ISC 2023 English Literature Question Paper for Class 12

About this paper

This is the ISC Class 12 English Paper 2 (Literature in English) from the 2023 board examination, code 1223-801B. It carries 80 marks and lasts three hours, with an extra fifteen minutes for reading only. All five questions are compulsory. Section A has ten multiple-choice questions and ten sentences to be completed with a reason. Section B has three twenty-mark questions, one each on Shakespeare's The Tempest, the prose collection Echoes and the poetry collection Reverie. Each long-answer question ends with an internal choice. The set pieces include To Build a Fire, The Singing Lesson, B. Wordsworth, The Story of an Hour, The Sound Machine, Dover Beach, The Darkling Thrush, Birches and Crossing the Bar. This copy has the questions only.

Exam

ISC Class 12

Subject

English Literature

Year

2023

Paper code

1223-801B

Maximum marks

80

Time allowed

3 hours + 15 min reading

Questions

5

Pages

5

Answers included

No, questions only

Paper pattern

• Section A

  20 marks

  Question 1: ten multiple-choice questions. Question 2: ten sentences to be completed with a reason

• Section B

  60 marks

  Question 3 on The Tempest, Question 4 on Echoes and Question 5 on Reverie, twenty marks each, with an internal choice in the last part

Topics covered

• The Tempest
• Forgiveness and reconciliation
• Magic and the masque
• To Build a Fire
• The Singing Lesson
• The Sound Machine
• B. Wordsworth
• The Story of an Hour
• Dover Beach
• The Darkling Thrush
• Birches
• Crossing the Bar

Questions from this paper

1. In the masque in Act IV of The Tempest, how does Ceres know that Juno is coming, and what does Ceres say to bless the young couple?
2. In Act V of The Tempest, what does Prospero intend to do with his book before he meets Alonso?
3. Referring closely to Act III Scene iii, relate Ariel's stern warning to the three men of sin, and say what impact it has on them.
4. With close reference to Act V, examine how Shakespeare presents forgiveness and reconciliation at the end of The Tempest.
5. Referring closely to To Build a Fire, discuss how the man's lack of imagination leads to his death while the dog's instincts help it survive.
6. Referring closely to Dover Beach, show how the poet correlates the receding Sea of Faith with the loss of human faith in religion.