ISC Class 12 English Syllabus

English syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for English in ISC Class 12, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Prose

   3 topics

   • The Last Lesson
   • Lost Spring
   • Deep Water
2. 2

   Poetry

   3 topics

   • The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
   • Snake
   • My Mother at Sixty Six

English flashcards for ISC Class 12

23 of 49 cards from the English deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. Who wrote the story 'The Last Lesson' and what historical event forms its backdrop?

   Alphonse Daudet wrote it; its backdrop is the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), after which the districts of Alsace and Lorraine passed from France to Prussia.

2. In 'The Last Lesson', why is it the last French lesson for the students?

   An order had come from Berlin that only German would be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine, so French was being banned.

3. Who is the narrator of 'The Last Lesson' and how does his attitude to school change?

   The narrator is Franz, a young schoolboy who usually dreads school and lessons but, on the last day, deeply regrets not having learned his French and wishes he could keep the lessons.

4. What is significant about M. Hamel's clothes on the day of the last lesson?

   M. Hamel wore his beautiful green coat, frilled shirt, and the little black silk embroidered cap that he wore only on inspection and prize days, to mark the solemn occasion.

5. What does M. Hamel say about the French language in 'The Last Lesson'?

   He calls French the most beautiful, clearest, and most logical language in the world, and says people must guard it and never forget it because, for an enslaved people, holding fast to their language is like holding the key to their prison.

6. How does M. Hamel end the last lesson, and what does it convey?

   Too emotional to speak, he writes 'Vive La France!' (Long live France) on the blackboard, conveying his patriotism and the heartbreak of losing the right to teach French.

7. What theme about taking things for granted is shown in 'The Last Lesson'?

   It shows the human tendency to procrastinate and undervalue what we have; people put off learning their own language and culture, realizing its worth only when it is taken away.

8. Who wrote 'Lost Spring' and what is its subtitle/subject?

   Anees Jung wrote 'Lost Spring: Stories of Stolen Childhood', which examines the grinding poverty and exploitation that condemns poor children to a life of exploitative labour.

9. Who is Saheb-e-Alam in 'Lost Spring' and what is the irony in his name?

   Saheb is a young ragpicker who scavenges in garbage; his full name means 'lord of the universe', which is deeply ironic since he is a poor, homeless rag-picker with no authority over his own life.

10. Where have Saheb's family migrated from, and why, in 'Lost Spring'?

    They migrated from Dhaka in Bangladesh, where their fields and homes were swept away by storms, forcing them to seek a living in the garbage dumps of Seemapuri, Delhi.

11. What does garbage mean to the children versus the adults in 'Lost Spring'?

    To the children garbage is wrapped in wonder, sometimes yielding a coin or treasure; to the adults it is a means of survival, their daily bread.

12. What loss does Saheb experience when he gets a job at the tea stall in 'Lost Spring'?

    Though he earns 800 rupees and meals, he loses his freedom; he is no longer his own master and the steel canister he carries belongs to the owner, unlike the lightweight bag of a free ragpicker.

13. Who is Mukesh in 'Lost Spring' and how is his dream different from others in Firozabad?

    Mukesh belongs to a family of bangle makers in Firozabad; unlike others resigned to the trade, he dares to dream of becoming a motor mechanic and driving cars.

14. What is the condition of bangle makers in Firozabad in 'Lost Spring'?

    Generations work in glass furnaces in high heat and dingy cells without air and light, often losing their eyesight, born into the caste of bangle makers and trapped in poverty by middlemen, sahukars, and the police.

15. What two 'forces' or vicious circles keep the bangle makers of Firozabad in poverty in 'Lost Spring'?

    First, the burden of the stigma of caste and the belief that it is their God-given lineage; second, the vicious circle of the sahukars, middlemen, policemen, lawmakers, bureaucrats, and politicians who exploit and suppress them.

16. Who wrote 'Deep Water' and what is its central theme?

    William Douglas wrote it; its central theme is overcoming an irrational childhood fear (of water) through willpower, determination, and professional help, and the idea that 'all we have to fear is fear itself'.

17. What two early experiences caused Douglas's fear of water in 'Deep Water'?

    First, as a small child he was knocked down and buried by waves at a California beach; second, at about 10-11, an older boy threw him into the deep end of the Y.M.C.A. pool, where he nearly drowned.

18. Describe what Douglas felt while drowning in the Y.M.C.A. pool in 'Deep Water'.

    He sank, tried to spring up from the bottom, swallowed water, grew dizzy and paralysed with fear; on the way down a third time he stopped struggling and felt an odd peace as he lost consciousness.

19. How did Douglas finally overcome his fear of water in 'Deep Water'?

    He hired an instructor who taught him to swim piece by piece over months; even afterward he deliberately tested himself by swimming in lakes (e.g., Lake Wentworth and Warm Lake) until the fear was fully conquered.

20. What larger life lesson does Douglas draw from his experience in 'Deep Water'?

    He learned that the experience of dying made the will to live more intense and that, in death, there is peace; quoting Roosevelt, he realised 'there is terror only in the fear of death'.

21. Who wrote 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' and to which poetic movement does it belong?

    Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote it; it is a landmark of English Romantic poetry, blending the supernatural with a moral about humanity and nature.

22. In 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner', whom does the Mariner stop and why?

    He stops one of three wedding guests with his glittering eye and holds him spellbound, compelling him to listen to his tale of crime, punishment, and penance.

23. What crime does the Ancient Mariner commit, and what does the Albatross symbolize?

    He shoots and kills the Albatross with his crossbow; the bird symbolizes good luck, nature, and a Christian/spiritual blessing, so killing it is a sin against nature and God.

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