Easy2Siksha.com
GNDU Question Paper-2024
Bachelor of Business Administration
BBA 5
th
Semester
ENGLISH COMPULSORY
Time Allowed: Three Hours Max. Marks: 50
Note: Attempt FIVE questions in all, selecting at least ONE question from each section. The
fifth question may be attempted from any section. All questions carry equal marks.
SECTION-A
1.(i) Discuss Ann Deever's role in the play All My Sons.
(ii) What does the broken stump of the apple tree mean to various characters in the play?
2. Discuss all the themes of All My Sons.
SECTION-B
3.(i) What is the theme of the poem 'Ozymandias'?
(ii) Discuss 'Dover Beach' as a spiritual testament of the modern times.
4.(i) Give the summary of the poem 'She Walks in Beauty'.
(ii) In the poem 'Meeting at Night' silence is the mode through which intensity of love is
evoked. Explain.
SECTION-C
5. (i) Explain the title of the poem 'The Portrait'.
Easy2Siksha.com
(ii) Write in your words theme of the poem 'Honeymoon Flight.
6. 'Night of Scorpion' shows a society that is full of ignorance and superstition.
SECTION-D
7. Write a letter to the Editor of a newspaper expressing your views about condition of
parks in your city.
8. Write a resume for the post of Assistant Manager in a reputed firm.
Easy2Siksha.com
GNDU Answer Paper-2024
Bachelor of Business Administration
BBA 5
th
Semester
ENGLISH COMPULSORY
Time Allowed: Three Hours Max. Marks: 50
Note: Attempt FIVE questions in all, selecting at least ONE question from each section. The
fifth question may be attempted from any section. All questions carry equal marks.
SECTION-A
1.(i) Discuss Ann Deever's role in the play All My Sons.
(ii) What does the broken stump of the apple tree mean to various characters in the play?
Ans: Ann Deever and the Broken Apple-Tree: a story-like, student-friendly guide to All My
Sons
Imagine a quiet American backyard in the late 1940s. The house looks respectable, curtains
twitch when people pass, and in the middle of the yard there’s an apple-tree stump — a
scar on the lawn everyone can see but no one wants to talk about. Into that yard walks Ann
Deever: polite, steady, carrying the weight of other people’s histories in the way a visitor
carries a suitcase. What follows in Arthur Miller’s All My Sons is not just a family argument
— it’s a slow unpeeling of who people are, what they hide, and how truth can feel like both
a wound and a cure.
Below I’ll tell the whole thing as a story, then slow down and unpack it piece by piece so any
student — and any examiner — can follow, enjoy, and understand. I’ll explain (i) who Ann
Deever is and what role she plays in the drama, and (ii) what the broken stump of the apple
tree signifies to each character and to the play as a whole.
Part I — Ann Deever: the woman who opens up the wound (and points the way forward)
Think of Ann as three things at once: a person in love, a daughter of a convicted man, and
an accidental truth-teller. Those three roles collide in ways that steer the entire play.
Easy2Siksha.com
Her background — why she matters before she even speaks
Ann is the daughter of Steve Deever, a man imprisoned after airplane parts that were
cracked were shipped out during the war — parts that, it is alleged, caused the deaths of
twenty-one pilots. Before the disaster, Ann was engaged to Larry Keller, the Kellers’ son who
went missing as a pilot and is presumed dead. After Larry disappears, Ann’s life becomes
tangled with the Keller family: she and Chris Keller (Larry’s wartime friend and Joe Keller’s
son) fall in love and plan to marry. So Ann wears three histories on her back: the tragedy of
Larry, the stain on her own family caused by her father’s imprisonment, and the future in
her engagement to Chris.
This mixture makes her important from the start. She is not only connected to two key
families — she also represents the overlap of truth and memory that the Kellers are trying
to avoid.
Ann as a mirror — she reflects what the Kellers refuse to see
Kate Keller, the mother, refuses to accept Larry’s death; she sees Ann first as a threat to her
hope. Kate is always looking for signs that Larry is alive — any hopeful story, any chance —
and Ann, who loved Larry, is a constant reminder that Larry might have been alive when the
tragedy with the airplane parts occurred. So to Kate, Ann is dangerous: she might let go of
the “Larry will come back” story.
To Chris, Ann is an embodiment of the better world he wants to believe in — decency,
honesty, rebuilding after the war. Chris’s idealism makes him see Ann as both love and a
moral standard. In loving Ann he makes moral promises; to be worthy of her he must be
honorable.
This “mirror” function matters dramatically. Because Ann is honest (not showy, but honest),
staying with her forces the Kellers to see aspects of themselves they would rather blind
themselves to. Miller uses Ann to show how love and truth can be inconvenient but
clarifying.
Ann as catalyst — the thing that sets buried events in motion
A great play needs a character who will unsettle complacency without being merely a villain;
Ann plays this catalytic role. She returns to the Kellers’ life after years away. Her presence
stirs old conversations, old scars and finally sets off the chain of revelations that expose the
central crime. Even when she does not speak outright about Joe’s actions, her connection to
the Deever family forces the issue into the open.
Remember: the big secret of All My Sons is not merely about faulty parts — it’s about
responsibility and the terrible, ordinary choices people make to protect their families and
livelihoods at other people’s expense. Ann’s arrival demands that those choices be
examined.
Ann as moral center and moral troublemaker
Easy2Siksha.com
Ann is not a saint, and Miller is careful to make her real. She’s torn: her father is in prison;
her brother George, a lawyer, has complicated feelings about the Kellers; and she loves
Chris. That means she faces moral puzzles in the play: Should she side with her blood (her
imprisoned father) or with her heart (Chris, whose family is accused)? Should she protect
the man she loves from shame, or should she let the truth out for the victims?
Her choices reveal her character. Rather than hide, she becomes part of truth’s machinery:
she doesn’t manufacture evidence, but she does not cover it up either. She is able to be
practical and loving but also brave enough to face the consequences of truth. That bravery is
her defining moral quality.
Ann as “bridge” and as “healer” — or not, depending on what happens
Dramatically, Ann stands between the past (Larry and the Deever scandal) and the future
(Chris’s intended life). If the play ended with a happy wedding, Ann would represent
healing: families reconciled, the past accounted for, and life moving on. But Miller’s play
does not let the past be quietly buried. Ann’s presence actually forces a more honest kind of
healing — painful but real. In the end, whether she becomes the healer depends on the
other characters’ willingness to accept truth.
How Ann changes over the course of the play
At first she is measured, somewhat reserved — a visitor who respects the Keller home. As
the play progresses, she becomes firmer. She grows from someone trying to fit into a family
fraught with denial, into someone who will not let denial win. When the truth comes out
she is not triumphant or gleeful; she is clear and, in many ways, compassionate. Her
maturity is crucial because Chris needs someone whose conscience is aligned with his — and
also who can survive the wreckage the truth will cause.
Why Miller writes her this way — what she represents
Ann is Miller’s moral instrument. She’s not an actor who pulls strings for the sake of drama;
she is a believable person whose loyalties are complex. Miller needed someone who could
both love and symbolize the consequences of wartime profit, family loyalty, and the ethical
choices of ordinary people. Ann’s role is precisely to personify that tension: love vs. loyalty
to blood, and private hopes vs. public responsibility.
