ISC English Literature 2025 Specimen Paper with Answers
All 14 questions of the ISC English Literature 2025 Specimen Paper, in printed order. Open a question to read it in full and see its answer.
- Q1 Choose the correct options for the following questions. How does Lady Macbeth attempt to divert the attention of the guests from… 10 marks · Short answer
- Q2 Complete the following sentences by providing a reason for each in brief. Do not write the question. Macbeth returns to the… 10 marks · Fill in
- Q3(i) How does Malcolm’s character grow and change over the course of the play? Incorporate the following details and write your answer… 5 marks · Short answer
- Q3(ii) In what ways does power corrupt in the play Macbeth? Discuss any one character who is corrupted by power in the play. Incorporate… 5 marks · Short answer
- Q3(iii)(a) Do you agree with the view that Macbeth is fighting a lost battle against forces beyond his control? Justify your point of view… 10 marks · Long answer
- Q3(iii)(b) When do you have flashes of sympathy and admiration for Lady Macbeth in the course of the play? Explain by citing examples from… 10 marks · Long answer
- Q4(i) The Medicine Bag traces the narrator’s attitude to his Sioux Grandfather, from mild embarrassment to appreciation. Summarise the… 5 marks · Short answer
- Q4(ii) Referring closely to the short story, The Cookie Lady, explore Mrs. Drew’s fascination with Bubber. Answer in 100-150 words… 5 marks · Short answer
- Q4(iii)(a) Tarapada, the central character in the short story, Atithi, is a free soul who cannot be restrained by the bonds of society… 10 marks · Long answer
- Q4(iii)(b) Discuss the absence of human characters in the story, There Will Come Soft Rains. How does this absence contribute to the overall… 10 marks · Long answer
- Q5(i) In what ways does the speaker’s cultural background clash with the landlady’s expectations in the poem Telephone Conversation?… 5 marks · Short answer
- Q5(ii) Referring to the poem Tithonus, show how his immortality becomes a curse. Answer in 100-150 words incorporating the following… 5 marks · Short answer
- Q5(iii)(a) Analyse the comparison between death and sleep in the poem, Death Be Not Proud. How does this metaphor contribute to the overall… 10 marks · Long answer
- Q5(iii)(b) The poem Beethoven explores the role of pain and suffering in the process of artistic creativity and excellence. Justify this… 10 marks · Long answer