Answer to the Questions of 12th RLST, 2012 English (Pass Graduate Category)

Collected from Memory

1.      Why does Ulysses consider his people to be a savage race in Tennyson’s poem by the same name?

Ulysses, the great Greek ruler considers his people to be a savage race because they live an idle and ignorant life, spending time in food and drink and sloth and have no desire for knowledge. They even do not know the importance and greatness of their king.

2.      What is the poet’s prayer to the Skylark in the poem To A Skylark?

Shelley wishes to learn half of the gladness of the bird so that he can also sing with full-throated ease the eternal melodies like the bird. When he would be able to do that the world would listen to his song and would be inspired as he is inspired now by the bird’s song.

3.      In Ode to a Nightingale what does Keats contrast with the song of the nightingale?

In Ode to a Nightingale Keats contrasts the transience of human life and tragedy of old age with the song of the nightingale which is immortal, is not born for death. He says that human life is transient and full of pain and sorrow. On the other hand no human pang can reach to the world of the nightingale. It is free from all cares. 

4.      What are the ‘strange fits of passion’ that Wordsworth has known?

The ‘strange fits of passion’ that Wordsworth has known are his convulsive passion for a little girl named Lucy. But his passion is also fraught with fear: he has a fear that his beloved Lucy may die leaving him alone in this world. 

5.      “Since now at length my fate I know” – Who is the speaker? What is his fate? What last thing does he compare his fate with that of others?

The rejected lover in Browning’s poem The Last Ride Together is the speaker.

He thinks that it is his fate that he is rejected by his beloved.

The rejected lover consoles himself by comparing his failure with others. The lover compares his lot with those of the poet, musician, sculptor, statesman and soldier by saying that not only he but all of them fail in the end f their life.

6.      How does the poet build up a supernatural atmosphere in The Listeners?

Too create a supernatural atmosphere the poet Walter De La Mare chooses a haunted house as the setting of his poem. The traveller and the inhabitants of the lone house are not known to us. The night, the surroundings of the house, the horse of the traveller – all are presented in a mysterious way. Eerie suggestion and indefiniteness loom large in the poem. 

7.      What, according to Yeats, are the difference between himself and the wild swans?

The sight of the wild swans at the lake reminds him of his growing age. He realizes that when he saw the birds first time 19 years ago, he was more carefree and high in spirit. But the passage of time has taken away his youth and vigour and made him over-burdened with Time. But the swans remain same with full of energy, and passion and conquest. 

8.      “I am the enemy you killed my friend” – Explain the line with reference too its context.

The expression points to the bitter irony of the poem – the realization that any reconciliation cannot take place in this world, but it happens after life. The German soldier speaks to the English soldier about the ravages of war. Actually both of them act as the alter ego of the poet – Wilfred Owen. 

9.      How does Hardy describe Nature in Darkling Thrush?

Hardy has given a dull and desolate picture of a winter evening. He leaned over a wooden gate at one such winter evening. Frost was setting upon everything. The sun was becoming dimmer gradually. Leafless branches of the trees and creepers seemed to be the strings of a broken lyre. Not a single man was seen moving outside. The whole atmosphere looked gloomy.

10.  From which mythology has Shelley borrowed the idea of “destroyer and preserver” in Ode to the West Wind?

Shelley in his Ode to the West Wind has borrowed the idea of “destroyer and preserver” from the Hindu mythology. According to this mythology three principal Gods – Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu are the representatives of destroyer, creator and preserver respectively. Shelley’s poem invokes all three gods as manifested in the one abstract force of the west wind.  

11.  What is the significance of the title She Stoops to Conquer?

When Goldsmith wrote this play, it had the title The Mistakes of the Night which is now the sub-title of the drama. But it was not a catchy title. So a long search was made to provide a suitable title to the play. At last Goldsmith himself gave the title She Stoops to Conquer. Perhaps she was influenced by Dryden’s line, “But kneels to conquer, and but stoops to rise”. Now the title of the drama is suitable and catchy. 

12.  “Yes! That’s Don Quixote...” Who is referred to as Don Quixote in Shaw’s play and why?

Major Sergius is referred to here as Don Quixote in Shaw’s Arms and the Man.

Don Quixote was a romantic hero of the great Spanish writer’s romance Don Quixote. He saw a windmill and imagined it o be a giant and charged upon it on horse-back with his long lance. Sergius acted likewise when he charged the enemy canons with wrong ammunitions. Bluntschli compares Sergius to Don Quixote to explain the ridiculous character of Sergius’s cavalry charge against the artillery of the Serbs.    

13.  In Justice which literary reference does Walter cite to prove his point?
      To prove his point Walter said, “The quality of mercy is not strained...” He quotes it from a famous speech of Portia in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice where Portia appeals to Shylock for Antonio’s case. Walter How wants to convey that mercy is a greater virtue and, therefore, greater justice, which makes everyone happy. He tries to convey his father that they should pardon on this virtue. 

