ICSE 2020 English Literature Question Paper for Class 10

About this paper

This is the ICSE Class 10 Literature in English (English Paper 2) question paper from the 2020 examination, paper code T20 012. It gives two hours for writing after 15 minutes of reading time. Candidates answer five questions from only three books, at least one from each section and no more than two extra questions from books already chosen. Drama is one play: Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice or Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. The poems are Sarojini Naidu's The Bangle Sellers, Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Leigh Hunt's Abou Ben Adhem. Prose is one book: the short stories (Hearts and Hands, The Little Match Girl and The Blue Bead), Orwell's Animal Farm, or Jack London's The Call of the Wild. Questions only.

Exam

ICSE Class 10

Subject

English Literature

Year

2020

Paper code

T20 012

Time allowed

2 hours + 15 min reading

Questions

18

Pages

13

Answers included

No, questions only

Paper pattern

• Section A – Drama

  Questions 1–6: three questions each on The Merchant of Venice and The Mousetrap; answer from only one play, 16 marks a question

• Section B – Poetry

  Questions 7–9: extract questions on The Bangle Sellers, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Abou Ben Adhem, 16 marks each

• Section C – Prose

  Questions 10–18: three questions each on the short stories, Animal Farm and The Call of the Wild; answer from only one book

Topics covered

• The Merchant of Venice
• The Mousetrap
• The Bangle Sellers
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Abou Ben Adhem
• Hearts and Hands
• The Little Match Girl
• The Blue Bead
• Animal Farm
• The Call of the Wild

Questions from this paper

1. What information does Gobbo seek from Launcelot? What does Launcelot say has happened to Gobbo's son?
2. Where does the mercy speech take place? Why is Portia there, and why does Bassanio not recognise her?
3. Who is Mrs Boyle, and why is she in a bad mood when she arrives at Monkswell Manor?
4. What colours does Sarojini Naidu associate with a maiden and with a middle-aged woman, and how does she describe the concerns of women at each stage?
5. Describe how Sibia rescued the Gujar woman from the crocodile. What did Sibia regard as the highlight of that day, and what does this tell us about her?
6. Why is Buck regarded as the protagonist of Jack London's The Call of the Wild?