Part II — The broken stump of the apple tree: a small object with very large meanings
That apple-tree stump is one of Miller’s neatest devices: small, visible, and packed with
memory. It is at once literal (a tree that was broken) and symbolic (everything that tree
stands for). Let’s walk through what different characters see when they look at the stump.
The literal story of the tree (so we all start from the same place)
Easy2Siksha.com
Larry Keller planted an apple tree in the Kellers’ yard. It was his tree — a simple boy-thing, a
life-gesture. When storms came and the tree broke, what remained was a stump: a dead
remainder of a living thing. People still see it; it is visible proof that something once living is
now lost. In the play, characters refer to the stump casually and painfully, and its mere
presence holds a host of meanings.
What Kate sees: hope and the refusal to give up
For Kate, the stump is not evidence of death; it is a sign of interruption. She believes Larry
will return; the stump is a promise that can still be fulfilled. She interprets it as incomplete
rather than finished — the tree has been broken, but maybe Larry is not gone. In that sense,
the stump sustains her denial. It’s the last physical trace of Larry and therefore must be
guarded, worshiped almost. Without that belief, Kate’s whole existence — which is
organized around the idea Larry will come back — collapses.
To use a simple phrase: the stump is Kate’s anchor against unbearable grief and the moral
conclusion that her husband might have been responsible for their son’s fate. If the stump
means Larry is dead and Joe might have had a hand in it, Kate loses the only psychological
defense she has left.
What Chris sees: memory, guilt, and eventual moral clarity
Chris is the son who wants the world to be decent. For him, the stump is about loss — Larry
was his friend and wartime companion, and the stump is a private memento. But it’s also, at
first, a nostalgia that keeps him from grappling fully with the facts. As the truth unfolds, the
stump shifts for Chris from a simple memory to a signpost pointing at the cost of human
choices: Joe’s choices led to human bodies being destroyed, and one of those bodies may
have been his friend Larry’s.
So the stump becomes part of Chris’s moral awakening. It starts as a symbol of youth and
friendship, and ends up as a reminder that good intentions do not excuse harm. The stump
literally and figuratively forces Chris to face what his family’s actions cost others.
What Joe sees: consequences, shame, denial, and finally the inescapable
Joe Keller’s relationship with the stump is complicated because it gets to the heart of the
play’s moral engine. Joe wants to be a successful provider. He makes a decision — or allows
a decision — that will preserve his business and keep his sons fed. For a long time he lives
with the rationalization that what he did was for his family. The stump, however, is the
physical mark of what his actions may have bought at a terrible price.
At first, Joe might ignore the stump or see it as bad luck. But as the reality of the deaths and
Larry’s fate become clearer, the stump becomes a point of cognitive dissonance. It is the
silent witness to a death that his choices contributed to. Ultimately, the weight of what the
stump represents becomes one of the things Joe cannot live with — and that unbearable
moral burden leads to his tragic final act. The stump was not the only cause of his ending,
but it is one of the few things in the play that continually points back at the consequence of
his actions.
Easy2Siksha.com
What Ann sees: evidence and compassion
Ann sees the stump almost clinically at first — a reminder that Larry is gone and that the
past matters. But Ann also brings the perspective of someone who has lost family to the
same scandal (her father is in prison). The stump for her is not an abstract symbol; it is a
detail in the map of how real people have been hurt. She treats it with respect; she doesn’t
exploit it. For Ann, the stump becomes one more reason to insist on truth, because
pretending otherwise would be to betray the dead.
What the neighbors and readers see: the public symbol of private failure
Neighbors, like Sue Bayliss, may pass the stump and treat it as garden gossip, but to the
audience it’s a larger social symbol. The stump is public evidence that private choices have
public costs. It’s a small emblem of the play’s critique of the "American Dream" as pursued
with no moral compass. The Kellers’ well-kept lawn and respectability are stained by the
stump’s presence — an index of a hole in the myth of suburban normalcy.
Literary and symbolic layers (a few richer interpretations)
1. Death and interrupted life. The most straightforward meaning is loss: a living thing
cut down, like Larry’s life cut short.
2. Denial vs. reality. The stump is the physical correlative of Kate’s denial. She stares at
it and refuses to let it mean what it obviously means. That refusal is the play’s
human drama.
3. Guilt and conscience. The stump is a silent witness — something that cannot be lied
to. For Joe and for Chris it grows into a conscience object: the more they look at it,
the harder it is to justify what was done.
4. A remnant that can sprout. Some critics read the stump as a biblical image: from a
stump a new shoot may grow (Isaiah), suggesting hope that out of this moral ruin
new decency might arise — possibly through Chris and Ann, the younger generation
who decide to act with conscience. This is a hopeful reading, and one Miller allows
because Chris and Ann, in the end, are left to try to live honestly.
5. Social commentary. The stump speaks to the cost of profit and denial in postwar
America. A broken tree in a suburban yard implies that economic success came with
blood on the hands — however politely the owners sweep the porch.
How the stump works dramatically
Miller is economical with props, and a single visible object that the characters return to is
powerful. The stump is a physical presence that actors can reference; it helps the audience
track memory and change without long monologues. When a character walks to or talks
about the stump, it’s a cue: we’re dealing with the deepest feelings now. That economy
makes the stump a small theatrical jewel.
How Ann and the stump relate — and why that matters for the play’s message
Easy2Siksha.com
Put the two parts together and you see a pattern. Ann is the human agent of truth; the
stump is the object that truth points to. She forces the family to consider what the stump
stands for: not just a broken tree, but betrayal, loss, and accountability. Her refusal to be
part of any cover-up parallels the stump’s refusal to be anything other than what it is: a
stump.
In Miller’s moral universe, truth is costly. Ann’s honesty costs relationships; Joe’s dishonesty
costs lives. The stump insists on the cost — it won’t let them forget. In the end, the play
offers both a condemnation and a faint hope: those who live honestly and learn from ruin
(Chris and Ann) may build something new from what was cut down.
Final, simple takeaways — memory anchors for the exam
1. Who is Ann Deever?
o Daughter of a jailed man, former fiancée of Larry, and the woman Chris loves.
o She functions as a moral mirror and a catalyst: her presence destabilizes the
Kellers’ denial and helps bring the truth to light.
o She is complex: loyal to family but also honest, loving but brave.
2. What does the broken stump mean?
o To Kate: hope and denial — the stump is a reason to believe Larry might yet
return.
o To Chris: memory, loss, and moral awakening — the stump becomes proof
that decisions have consequences.
o To Joe: the silent consequence of his choices; it contributes to his unbearable
sense of guilt.
o To Ann and to the community: a sign of human cost and a prompt for truth.
o Symbolically: interrupted life, guilt, the possibility of regeneration (if we
accept truth), and the moral bite behind economic success.
3. Why these two elements matter together:
o Ann forces truth; the stump forces memory. Together they make the family
confront the ethical heart of the play. Miller’s point is that personal
prosperity built on moral compromise will not stand — the truth will break
through, as inevitably as a storm breaks a tree.
A final image (to remember it by)
Picture the yard again. The stump is small, dull, a slight scar in the sun. Ann stands there,
composed; Chris reaches for her hand. Kate looks away, whispering to the corner of the
house. Joe walks slowly, his shoulders carrying more than his years. The stump is mute, but
you hear it: it says, “This is what was lost,” and if you listen, it also says, “Choose who you
will become now.”
Easy2Siksha.com
That simple image holds the whole play: a person who returns and insists on honesty, and a
broken tree that will not let comfortable lies take root. Together, they make All My Sons a
story not just about crime and consequence, but about how we face — or refuse to face —
the truth of what our choices cost other people.
