that the genes causing it will be eliminated by natural selection. The word "consequently" suggests that the missing words must, together, make a statement in keeping with this assumption. A is the correct answer. A disease that is "lethal" is very severe. Because, according ...
19. Comment on the ending of The Fly.
Answer: Katherine Mansfield’s The Fly had the end in the stream-of-consciousness technique. The boss, after causing the death of the little fly, felt thoroughly exasperated and a strange forgetfulness possessed him all over. As a result, he could not remember what he had been thinking so long, although he tried his best to do so. The end has a tragic note that reveals the utterly restive, helpless mental state of the hero. [Courtsey: K.N.Dutta]
20. Suggest why Lamb calls Dream Children a reverie.
Answer: The essay Dream Children is a reverie (= a day dream, an idle fancy) because it contains a fanciful or imaginary accounts of Lamb’s talk with the children whom he had and who, therefore, have been called “dream children’. [Courtsey: Ramji Lall]
21. Identify Biblical allusion in the line “My Mantle I bequeath among Ye”.
Answer: In this line there is an allusion to Prophet Elijah who bequeathed his prophetic power to his disciple Elisha by letting fall his mantle from the sky when going up to heaven. Lamb here means to say that he leaves his clerical spirit and energy as legacy to his fellow clerks.
[Courtsey: Prof. Ray & Chakraborty]
22. What is a aphorism ? Give an example from Bacon’s essay, “Of Studies”.
Answer: An aphorism is a short sentence expressing a truth in the fewest possible words. An aphorism is like a proverb which has a quotable quality.
For example, “Studies serve for delight, for ornament and for ability.” [Courtsey: Ramji Lall]
23. Give one example for each of the following figures of speech:
(a) Oxymoron (b) Zeugma
(c) Bathos (d) Periphrasis
Answer:
(a) Oxymoron: And lined the train with faces grimly gay. —– Owen: The Send-off
(b) Zeugma: The moment and the vessel passed. —- Tennyson.
(c) Bathos: The soldier fights for glory and a dollar a day.
(d) Periphrasis: “……. you shall put / The night’s great business into my dispatch.”
(murder) —– Shakespeare: Macbeth
The Essay on Sentences Including Ing Verb Form
Why I chose this topic As used as it is, students still find it difficult to understand most of the uses of the -ing form. I do not believe there is any other member of all parts of speech that has such a wide range of functions and as much influence on our daily talks and writings as the -ing form. It is interesting to note that, standing alone, the gerund can function as noun, as verbs in non- ...
24. Scan the lines and name the metre:
The way was long, the wind was cold
The minstrel was infirm and old.
Answer:
The wa’y | was lo’ng, | the wi’nd | was co’ld
The mi’ns-|trel wa’s | in – firm | and old.
Prosody name: The above lines are in Iambic Tetrameter with no variation. [Courtsey: M.N.Sinha]
25. Fill in the blanks with appropriate prepositions:
(a) I put the key ………………. The pillow.
(b) He flies everyday ……………….. Mumbai and Kolkata.
Answer:
(a) I put the key under the pillow.
(b) He flies everyday between Mumbai and Kolkata.
26. Do as directed:
(a) Tell me where you live. (Turn into Simple Sentence)
(b) He always sings well. He is nervous at the start. (Join into Complex Sentence).
Answer:
(a) Tell me your address. (Simple Sentence)
(b) Though he is nervous at the start, he always sings well. (Complex Sentence)
27. What Split Infinitive ? Give one example.
Answer: Split infinitive is the name given to an infinitive form in which the main verb is wrongly separated from to by some word between.
Example:
(i) He began to slowly get up off the floor.
(ii) I request you to quickly do this. [Courtsey: P.K.De-Sarkar & Michael Swan]
28. One of my friends were playing football. Is the subject-verb agreement in the given sentence acceptable ? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: The subject-verb agreement in the above sentence is not acceptable. The rule says: “When a plural noun is placed with a real singular subject such as one, each etc. with the help of of, the verb must be singular, not plural.” So,
Correct: One of my friends was playing football.
[Courtsey: English is Easy by C. Singh & ABC of Common Errors by N.Turton]
29. Change the voice in the following sentences:
(a) It is time to shut up the shop.
(b) One should keep one’s promises.
Answer: (a) Passive Voice: It is time for the shop to be shut up.
(b) Passive Voice: Promises should be kept.
30. Correct the following sentences:
(a) No sooner we had arrived than it began to rain.
The Term Paper on For-to-Infinitive Constructions
The for-to-Infinitive Construction is a construction in which the infinitive is in predicate relation to a noun or pronoun preceded by the preposition for. The for-to-Infinitive Construction is expressed by a noun in the common case or a personal pronoun in the objective case and an infinitive with the particle to. In translating this construction into Russian a subordinate clause or an infinitive ...
(b) He has first-class knowledge of French.
(c) He was given benefit of doubt.
(d) Many species are becoming extinguished.
Answer: (a) No sooner had we arrived than it began to rain.
(b) He has first-class knowledge in French.
(c) He was given the benefit of the doubt.
(d) Many species have become extinct.
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Printed and drafted by Maruti Kumar Mondal
