ISC Class 11 English Syllabus

Why is Sir Simon doomed to haunt Canterville Chase?

He murdered his wife, Lady Eleanore; her brothers then starved him to death, and his guilt and crime curse him to wander as a restless ghost.

Which member of the Otis family shows the ghost compassion and ultimately helps him?

Virginia Otis, the daughter.

How does Sir Simon finally find peace in 'The Canterville Ghost'?

Virginia's prayers, sympathy and tears free his soul; she accompanies him through the Garden of Death, fulfilling the old prophecy, and he is finally able to rest.

What does the prophecy on the library window foretell about the ghost's release?

That when a golden-haired girl can win prayer from the lips of sin, the barren almond tree bears fruit and a child gives away its tears, the house will be still and peace will come to Canterville.

What contrast/theme does 'The Canterville Ghost' satirize?

The clash between old-world British tradition and superstition and practical, modern American materialism, alongside the redemptive power of love and compassion.

Who wrote the poem 'The Frog and the Nightingale', and from which collection is it taken?

Vikram Seth; from his collection 'Beastly Tales from Here and There'.

What type of poem is 'The Frog and the Nightingale'?

A narrative poem in the form of an animal fable, carrying a moral.

Where is 'The Frog and the Nightingale' set?

In Bingle Bog.

What was the frog's defining characteristic at the start of the poem?

His loud, unpleasant and persistent croaking, with which he dominated Bingle Bog every night.

How did the other creatures of the bog react to the frog's croaking before the nightingale arrived?

They tried to stop him by hurling insults, sticks, stones and bricks, but nothing could silence him.

What happened when the nightingale began to sing in Bingle Bog?

Her beautiful, melodious song enchanted every creature in the bog, and they applauded and praised her, demanding encores.

How did the frog react to the nightingale's sudden popularity?

He grew jealous and cunningly posed as a renowned music critic and voice teacher, offering to train her.

How did the frog exploit the nightingale once he became her 'trainer'?

He made her practise endlessly even in cold rain, constantly criticised her, charged the audience an admission fee, and kept the profits while exhausting her.

What effect did the frog's relentless 'training' have on the nightingale's singing?

Overpractice and harsh criticism ruined her voice and destroyed her originality and self-confidence, making her song dull and tired.

How did the nightingale die in the poem?

Under the frog's pressure she strained to sing a difficult, high note; a vein in her throat burst and she died.

What was the frog's reaction to the nightingale's death?

He felt no remorse; he called her a stupid creature who was too nervous and lacked a mind of her own, and he happily resumed his solo croaking as the undisputed king of the bog.

What is the central moral/theme of 'The Frog and the Nightingale'?

Beware of flattery and manipulative exploiters; one must have self-confidence and independent judgement, and not let others take over and destroy one's natural talent.

How did the frog commercialise the nightingale's talent?

He sold tickets to her nightly concerts and pocketed the money she earned for him.

Who is the poet of 'A Photograph'?

Shirley Toulson.

What is the structure of the poem 'A Photograph'?

It is written in free verse, arranged in three stanzas of six lines each.

What scene does the old photograph in 'A Photograph' capture?

The poet's mother as a girl of about twelve, standing at the seaside with her two girl cousins, Betty and Dolly.

In 'A Photograph', what does the phrase 'The cardboard shows me how it was' refer to?

The old cardboard-mounted photograph that preserves the past moment of the mother's seaside childhood.

What were the three girls doing in the photograph, and how are they positioned?

They had been paddling in the sea; the poet's mother, the eldest and tallest, stands in the middle holding the hands of her two smaller cousins, Betty and Dolly.

What are the three distinct time frames present in 'A Photograph'?

(1) The mother's seaside childhood captured in the photo, (2) years later when the grown mother laughed at the photograph, and (3) the present, when the mother is dead and the poet reflects in silence.

Why does the poet say the sea 'appears to have changed less' in 'A Photograph'?

To contrast the permanence and timelessness of nature (the sea) with the impermanence and mortality of human beings, who have changed and died.

What does the line 'Both wry with the laboured ease of loss' convey?

That both the poet and her mother shared a forced, half-pained smile at the changes time had brought—an attempt to make light of loss.

What is meant by the mother's 'sea holiday' being recalled with laughter?

In later years the grown mother would laugh at the photograph and at how she and her cousins were dressed, recalling a happy but fleeting moment of the past.

Explain the line: 'Now she's been dead nearly as many years / as that girl lived.'

The mother has now been dead for nearly twelve years—almost the same number of years that the girl in the photograph had lived at the time it was taken.

What is the significance of the closing line 'Its silence silences'?

The profound silence of death and loss is so overwhelming that the poet is left speechless; her grief is too deep for words.

What is the central theme of 'A Photograph'?

The transience of human life and the pain of loss, contrasted with the permanence of nature, explored through memory and the mother-daughter bond.

What does the phrase 'terribly transient feet' suggest in 'A Photograph'?

It underscores the impermanence and mortality of human life—the girls' feet, once washed by the sea, belong to people who are now gone.