2. Discuss all the themes of All My Sons.
Ans: A Story-Like Exploration of the Themes in All My Sons
Imagine a quiet American town, right after World War II. Families are trying to rebuild their
lives, fathers are returning from war, and neighbors sit on their porches in the evenings,
chatting about their days. Amidst this, there is one family—the Kellers. At first glance, they
look ordinary: a hardworking father, a loving mother, and a son who carries the family’s
hopes.
But beneath this peaceful surface lies a storm. This is where Arthur Miller begins weaving
his play All My Sons. And just like peeling an onion, each layer of the play reveals a powerful
theme about human life, responsibility, and the cost of choices.
Let’s now walk through the themes one by one—almost like opening different doors of the
Keller household and seeing what truths lie hidden inside.
1. The American Dream: A Shattered Illusion
The American Dream is one of the most important themes in All My Sons. For many, the
dream is simple: work hard, build a successful business, provide for your family, and live in
comfort. Joe Keller, the father in the play, is a perfect example of someone chasing this
dream.
Joe started with nothing. He built his business from scratch, struggled for years, and finally
became successful. For him, money and business success equaled security for his family. On
the surface, it looks admirable. But here’s the twist: to protect his business during the war,
Joe allowed faulty airplane parts to be shipped out. Those parts caused the death of 21
pilots.
Now the big question is: Was Joe’s dream worth it? He achieved success, but at what cost?
Miller shows us that when the American Dream is pursued selfishly—when profit comes
before morality—it becomes destructive.
The play is almost like Miller holding up a mirror to American society of his time (and even
ours today) and asking:
“Is money and comfort more important than human lives? What are you willing to sacrifice
for success?”
Easy2Siksha.com
So, the first theme is clear: the American Dream can turn into a nightmare when it ignores
ethics.
2. Family vs. Society: Where Does Responsibility End?
At the heart of All My Sons lies a question: To whom are we responsible? Just our own
family? Or to society as a whole?
Joe Keller believed his first and only duty was to his family. He justified his crime by saying:
“I did it for you, Chris! For the family!”
To him, the lives of 21 young soldiers were less important than the comfort of his own wife
and sons. But Miller disagrees. Through Chris, Joe’s son, the play argues that family and
society are interconnected—you cannot love your own children while destroying the lives of
others’ children.
This theme becomes tragic when Joe finally realizes that the dead pilots were “all his sons.”
They were somebody’s children, just like his son Larry. This realization breaks him
completely.
The examiner reading your paper will love if you show this contrast: Joe = family-first
responsibility, Chris = social responsibility.
Miller ultimately says that a healthy society requires people to think beyond their own
families.
3. Guilt and Denial: Living with Lies
Another powerful theme is guilt and denial. Throughout the play, almost every character is
hiding from the truth.
• Joe Keller hides behind excuses: he claims the faulty parts were not his
responsibility, he blames his business partner Steve, and convinces himself he only
acted to protect his family.
• Kate Keller, Joe’s wife, lives in denial about Larry’s death. She clings to the hope that
her missing son will return, because accepting his death would also mean admitting
Joe’s guilt in the pilots’ deaths.
• Chris Keller feels guilty for surviving the war and enjoying life when so many of his
fellow soldiers died.
This theme shows us how lies and denial eat away at people from the inside. Instead of
freeing them, denial traps them in endless suffering. The Keller family looks stable from the
outside, but it’s like a house built on cracks. One day, the truth bursts through and destroys
them.
Easy2Siksha.com
Miller’s message? You cannot run from the truth forever. Guilt always finds its way out.
4. War and Its Moral Consequences
World War II is not directly shown on stage, but its shadow looms over every scene of the
play. The war ended, but it left behind a battlefield of moral questions.
The soldiers who died weren’t just casualties of war—they became victims of greed and
negligence. Joe’s factory, meant to serve the nation during wartime, ended up betraying it.
This theme makes us ask:
• What does war reveal about human nature?
• Are businessmen patriots or profiteers?
• Do we fight wars only on battlefields, or also in boardrooms and homes?
By highlighting the connection between business and war, Miller points out the dangerous
mix of capitalism and patriotism. When profit drives war production, human lives can
become “just numbers.”
5. Truth, Lies, and Self-Deception
Closely tied to guilt is the theme of truth and lies. The entire play is like a tug-of-war
between truth and deception.
• Joe lies about his role in the faulty parts.
• Kate lies to herself about Larry being alive.
• The neighborhood whispers and suspects, but no one speaks openly.
Miller shows how lies spread like poison. One small lie becomes a bigger one, and soon an
entire family is built on falsehood. Eventually, the truth comes out, but by then, it destroys
everything.
This theme also connects to the broader question of honesty in society. If families,
businesses, and governments keep lying to protect their image, who pays the price? Usually,
the innocent.
6. Justice and Punishment
Another theme running through the play is justice—but not in the traditional courtroom
sense. Steve, Joe’s partner, is in prison for the crime. Legally, justice is served. But morally,
it’s not, because Joe is the true guilty one.
Easy2Siksha.com
Here, Miller highlights the gap between law and morality. Sometimes the law punishes the
wrong person or fails to hold the truly guilty accountable. Joe escapes punishment for most
of the play, but Miller shows that no one truly escapes justice. Instead of legal punishment,
Joe faces moral punishment: the crushing realization of his crime leads him to end his life.
So the play asks us: What is true justice? Is it what the court decides, or what conscience
decides?
7. The Generation Gap: Old Values vs. New Morality
Another theme is the conflict between generations. Joe Keller represents the older
generation—practical, business-minded, willing to compromise morality for survival. His son
Chris represents the younger generation—idealistic, believing in honesty, sacrifice, and
social responsibility.
This clash is visible in their arguments. Joe insists he only did what “any man would do” for
his family. Chris refuses to accept this logic, because he has seen men in war sacrifice their
lives selflessly.
This theme makes the play timeless. Even today, young people often clash with older
generations about values—whether it’s about business ethics, politics, or personal choices.
Miller shows that society changes when younger generations refuse to repeat the mistakes
of the past.
8. Love and Sacrifice
Love is also an important theme, but in All My Sons, it is twisted and complicated. Joe claims
he acted out of love for his family, but his actions destroyed others. Kate’s love for Larry
blinds her to reality. Chris’s love for Ann is caught between loyalty to his parents and his
own desires.
The play shows that real love must involve honesty and sacrifice, not selfishness. Joe’s false
version of love (protecting his family at the cost of others) contrasts with Chris’s idealistic
vision of love (loyalty to humanity as a whole).
9. The Corrupting Power of Money
Money is a silent character in the play. It drives the plot, influences decisions, and reveals
true priorities. Joe Keller’s decision to ship faulty parts was motivated by fear of losing his
business and wealth. Even neighbors in the play gossip about money and status.
Easy2Siksha.com
Miller shows that when money becomes more important than morality, disaster follows.
The corrupted value system—where success equals wealth instead of integrity—destroys
not only the Keller family but also the lives of 21 young men.
10. Hope and Despair
Kate’s hope that Larry is alive and will return symbolizes the human tendency to cling to
hope, even when it is unrealistic. Her hope is actually her shield against despair. But Miller
shows that false hope is dangerous—it delays acceptance, prevents healing, and traps
people in denial.
