ISC 2026 English Literature Improvement Examination Question Paper for Class 12

About this paper

This is ISC Class 12 English Paper 2 (Literature in English), paper code 801B, set by CISCE for the 2026 Improvement Examination. It carries 80 marks, runs for three hours plus fifteen minutes of reading time, and has five compulsory questions. Section A has ten multiple-choice questions and ten sentence-completion items asking for a brief reason. Section B has one question each on the prescribed texts: Shakespeare's Macbeth, the short-story collection Prism and the poetry anthology Rhapsody. Each Section B question has two short answers of 100–150 words built around given points and one 200–250-word long answer with an internal choice. This copy has the questions only.

Exam

ISC Class 12

Subject

English Literature

Year

2026

Paper code

801B

Maximum marks

80

Time allowed

3 hours + 15 min reading

Questions

5

Pages

8

Answers included

No, questions only

Paper pattern

• Section A

  20 marks

  Question 1: 10 multiple-choice questions on the play, stories and poems (10 marks); Question 2: complete 10 sentences by giving a reason (10 marks)

• Section B – Macbeth

  20 marks

  Question 3: two 100–150-word answers (5 marks each) and one 200–250-word answer with internal choice (10 marks)

• Section B – Prism (short stories)

  20 marks

  Question 4: two 100–150-word answers (5 marks each) and one 200–250-word answer with internal choice (10 marks)

• Section B – Rhapsody (poetry)

  20 marks

  Question 5: two 100–150-word answers (5 marks each) and one 200–250-word answer with internal choice (10 marks)

Topics covered

• Macbeth
• The Medicine Bag
• The Cookie Lady
• There Will Come Soft Rains
• Indigo
• Atithi
• Death Be Not Proud
• Small Towns and the River
• Beethoven
• Tithonus
• Telephone Conversation

Questions from this paper

1. How do Scenes i and ii of Act III of Macbeth reflect a change in Macbeth's character? Refer to his interaction with Banquo and the murderers.
2. The play Macbeth ends with Malcolm ascending the throne of Scotland. What changes does he announce, and what does this reveal about his character?
3. Discuss the difference in the attitudes of Martin and his sister Cheryl towards their Grandpa in the short story The Medicine Bag.
4. What role does the fire play in the short story There Will Come Soft Rains?
5. Discuss how the poet challenges the absolute power of Death in the poem Death Be Not Proud.
6. Comment on the relevance of the theme of the poem Tithonus in modern times.