14.  What does the expression ‘After all he only got what he deserved’ mean the short story The Lotus Eater?

W. Somerset Maugham, the author of The Lotus Eater said that Wilson, the central character of the short story, got the fate he deserved. He was responsible for his fate. His choice of the path of life was strong and was obviously wrong.

15.  Why are Jim and Della called the Magi?

In O. Henry’s story The Gift of the Magi Jim and Della are called the wisest persons among all in the world. They sacrifice their most valuable possessions – Della’s beautiful hair and Jim’s gold watch to buy Christmas gifts for each other. Their presents were useless for the time but invaluable for their spirit of love and sacrifice. So the author called them the Magi.

16.  How did Arsat’s brother die in Conrad’s story The Lagoon?

When Arsat abducted Diamelen on the night of torch light expedition, Arsat’s brother decided to face single-handed so many enemies that were pursuing Arsat. When all his shots were fired, they came and encircled him. He called his brother for thrice, but none came to help him. Finally he was surrounded by the enemies and killed mercilessly.

17.  “.....both the children gradually grew fainter.....” – Why did the children grow fainter in Lamb’s essay? Who was their mother?

The children in Lamb’s essay are mere imaginary children of him. They might have been to him if the marriage between him and Ann Simons could take place. Lamb was only dreaming of his past reminiscences. So when his reverie was becoming over, the children were gradually growing fainter.

The mother of the children was Ann Simon, the beloved of Charles Lamb. 

18.  What, according to Hill, are the principles of good writing?

In his essay Principles of Good Writing L.A. Hill mentions some features that make a piece of writing good. A good writing should have clarity, logicality, good vocabulary, interest, individuality in style, good presentation, avoidance of jarring and rhetorical flourishes. To make his writing good one should avoid strictly the mixture of different styles. 

19.  Sketch the character of Mrs. Thurlow as presented by Bates in The Ox.

Mrs. Thurlow was a hard working woman who earned money by working at others’ houses only to make her sons settled in their life. But in course of events, her husband stole the money and shattered her hopes. He was executed for a case of murder. The sons were sheltered by her brother. But when her crisis was over, another blow came on her. Her sons declined to go back home with their mother. Thus throughout her life she had to suffer in the hand o fate. In the story Bates presents her as a tragic character.

20.  Write a paragraph (50 words) on the ideals of Swami Vivekananda.

It is very tough to write the ideals of such a great personality within 50 words. He told us to have faith in ourselves and stand up on that faith and be powerful. If we think ourselves weak, weak we will be; if we think ourselves strong, strong we will be; if we think ourselves impure, impure we will be; if we think ourselves pure, pure we will be. The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength.  He advised us to teach men of the strength that is already within them. He says that the power of concentration is the only way to acquire knowledge.

21.  Fill in the blanks with articles and prepositions:

(a)    There were  a   good many caravans scattered  arround .

(b)   He looked at the clouds and wished it would rain.

22.  Do as directed:

(a)    He was too tired to walk. (Split the sentence)

Ans: He was very tired. He could not walk.

(b)   Mr. Bose is rich. He is an honest man. (Make a compound sentence)

Ans: Mr. Bose is rich but he is an honest man.

23.  Gove the noun forms of the following words:

(a)    Assume : assumption                           (c) compare: comparison

(b)   Begin:  beginning                                 (d) grow: growth

24.  Give the adjective forms of the following words:

(a)    Badly: bad                              (c) ferocity: ferocious

(b)   Awfully: awful                         (d) unjustly: unjust

25.  Change the voice of the following sentences:

(a)    She seems to be overburdened by the work.

Ans: The work seems to overburden her.

(b)   We visited the Agra Fort last year.

Ans: Last year the Agra Fort was visited by us. 

26.  Make sentence with the following:

(a)    Work out : Things have worked out quite well for us.

(b)   Bring about : Her folly brought about her fall. 

27.  Change into indirect speech:

(a)    He said to me, “I have often told you not to play with fire.”

Ans: He warned me that he had often told me not to play with fire.

(b)   The police said to us, “Where are you going at this hour of night.”

Ans: The police asked us where we were going at that hour of night.

28.  Do as directed:

(a)    As soon as the guests had seated themselves the Minister arrived. (use ‘no sooner’)

Ans: No sooner had the guests seated themselves than the minister arrived.

(b)   He has the most wonderful house at the town. (Turn into negative sentence).

Ans: None but he had the most wonderful house at the town. 

29.  Replace the underlined words with appropriate phrasal verb:

(a)    He has stopped  smoking.

Ans: He has given up smoking.

(b)   The police have promised to investigate the matter.

Ans: The police have promised to look into the matter.

30.  Identify the clause and identify its nature:

(a)    He says that he won’t go.

Ans: that he won’t go is the clause in the sentence. It is a noun clause as it explains the idea if a pronoun and also replaces it.

(b)   As soon as he heard the news he wrote to me.

As soon as he heard the news is the clause in the sentence. It is an adverbial clause as the clause clarifies the next verb ‘write’  in the main sentence.