At the end, when Kate is forced to face the truth about Larry and Joe, despair floods in. The
family crumbles. This theme reminds us that while hope is essential in life, false hope can be
destructive.
Bringing It All Together
If you imagine All My Sons as a grand painting, each theme is a color stroke. Together they
form a tragic but beautiful picture of human life: ambition, love, lies, guilt, war, money, and
morality.
Arthur Miller didn’t just write a family drama. He wrote a story that asks each one of us:
• Where do we draw the line between personal success and social responsibility?
• How much truth can we live with?
• Are we ready to see the world as “all our sons,” not just our own?
The tragedy of Joe Keller is not just his personal failure—it is a warning to every society that
forgets morality in the race for success.
Conclusion
To wrap it up:
The main themes of All My Sons include the American Dream, responsibility to society,
guilt and denial, war’s consequences, truth and lies, justice, generational conflict, love and
sacrifice, the corrupting power of money, and the tension between hope and despair.
Miller blends these themes into one heartbreaking truth: that no man lives for himself
alone. Our actions ripple outward, affecting not just our families but the entire human
family.
Easy2Siksha.com
So when the curtain falls, and Joe Keller takes his life, it’s not just the end of one man. It’s a
lesson for us all.
SECTION-B
3.(i) What is the theme of the poem 'Ozymandias'?
(ii) Discuss 'Dover Beach' as a spiritual testament of the modern times.
Ans: Imagine you’re an evening-walker who loves old stories. One night you wander into a
small, dusty museum of echoes — a place where poems sit on plinths like weathered
statues, each humming the last line of its own secret. Two exhibits catch your eye: one is a
broken, bronze head half-buried in sand; the other is a window overlooking a shoreline
where the moon is laying a silver path across the water. The first whispers a short, sharp
tale about pride and ruin. The second speaks slowly, like someone remembering how the
world lost its steady ground and asking, tenderly, what that loss means for our hearts.
I’ll tell you both stories as if we’re sitting by that shore together. I’ll explain the theme of
Ozymandias in simple, clear steps — then walk you through Dover Beach and show why it
reads like a spiritual testament for modern times. I’ll point out the poet’s tricks, the
emotional pulls, the historical clues, and the ideas you can use in an exam answer that feels
alive.
Part I — Ozymandias: the theme told as a little desert story
The tiny tale (summary).
You meet a traveler from an old land. He tells you of a ruin in a desert: two massive, legless
stone pieces stand, and nearby lies a shattered face — still fierce, still showing a king’s
“sneer of cold command.” On the pedestal, once proud, an inscription reads something like,
“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” But
there’s nothing left of his empire; only “lone and level sands” stretch away.
One-sentence theme (easy to remember).
The poem’s central theme: human pride and power are temporary; time and nature reduce
great empires to dust, and art and memory are the only ambiguous survivors of human
ambition.
Now let’s unpack this with all the little gears that make the theme work.
1. The iron heart of the poem — hubris, time, and irony
At the center is dramatic irony. Ozymandias (a proud, boastful ruler) believed his works
would last forever. The inscription commands the powerful to despair at his permanence.
Easy2Siksha.com
But the poem’s scene contradicts that claim: the “colossal wreck” and the “lone and level
sands” show decay. The irony forces us to laugh and shudder at the same time. That laugh is
not petty — it’s a moral reminder: power that depends on domination and boasting cannot
control time.
2. Power vs. time and nature
Shelley stages a confrontation: human-made grandeur (the statue, the inscription) versus
geological time (the endless sands). The statue is present, but ruined; the desert is patient
and vast. This contrast emphasizes that nature — or time itself — ultimately swallows
human projects. That’s a universal warning: monuments, kingdoms, reputations — all are
fragile.
3. The role of art and memory
But the poem complicates itself. The sculptor captured the king’s “sneer” and passions —
“the hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed.” The sculptor’s craft survives, and his
art communicates the ruler’s character long after the empire is gone. So art becomes an
ambiguous survivor: it both mocks and preserves. Shelley suggests that artistic truth can
outlast political bragging. Ironically, the sculptor’s honest depiction does more to tell
Ozymandias’ story than the king’s triumphal inscription ever could.
4. Voices and framing
Shelley doesn’t speak directly. The poem is told by a narrator who heard the story from a
traveler. This frame — “I met a traveller from an antique land / Who said…” — creates
distance and makes the poem feel like a found object, a rumor that’s been passed down.
That distance helps the poem feel universal: the lesson isn’t about one king only; it’s about
any ruler (or person) who thinks their power is permanent.
5. Language and imagery that build the theme
• Striking visual images: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone,” “shattered visage,”
“colossal Wreck” — these make ruin tangible.
• Sound devices: the sibilant sounds (s, sh) in “sands stretch” imitate the whisper of
time and erosion.
• Juxtapositions: the fierce face vs. the empty desert; the proud inscription vs. the
absence of works.
All these push the reader to feel the scale of the collapse.
6. Historical and moral context
Shelley was a Romantic poet and a political radical. He loved liberty and distrusted tyrants.
That background lets us read Ozymandias as a political parable: tyrants who oppress others
often leave nothing substantial behind. Yet the poem’s moral is broader — it applies to all
human vanity: money, fame, technological dominance — anything built on self-glory is
vulnerable to decay.
Easy2Siksha.com
7. Why examiners like this poem
It’s short, tight, and makes one big idea brilliantly. For an answer: define the theme, support
it with textual evidence (the ruined statue, the inscription, the search of the sands), explain
devices (irony, imagery, voice), and end with a concise conclusion about relevance (why the
message still matters).
Exam-style sample line you could use:
The central theme of Shelley’s “Ozymandias” is the transience of human power and pride:
the poem uses vivid imagery, bitter irony and a framed narrative to show how time and
nature level the loftiest ambitions, leaving only the artist’s truth behind.
Part II — Dover Beach: a spiritual testament of modern times
The tiny tale (summary).
You stand at a window at Dover. The sea is calm, moonlit — beautiful, even inviting. But as
night deepens you hear its “grating roar” where the waves pull the pebbles back. The
speaker remembers the “Sea of Faith” that once clothed the world in belief and certainty;
now that sea withdraws, leaving the world exposed, uncertain, and vulnerable. Human
relationships and loyalties are the single available remedy: “Ah, love, let us be true / To one
another!”
One-line theme for the exam.
“Dover Beach” is a poetic witness — a spiritual testament — that laments the erosion of
religious certainty in modern life and urges human fidelity and love as a fragile consolation.
Now let’s explore why this poem reads like a testimony of modern spiritual condition.
1. The poem’s mood: from calm to melancholic
Arnold begins with a peaceful, almost domestic image: moon, calm sea, the visible coastline
of France across the channel. This opening lulls us into comfort. Then the auditory image —
the “grating roar” of pebbles — introduces unease. The shift carries the reader from surface
beauty into a deeper, troubling knowledge: what looks serene may hide hollow ground.
2. The central metaphor — the Sea of Faith
Arnold famously uses the “Sea of Faith” as a metaphor for religious belief and cultural
certitude that once encircled humanity like a tide. Now that sea is “melancholy, long,
withdrawing roar.” That withdrawal is the heart of the poem’s spiritual testimony: the
steadying influence of faith is receding in the face of scientific skepticism, philosophical
doubt, and social change (Victorian advances in science and thought had eroded traditional
Christian certainties). The poem is not merely nostalgic; it is a record — a witness note — to
a changed spiritual landscape.
