HS English Suggestion 2025, Class: 12, WBCHSE

Dipak Kumar Hazra 

The Eyes Have It

1. "I'm tired of people telling me I have a pretty face." – Who said this, to whom and When? What did the person spoken to reply? [1+1+2+2] 

2. "She would forget our brief encounter" – Who said this and about whom? What is the 'brief encounter' referred to here? Why did the speaker think so? [2+2+2] 

3. "She was an interesting girl." - Who said this to whom and when? What else did the person say? What reply did he get? [3+1+2] 

4. "… the girl got up and began to collect her things"-Who is the girl? When did she get up? Why did she get up to collect her things? What had the speaker thought about the brief encounter he had with the girl? [1+1+1+ 3]

5. "Can you tell me - did she keep her hair long or short?" - Who is the speaker? To whom is he speaking? Who is being referred to? Where did the girl get down? [2+2+2]

Strong Roots

1. "Why don't you say this to the people who come to you….?" – Who says this and to whom? What is referred to by the word 'this'? Why do the people come to the person spoken to? [1+1+3+1] 

2. "Our locality was predominantly Muslim" - Who is the speaker? How does the speaker describe the locality? What picture of communal harmony do you find in this description? [1+3+2] 

3. "I normally ate with my mother." - Who ate with his mother? Name his mother. Where did he eat with his mother? What did he eat with his mother? [1+1+1+3] 

4. "His answer filled me with a strange energy and enthusiasm." - Who is the speaker? Whose answer is being referred to her? What was the answer? [1+1+4] 

5. "People of different religions would be sitting outside waiting for him." - Who is referred to as 'him'? Where did the people wait? Why did they wait there? What would happen thereafter? [1+1+2+2] 

6. "One of the most vivid memories of my early childhood is of the two men.." - Whose childhood memories are referred to? Who were the two men? What was their topic of discussion? What answer did the narrator get regarding his answer on prayer? [1+2+1+2]

Three Questions

1. What were the questions that had occurred to the Tsar? Why did he need correct answers to those questions? What did he do when he was not satisfied with the answers of the learned men? [3+1+2] 

2. What were the three questions the Tsar wanted to be answered? Why did he need the answers? Why was he dissatisfied with the answers given by the scholars and learned men? [3+1+2] 

3. Why did the bearded man become an enemy of the Tsar? What did the man swear and resolve to do? Why did he ask forgiveness of the Tsar and what did he promise him? [1+2+3] 

4. How was the wounded man revived and nursed? Why did he ask forgiveness of the Tsar? What did the Tsar do when he had gained the man for a friend? [2+2+2] 

5. "All the answers being different, the Tsar agreed with none of them." -What were the questions to which the Tsar got different answers? Whom did the Tsar decide to consult when he was not satisfied? Where did that person live whom the Tsar decided to consult? What was he famous for? [3+1+1+1]

Thank You Ma'am

1. "I would teach you right from wrong" – Who said this, to whom and when? How did the speaker transform the person spoken to here? [1+1+1+3] 

2. "You ought to be my son. I would teach you right from wrong."- Who speaks to whom? Did the speaker manage to teach what he/she claimed to teach? Give reasons for your answer. [1+1+4] 

3. "Do you need somebody to go the store …?" - Who is the speaker? To whom did the speaker say this? Why did the speaker want to go to the store? What did they have in supper? [1+1+1+3] 

4. "You gonna take me to jail?" – Who asked this question and to whom? When did the speaker ask this question? Why reply did the speaker get? [2+3+1]

5. What had Mrs Jones guessed to be the real reason behind Roger's action? What was the real reason? What did Mrs Jones do so that Roger could fulfil his wish? What did she tell him then? [1+1+1+3] 

6. .“Eat some more, son.”- Who is the speaker? What is offered by the speaker to the listener? What picture of the speaker’s character is revealed in this line? [1+1+4] 

On Killing a Tree

1. Justify the title of the poem "On Killing a Tree". [6] 

2. How does a tree offer resistance to its destruction? How does its resistance fail? [3+3] 

3. How does the poet describe the growth of a tree over the years? What are the different steps taken for killing the tree? [4+2] 

4. "And then it is done." – What is being referred to? How is it done? On what tone does the poem end? [1+3+2]

5. Why does it take 'much time to kill a tree'? How is the tree finally killed? [3+3]

6. "It takes much time to kill a tree" - Why does it take much time to kill a tree? According to the poet how is the tree finally killed? [3+3]

Asleep In The Valley

1. Justify the title of the poem "Asleep In The Valley". [6] 

2. "In his side there are two red holes." -Who is the person referred to here? What do the 'two red holes' signify? What attitude of the poet to war is reflected here? [1+2+3] 

3. How does the poet express the futility of war through his poem ‘Asleep in the Valley’? What message does he want to convey? [4+2] 

4. "His smile/Is like an infant’s…" – Whose 'smile' is being referred to here? Why is his smile compared to the smile of an infant? How does Nature take care of him? [1+3+2] 

5. "The humming insects don't disturb his rest." -Who rests and where? Why is his rest not disturbed by the insects? [1+2+3] 

6. "A soldier, very young, lies open-mouthed" - Who is the 'soldier' referred to here? Narrate in your own words how the soldier lies in the valley. [2+4]

7. "A soldier, very young, lies open-mouthed" - Describe the place where the soldier lies. Why does he like 'open-mouthed'? Who takes care of him and how? [2+1+3]

Shall I Compare thee to a Summer's Day

1. "But thy eternal summer shall not fade." – Who is the poet? What is meant by 'thy eternal summer'? How does the poet suggest that 'thy eternal summer' shall never end? [1+1+4] 

2. "But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;" – Whose 'eternal summer' is being referred to here? What does 'eternal summer' mean? What conclusion does the poet draw at the end of the poem? [1+2+3] 

3. What type of a poem is "Shall I Compare thee to a summer's day?" Who is the poet? Whom does the poet speak of? What does the poet say about the person referred to? [1+1+1+3]

4. What do the rough winds do? What does the poet mean by 'summer's lease'? How is the friend's beauty superior to the summer’s day? [1+1+4] 

5. "So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee." - What does the poet mean by 'this'? Who is 'thee' being referred to? How does the poet think that 'this' will give life to ‘thee’? [1+1+4] 

The Poetry of Earth

1. Why does Keats feel that the poetry of earth is never dead? [6] 

2. What picture of summer is presented in "The Poetry of Earth"? How has it been carried onto the picture of winter? [4+2] 

3. What does Keats mean by 'The Poetry of Earth'? Why does he say that this poetry never ceases? [2+4] 

4. "He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed..." - From which poem is the line quoted? Who is the poet? Who 'rests at ease' and when? Describe his activities. [1+1+2+2]

5. How does Keats show that the ‘The poetry of Earth’ never cease? [6] 

6. Identify the voices of the 'Poetry of Earth'. How does Keats establish its continuity through these voices? [2+4] 

The Proposal

1. Sketch the character of Natalya Stepanovna. [6]

2. Give a brief sketch of the character of Lomov in the play The Proposal’. [6]

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