II Year BA Non-Semester Examination
Question Paper
Subject: English Literature
Time: 3 Hours
Max. Marks: 100
Instructions:
* Attempt all questions.
* Answer to each question should be limited to the prescribed word limit.
* All questions carry equal marks.
Section A: Poetry
1. Read the following lines and answer the questions that follow:
>"Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air."
a) What is the theme of the lines?
b) What does the poet mean by "gems" and "flowers"?
c) Explain the significance of the last line.
d) Who is the poet of these lines?
(Word Limit: 200 Words)
2. Write a critical appreciation of the poem "To a Skylark" by Percy Bysshe Shelley.
3. Compare and contrast the themes of two of the following poems:
- "Ode to a Nightingale" by John Keats
- "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost
- "Sonnet 18" by William Shakespeare
Section B: Drama
4. Answer the following questions about the play "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare:
a) What is the main conflict of the play?
b) How does the character of Hamlet evolve throughout the play?
c) Discuss the role of the ghost in the play.
d) What is the significance of the ending of the play?
(Word Limit: 200 Words)
5. Write a detailed analysis of one of the following scenes from the play "The Merchant of Venice" by William Shakespeare:
- Act III, Scene I (The Trial Scene)
- Act IV, Scene I (The Casket Scene)
- Act V, Scene I (The Belmont Scene)
Section C: Prose
6. Write a critical appreciation of the novel "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen.
7. Compare and contrast the characters of Elizabeth Bennet and Jane Bennet from the novel "Pride and Prejudice".
8. What is the significance of the following episode in the novel "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf:
> "Suddenly the shadow passed."
9. Write a short note on the life and works of George Orwell.
Section D: Creative Writing
10. Write a short story on the theme of "Hope".
(Word Limit: 300 Words)