3. The modern condition — uncertainty, fragmentation, and anxiety
Easy2Siksha.com
Arnold moves from personal observation to an image of the world: “the world, which seems
/ To lie before us like a land of dreams … Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, / Nor
certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain.” That list catalogs what the speaker sees as
modernity’s spiritual poverty. With faith gone, the structures that once gave life meaning
and stability crumble. The “ignorant armies” image — people confused, fighting in the dark
— is powerful: society lacks a clear moral map, and human conflict becomes chaotic, not
ideological clarity.
4. The speaker and the addressee — intimacy and urgency
Unlike Ozymandias, Dover Beach is intimate: the speaker addresses a companion — the
reader is invited into a private moment. The final plea — “Ah, love, let us be true / To one
another!” — suggests that when the grand frameworks collapse, human relationships may
be a last refuge. But Arnold’s clincher is ambiguous: it’s not a triumphant solution; it’s a
fragile, urgent plea.
5. Tone and structure: a testimony built like a sermon
The poem moves in stages: observation → memory → diagnosis → prescription. This is like a
small sermon or testimony: see the fact, remember the past, recognize the problem,
suggest the one modest cure. Arnold’s tone mixes melancholy, rational observation, and
moral earnestness — perfect for a spiritual testament.
6. Language that carries the spiritual message
• Auditory imagery: the “grating roar” and the “withdrawing roar” make loss audible;
that repeated sound becomes the poem’s heartbeat.
• Metaphor and symbol: “Sea of Faith” is the central symbol; the “darkling plain”
where “ignorant armies clash by night” is a bleak metaphor for moral disorder.
• Personal address: phrases like “Come to the window, sweet is the night-air” draw
the reader into witness mode, making the poem feel like a confession.
7. Why it reads as a modern spiritual testament
A testament is a record of what someone has experienced or learned. Arnold records his
experience of modernity’s spiritual loss: he names the symptom (withdrawal of the Sea of
Faith), diagnoses the consequence (moral confusion), and offers a humanistic prescription
(truth between lovers). That sequence — witness, explanation, and counsel — is precisely
what makes Dover Beach a testament.
8. The poem’s modern resonance
Although Arnold wrote in the 19th century, the poem feels strikingly relevant today: rapid
scientific change, secularization, pluralism, information overload, social fragmentation — all
mirror Arnold’s fear that old certainties have receded. The poem doesn’t celebrate
modernity; it documents the spiritual cost and asks how we can live meaningfully without
the old anchors.
Easy2Siksha.com
9. Is love enough? The poem’s ambiguity
Arnold’s answer — fidelity between people — is moving but tentative. It is not an
ideological manifesto; it is a human plea. That ambiguity is part of why the poem reads as
honest testimony rather than a sermon with an answer. It admits the limit of what human
love can do, but still insists it’s the most real thing left.
Exam-style sample line you could use:
Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach” functions as a spiritual testament for modern times by
mourning the decline of religious certitude (the ‘Sea of Faith’) and recording the resulting
moral disorientation, while modestly recommending human fidelity — “Ah, love, let us be
true” — as the sole consolation amid existential doubt.
Bringing both poems together — a short comparison (so you can write it in an exam)
• Shared concern: Both poems are preoccupied with loss — Ozymandias with the loss
of political power and fame; Dover Beach with the loss of religious certainty and
cultural cohesion.
• Different scales: Ozymandias is public and political (an emperor’s monument), often
ironic and satirical. Dover Beach is personal and spiritual, elegiac and earnest.
• Nature’s role: In both, nature outlasts human structures — the desert, the sea — but
while Ozymandias shows the image of ruin, Dover Beach shows the retreat of
protective faith.
• Responses to loss: Shelley’s tone is cautionary and ironical; Arnold’s is melancholic
and pleading. Shelley leaves us with a bleak, almost sardonic moral lesson; Arnold
ends with a trembling human appeal.
A student’s checklist (how to turn this into a great answer quickly)
1. Start with a clear thesis sentence — answer the question straightaway.
o For example: “The theme of ‘Ozymandias’ is the transience of power; ‘Dover
Beach’ reads as a spiritual testament to modern uncertainty.”
2. Give a short summary (1–2 lines) of the poem before analysis.
3. Discuss key images and quotes (one or two each) that support your theme.
4. Explain techniques (irony, metaphor, tone, narrative frame, sound) and link them to
the theme.
5. Mention context briefly (Shelley’s radicalism; Arnold’s Victorian modernity) to
support interpretations.
6. Conclude by saying why the poems matter now — connect to universal human
experience.
7. Optional for high marks: add a short comparison paragraph linking both poems’
treatment of loss and time.
Easy2Siksha.com
4.(i) Give the summary of the poem 'She Walks in Beauty'.
(ii) In the poem 'Meeting at Night' silence is the mode through which intensity of love is
evoked. Explain.
Ans: A Fresh Beginning
Have you ever watched someone walk into a room, and for a moment, the world around
you seems to pause? No music plays, no one speaks, but something about that person’s
presence feels like poetry itself. That is exactly the kind of magical moment Lord Byron
captures in his poem “She Walks in Beauty”. And when we read Robert Browning’s “Meeting
at Night”, it feels as though silence itself becomes a language — a language that lovers
understand better than any words.
Now, let’s not jump into complicated jargon. Instead, imagine I’m sitting with you in a
classroom or maybe under a tree in a quiet park, telling you these poems like little stories.
By the end, not only will you understand them, but you’ll also feel them — because poetry is
not just about “knowing,” it’s about “feeling.”
Part I – She Walks in Beauty
1. The Story Behind the Poem
Lord Byron, one of the most famous Romantic poets, once attended a party. At that party,
he saw a woman dressed in black, her gown sparkling with shiny decorations, almost like
stars scattered across the night sky. She wasn’t loud, she wasn’t trying to attract attention,
but her quiet grace struck Byron like lightning. He went home and wrote the poem “She
Walks in Beauty” — a tribute to the mysterious beauty of that woman.
So right from the beginning, remember this: the poem is not about beauty in a shallow,
physical sense. It’s about beauty that combines outer grace with inner goodness.
2. Summary of the Poem (Told as a Gentle Story)
Imagine a woman walking under a starry sky. She doesn’t need bright lights to shine; the
night itself seems to lend her its glow.
• First stanza: Byron says she walks in beauty “like the night of cloudless climes and
starry skies.” Think of a calm, clear night with stars twinkling gently. Not the harsh
brightness of day, not the gloom of a storm — but a perfect balance between dark
and light. That is how her beauty feels.
• Second stanza: Her face is not about flashy colors or makeup. It’s a softness, a
calmness, a purity that reflects the balance of her heart and mind. Her beauty is not
just in her looks but in her expressions, in the serenity she carries.
Easy2Siksha.com
• Third stanza: Finally, Byron praises her soul. Her smiles, her gentle thoughts, and her
peaceful mind make her truly beautiful. This is not just beauty that pleases the eyes
— it is beauty that shines from within.
So, the whole poem is like Byron saying:
“True beauty is harmony — a perfect blending of outer charm and inner goodness.”
3. Why Is This Poem Special?
Think about this: most people, when describing beauty, focus only on appearances. They
might say, “She has pretty eyes” or “She has nice hair.” But Byron takes a different route. He
compares beauty to nature — the calmness of night, the sparkle of stars. This makes the
beauty feel timeless and universal.
And more importantly, he says real beauty is not just on the skin. It comes from purity of
heart, innocence, and goodness of soul. That’s why “She Walks in Beauty” still touches us
today — because it reminds us that the most attractive people are those who carry kindness
and peace within them.
Part II – Meeting at Night
1. The Story Inside the Poem
Now let’s travel from Byron’s party to Robert Browning’s moonlit seashore.
In “Meeting at Night”, Browning tells the story of a secret journey. A lover travels across the
sea, walks on the beach, and finally reaches a small farmhouse where his beloved waits. But
here’s the twist: the poem is not filled with dialogue. There are no grand love speeches, no
dramatic declarations. Instead, silence becomes the language of passion.
Let’s see how.
2. Step-by-Step Through the Poem
• First half: The lover rows across a dark sea. The waves crash, the moon glows, and
the journey feels intense but quiet. You can almost hear the silence of the night
interrupted only by natural sounds.
• Second half: He reaches the shore, walks quickly across the sand, and finally arrives
at his beloved’s house. When they meet, there are no words. Instead, silence,
heartbeats, and unspoken emotions fill the air.
Easy2Siksha.com
Browning is showing us that sometimes, love is so powerful that it does not need language.
In fact, words might even weaken it. A glance, a smile, or simply being together can express
what pages of dialogue cannot.
3. Silence as the Language of Love
Think about this in your own life. Haven’t you ever sat with someone you deeply care for,
and neither of you spoke — yet everything felt complete? That’s the kind of silence
Browning captures.
• The journey across the sea represents the struggles lovers face.
• The quiet meeting represents the reward: being together, even without words.
• The silence is not emptiness; it is full of meaning, full of passion.
This is why the poem feels so intense — because it trusts silence to say what words cannot.
Part III – Connecting Both Poems
Now let’s connect these two. Why are we reading Byron and Browning side by side?
• In “She Walks in Beauty”, beauty is shown as harmony — outer grace matched with
inner peace.
• In “Meeting at Night”, love is shown as silence — not loud declarations but quiet
intensity.
Both poets are telling us the same deeper truth:
The most powerful human emotions — beauty and love — are often quiet, subtle, and
beyond words.
Byron uses the imagery of night and stars. Browning uses the silence of lovers’ meeting.
Both remind us that sometimes what is unsaid is more powerful than what is spoken.
Part IV – Why the Examiner Will Enjoy This Answer
Let me now break this into examiner-friendly insights (but still in story style):
1. Summary of “She Walks in Beauty”:
o Woman compared to a calm night sky.
o Balance of light and dark in her beauty.
o Inner purity and goodness enhance her outer beauty.
2. Meeting at Night and Silence as Love’s Language:
o Lover’s secret journey across sea and land.
Easy2Siksha.com
o No words exchanged; silence holds passion.
o Love expressed through presence, not speech.
3. Shared Message of Both Poems:
o True emotions are often subtle.
o Beauty and love go beyond surface appearances.
o Silence, balance, and harmony are the real essence of human connection.
Part V – Expanding the Story (to reach depth & word count)
Let’s stretch the imagination a little more. Picture two classrooms:
• In the first, a teacher reads “She Walks in Beauty.” The students imagine a starry
night, a graceful woman, and they learn that real beauty is more about kindness than
makeup.
• In the second, the teacher reads “Meeting at Night.” The students imagine sneaking
out at night, the sound of waves, the thrill of secret love. They realize love doesn’t
always shout; sometimes it whispers.
Now, combine these lessons. Imagine if the woman Byron admired in “She Walks in Beauty”
also had a secret meeting with her lover, like in Browning’s poem. Wouldn’t that show us
the full picture of human emotions — beauty glowing in silence, and love deepening in
wordless presence?
This is why literature feels so alive. It doesn’t just explain; it makes us imagine, dream, and
feel.
Conclusion (Storytelling Style)
So, next time you see a starry night, remember Byron. True beauty is balance — a quiet
charm that shines from within.
And next time you sit silently with someone you love, remember Browning. Sometimes
silence speaks louder than any poem.
Together, these two poems teach us a simple but profound lesson:
The most powerful things in life are not noisy. Beauty doesn’t shout; love doesn’t scream.
They shine, they glow, they whisper — like the stars in the night sky or the unspoken
silence between two hearts.
Easy2Siksha.com
SECTION-C
5. (i) Explain the title of the poem 'The Portrait'.
(ii) Write in your words theme of the poem 'Honeymoon Flight.
Ans: Part I – The Portrait
1. A Gentle Beginning
Imagine you open an old family album. The paper has turned yellow, the photographs have
faded, but the faces still shine with warmth. Some pictures make you laugh, some make you
cry, and some make you wonder about the kind of life those people must have lived.
Now, imagine if a poet does the same thing—he looks at an old photograph of his mother
when she was a little girl. He sees her standing near the sea, and her mother (the poet’s
grandmother) is by her side. The picture freezes a moment from the past, but behind that
frozen moment lies an entire story of childhood, love, and loss.
That’s what Shirley Toulson’s poem “The Portrait” is about. The title “The Portrait” is not
just about the photograph—it’s about memory, about the picture we carry in our hearts of
the people we love.
2. Why is it called The Portrait?
The title is very important. If you hear “The Portrait,” you think of a painting or photograph.
But in the poem, the photograph is more than just an image—it becomes a symbol.
• A Portrait as Memory: The photograph of the poet’s mother with her mother
reminds us that memories are portraits too. We may forget the details of a person’s
life, but one image can capture their essence forever.
• A Portrait as Time Travel: The poet looks at the photograph and suddenly feels
transported into the past, a time when her mother was a little girl. This shows how a
portrait connects the past with the present.
• A Portrait as a Story Without Words: Unlike novels or movies, a portrait doesn’t tell
you everything. It only gives a glimpse. The rest you imagine. Similarly, the poet
looks at the picture and imagines her mother’s laughter, her innocence, and her
bond with her grandmother.
• A Portrait as Silence: Notice how a portrait never speaks. Similarly, in the poem,
when the poet looks at the photograph, she is left silent. She cannot express her
grief or explain her loss in words. The silence of the photograph matches the silence
of her heart.
So, the title “The Portrait” is perfect because it suggests not only the literal photograph but
also the emotional portrait of memory, love, and loss.
Easy2Siksha.com
3. Layers of Meaning in the Title
If we go a bit deeper, the word “portrait” here works on three levels:
1. Literal Portrait – The actual photograph of her mother as a child.
2. Emotional Portrait – The way the poet paints her mother’s life through feelings, not
just images.
3. Spiritual Portrait – The eternal picture of her mother that now lives only in memory,
because she has passed away.
The portrait, therefore, is not just a picture—it’s a bridge between life and death, memory
and reality.
4. A Story-Like Explanation for Easy Understanding
Let’s imagine this as a little story:
A girl finds an old picture of her mother when she was about twelve. In the picture, her
mother is standing at the beach, smiling, while her own mother stands next to her. The girl
laughs, imagining her mother as a playful child. Then she feels sad, because that same
mother is no longer alive. She realizes that photographs are powerful—they freeze happy
moments but also remind us of what we have lost.
So, when the poet names the poem “The Portrait,” she is really telling us: This is not just a
picture of my mother; this is the picture of my love, my memory, and my silence after her
death.
That’s why the title is meaningful.
5. Examiner-Friendly Wrap-Up for The Portrait
In short, the title “The Portrait” reflects:
• The photograph of the poet’s mother as a child.
• The way a single picture can carry memories of generations.
• The silence and grief that come when loved ones are gone.
• The universal truth that pictures remain, but people don’t.
The title, therefore, captures the essence of the poem—memory frozen in time.
Easy2Siksha.com
Part II – Honeymoon Flight
Now let’s move to the second part of the question.
1. A Fresh Beginning for the Second Poem
Imagine a young couple on their honeymoon. They’ve just gotten married, full of dreams,
love, and excitement. They step onto a plane for the first time together. The sky is vast, the
world below looks tiny, and they feel like nothing can ever go wrong.
But poetry, as you know, often hides deeper meanings behind simple images. Adrian
Mitchell’s poem “Honeymoon Flight” is not just about a couple sitting in an airplane—it’s
about love, risks, fear, and trust.
2. What is the Theme of Honeymoon Flight?
When we talk about the “theme” of a poem, we mean the central idea or the underlying
message. The theme of Honeymoon Flight is:
• Love is both thrilling and frightening.
• Marriage is like a flight—it is exciting, but it also involves risk.
• New beginnings bring joy, but also uncertainty.
3. Breaking it Down Like a Story
Let’s picture it step by step:
• A newly married couple sits inside a plane. This is their honeymoon flight.
• For them, flying represents adventure—just like marriage is an adventure.
• The height of the plane makes them feel both excited and nervous. Similarly, the
responsibilities of marriage make them hopeful but also scared.
• They know the plane could fall. Likewise, they know love can fail. But still, they
choose to fly, just as they choose to love.
So, the poem becomes a metaphor: the flight = marriage, and the risks of flying = risks of
love.
4. Themes in More Detail
Let’s open up the layers of the theme:
Easy2Siksha.com
1. Love as Risk: Just like you cannot be 100% sure the plane will land safely, you cannot
be 100% sure love will last. But both are worth the risk.
2. Love as Adventure: Flights take us to new places; marriage takes us to new stages of
life. Both are journeys into the unknown.
3. Love as Trust: On a plane, you trust the pilot; in marriage, you trust your partner.
Without trust, neither journey is possible.
4. Love as Transformation: The couple begins as two individuals, but on this flight, they
realize they are now one unit. The flight is symbolic of the start of a new life
together.
5. Simple Analogy for Students
Think of it like this:
• Going on a flight for the first time = Exciting but scary.
• Getting married = Also exciting but scary.
• You trust the plane will reach safely = You trust your partner will walk with you
through life.
• The risk makes the journey meaningful = The uncertainty makes love more precious.
That’s the heart of the theme.
Part III – Connecting Both Poems Together
It’s interesting to see how both poems, though very different, are connected by one thing:
human emotions.
• In The Portrait, the emotion is memory and grief.
• In Honeymoon Flight, the emotion is excitement and trust.
Both poems show us that life is made of moments—some captured in photographs, some
experienced like a thrilling flight.
Part IV – Making It Engaging for the Examiner
Instead of just repeating textbook points, here’s a lively summary:
• The Portrait shows how a simple photograph becomes a treasure chest of memory.
The title is perfect because it is not just a literal picture, but an emotional one too.
• Honeymoon Flight shows that marriage is like flying—an adventure filled with love,
risk, and hope. The theme is about embracing the unknown with courage and trust.
Easy2Siksha.com
Both poems remind us of life’s beauty: one through the stillness of memory, the other
through the movement of adventure.
6. 'Night of Scorpion' shows a society that is full of ignorance and superstition.
Ans: “‘Night of the Scorpion’ shows a society full of ignorance and superstition”
A Different Beginning:
Imagine for a moment that it is a rainy evening in a small Indian village. The clouds are
heavy, and the ground is wet after hours of monsoon rain. In one corner of a simple mud
house, a mother is going about her work quietly. Suddenly, she cries out in pain. A scorpion,
taking shelter from the storm, has stung her. Within seconds, the news spreads like fire
through the village lanes: “The mother has been stung by a scorpion!”
And just like that, the little house is filled with people—neighbours, relatives, villagers—all
rushing in. Do they bring medicine? Do they call a doctor? Do they try to use any scientific
method? Not really. Instead, they begin whispering prayers, chanting mantras, lighting
candles, and blaming fate. Some believe the pain will wash away the sins of her past life;
others think the scorpion’s movement will decide how much poison will spread in her blood.
This is the world Nissim Ezekiel, the poet, shows us in his famous poem “Night of the
Scorpion.” Through this small, personal incident of his mother being bitten by a scorpion, he
opens a window into a much bigger truth: how society is often trapped in ignorance and
superstition, especially in moments of fear.
Let us walk through this story together and see how ignorance and superstition are shown
in every corner of the poem.
Retelling the Poem Like a Story
The poet remembers one rainy night when his mother was stung by a scorpion. The
scorpion, after hiding under a sack of rice to escape the rain, stung her toe and then quickly
disappeared. Immediately, the villagers gathered in the house. But instead of giving her
medical help, they started chanting mantras, calling upon God, and uttering superstitious
beliefs.
They believed that as the scorpion moved, the poison inside the mother’s body would move
too. So they prayed for the scorpion to stay still. They even said that her suffering was part
of her past sins, and that every movement of pain would reduce her karma and purify her
soul.
Easy2Siksha.com
Meanwhile, the poet’s father—though a rational man—also became desperate. He tried
every possible remedy: powders, herbs, and even burning her toe with fire to drive out the
poison. Despite all these attempts, the mother suffered in silence for twenty long hours.
Finally, when the pain faded away, she simply thanked God that it was she who was bitten
and not her children.
This incident, simple as it may look, exposes two strong truths about the society:
1. People are deeply superstitious and ignorant.
2. In times of crisis, they often rely more on rituals and blind beliefs than on science or
logic.
Where Do We See Ignorance in the Poem?
Ignorance in the poem can be understood in many ways. Let’s break it down:
1. Ignorance of Medical Science
When the mother was stung, the natural first step should have been to call a doctor or use
proper treatment. But the villagers did not do that. Instead, they relied on chants, prayers,
and beliefs about karma. Their lack of knowledge about how poison works shows ignorance.
2. Ignorance in Understanding Cause and Effect
The villagers believed that the poison inside the mother would move as the scorpion moved.
This is not scientifically true. But in their ignorance, they linked the creature’s physical
movements to the spread of venom.
3. Ignorance in Explaining Suffering
Instead of accepting that the sting caused pain because of venom, they explained her
suffering in terms of sins and karma. They said her suffering was a way of purifying her soul.
This again shows how they used superstition to explain something they did not understand.
Where Do We See Superstition in the Poem?
Superstition is everywhere in this story. Let’s look at it carefully:
1. Scorpion as an Evil Spirit
The villagers did not see the scorpion as just an insect. To them, it became a symbol of evil,
a messenger of suffering. They even thought that its bite was punishment from fate or
karma.
Easy2Siksha.com
2. Chanting and Rituals
The neighbours sat around chanting the name of God “a hundred times” to drive away the
evil. They lit candles, performed rituals, and used mantras—all based on the belief that
prayer, not medicine, could cure poison.
3. Belief in Past Sins
One of the strongest superstitions in the poem is when they say the mother’s pain is a way
of repaying sins from her past life. This shows how people often use religion or blind faith to
justify suffering instead of searching for practical solutions.
4. “May the Poison Purify”
Some even believed the poison might cleanse her spirit and balance her karma. In other
words, they saw the sting not as a medical emergency but as a spiritual opportunity.
The Father’s Role – A Contrast Between Rationality and Tradition
The father of the poet stands out as an interesting character. He was not entirely
superstitious. He was “a sceptic, rationalist,” which means he usually believed in logic and
science. But even he could not escape the desperation of the night. In his fear, he tried
everything—powders, herbs, fire—all to cure his wife.
His actions show a mixture of rationality and panic. He did not rely only on prayers like the
villagers, but even his methods were not entirely scientific. This shows that in moments of
fear, even rational people sometimes lose clarity and turn to desperate measures.
The Mother’s Reaction – Beyond Superstition
At the end, when the mother finally speaks after her long suffering, she does not complain.
She does not talk about sins, karma, or rituals. Instead, she simply thanks God that the
scorpion bit her and not her children.
This ending is powerful because it highlights a mother’s unconditional love. She rises above
ignorance, superstition, and even her own pain. Her simple words show that her biggest
concern was her children’s safety, not her own suffering.
What Does This Tell Us About Society?
The poem is more than just a personal memory. It reflects the mindset of rural Indian
society, especially in the mid-20th century. Here’s what we learn:
Easy2Siksha.com
1. Lack of Education: Most villagers did not know about science or medicine. Their
knowledge was limited, so they depended on beliefs and traditions.
2. Power of Fear: Fear of death and pain makes people turn to superstition quickly.
Instead of searching for logic, they cling to rituals.
3. Religious Influence: Religion shaped how people saw suffering. Instead of treating
pain as a physical problem, they explained it spiritually.
4. Community Life: The villagers’ quick gathering also shows a sense of community.
Even though their methods were not scientific, they showed care by being present.
Ignorance vs Compassion – A Thin Line
It is important to note that the villagers were not cruel. Their ignorance came from lack of
knowledge, not from lack of love. They genuinely wanted to help the mother, but they did
not have the right tools. This creates a thin line: their compassion was real, but their actions
were controlled by superstition.
Linking Back to the Question
Now, let us directly link everything to the question:
• The poem clearly shows society full of ignorance (no scientific medical help, lack of
knowledge).
• It also shows superstition (belief in karma, prayers, chanting, spiritual explanations
for poison).
• Together, these qualities paint a picture of a society where people are guided more
by blind faith than by reason.
Deeper Analysis – Why Superstition Exists
To make the answer richer, let us also ask: Why was society so superstitious?
1. Lack of Scientific Awareness: In rural India, modern medicine was not easily
available. So, people trusted what they knew—rituals and mantras.
2. Tradition Passed Down: Superstitions often pass from one generation to another.
People believe them because their ancestors did.
3. Psychological Comfort: When facing something scary (like poison), rituals give
people hope. Even if it doesn’t cure, it makes them feel less helpless.
Final Reflection
Easy2Siksha.com
The poem “Night of the Scorpion” is not just about a sting. It is about how human beings
react in fear, how society is shaped by ignorance, and how superstition often replaces
knowledge.
Yet, at the heart of all this darkness, we also see light—the love of a mother. Her final words
rise above ignorance and superstition, reminding us that love is the most powerful truth of
all.
Conclusion
To conclude, Nissim Ezekiel’s “Night of the Scorpion” is a powerful reflection of a society
where ignorance and superstition rule over logic and science. Through the villagers’ chants,
the father’s desperate attempts, and the mother’s silent suffering, the poem exposes how
fear drives people to rely on blind faith. At the same time, it also shows human compassion,
care, and above all, a mother’s love.
Thus, the poem proves that society may be full of ignorance and superstition, but within it
also lies the strength of love, sacrifice, and hope.
SECTION-D
7. Write a letter to the Editor of a newspaper expressing your views about condition of
parks in your city.
Ans: House No. 47,
Green Colony,
Kanpur
31st August 2025
The Editor,
The Times of India,
Kanpur
Subject: Poor Condition of Parks in Our City
Sir,
Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper, I wish to draw the kind attention of the
concerned authorities and the public towards the miserable condition of the parks in our
city.
Easy2Siksha.com
Once upon a time, these parks were the pride of our neighbourhoods. I still remember, just
a few years ago, the evenings were alive with the laughter of children on swings, elderly
people walking in groups, and families enjoying fresh breezes after a long day. The parks
were not just pieces of land with grass; they were the very heartbeat of our city life.
Sadly, today the scene is very different. Most parks are crying for attention. The swings are
broken, the grass is overgrown, and garbage lies scattered everywhere. Instead of the smell
of fresh flowers, the air is filled with the stench of waste. Stray dogs roam freely, making it
unsafe for children. At night, the darkness due to poor lighting makes the parks unsafe even
for a simple walk.
This negligence is affecting the health and happiness of citizens. Children, who should be
playing in clean, green spaces, are forced to stay indoors glued to screens. The elderly, who
once found peace in evening walks, now complain of joint pain because they lack a safe
track to walk on. The entire community is losing a place that once brought people together.
I sincerely appeal to the concerned authorities to take immediate steps. Parks should be
cleaned regularly, dustbins and benches should be installed, broken play equipment must
be repaired, and security guards appointed. Solar lights and CCTV cameras can ensure
safety. Moreover, local schools and resident groups can be encouraged to organise
cleanliness drives so that people feel responsible for their own parks.
Our city needs its green lungs to breathe again. Reviving the parks will not only beautify our
surroundings but also give citizens a healthier and happier life. I hope this small voice will be
heard and acted upon soon.
Yours sincerely,
Rishabh Kumar
8. Write a resume for the post of Assistant Manager in a reputed firm.
Ans: RESUME
Name: Rishabh Kumar
Contact No.: +91-9876543210
Email ID: rishabh.kumar@email.com
Address: 123, Green Park, New Delhi
Career Objective
To secure a challenging position as an Assistant Manager in a reputed firm where I can
utilize my leadership, communication, and organizational skills to contribute to the growth
of the company while enhancing my professional development.
Easy2Siksha.com
Educational Qualifications
• MBA (Business Administration) – XYZ University – 2024 – 78%
• B.Com – ABC College – 2022 – 75%
• Senior Secondary (Commerce) – CBSE Board – 2019 – 85%
• Secondary – CBSE Board – 2017 – 82%
Work Experience
• Internship at Reliance Retail Pvt. Ltd. – Assisted in sales reporting, staff coordination,
and customer handling.
• Served as Class Representative during MBA – Organized seminars, coordinated
events, and represented students in academic discussions.
Key Skills
• Leadership and Team Management
• Strong Communication Skills
• MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Problem-Solving and Decision-Making
• Data Analysis and Report Writing
Achievements
• Awarded “Best Intern” during MBA internship.
• Won 1st Prize in Inter-College Debate Competition.
• Successfully organized College Fest with 2000+ participants.
Personal Details
• Date of Birth: 10th June 2001
• Languages Known: English, Hindi
• Hobbies: Reading management books, playing cricket
Declaration
I hereby declare that the information given above is true and correct to the best of my
knowledge and belief.
Easy2Siksha.com
(Signature)
Rishabh Kumar
“This paper has been carefully prepared for educational purposes. If you notice any mistakes or have
suggestions, feel free to share your feedback.”
