ICSE Solved Paper-2020

Class-IX
English Paper- 2 (Literature)*
(Two hours)

Answer to this paper must be written on the paper provided separately.

You will not be allowed to write during the first 15 minutes.
This time is to be spent in reading the question paper.
The time given at the head of this paper is the time allowed for writing the answers.
Attempt five questions in all.
You must attempt at least one question from each of the Sections A, B and C compulsorily.
You may attempt the remaining two questions from any section(s) of your choice.
The Intended marks for questions or parts of questions are given in brackets[].

SECTION A – DRAMA
Answer at least one question from this Section.
The Merchant of Venice: Shakespeare
Question1.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
  Shylock: Ho, no, no, no, no; my meaning in saying
  he is a good man is to have you understand me that
  he is sufficient. Yet his means are in supposition;
  he hath an argosy bound to Tripolis, another to the
  Indies; I understand, moreover, upon the Rialto,
  he hath a third at Mexico, a fourth for
  England, – and other ventures he hath, squandered abroad.
(i) Where does this scene take place? To whom does Shylock address these words? What does this person
want from Shylock? [3]
(ii) ‘Antonio is good man and he is sufficient’. [3]
What does Shylock mean by these words?
(iii) Give the meaning of the word ‘argosy’. [3]
What destinations are Antonio’s argosies bound for?
(iv) What are the possible dangers that threaten Antonio’s argosies at sea? [3]
(v) What does Shylock really think of Antonio? [4]
What reasons does he give for feeling this way?
Question 2.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Launcelot: Marry, sir, to bid my old master, the Jew, to sup tonight with my new master the Christian.
Lorenzo: Hold here, take this [Gives money]: tell
Gentle Jessica
I will not fail her; speak it privately;
Go.

* Note: This paper is solely for reference purpose only. The format has now been modified by CISCE for March 2021 Examination.
2 ] Oswaal ICSE Solved Paper - 2020, ENGLISH PAPER–2 (LITERATURE), Class-IX

(i) Where are the speakers? What has Launcelot delivered to Lorenzo? How does Lorenzo know who the sender
is? [3]
(ii) Who is Launcelot’s “old master”? Who is his “new master”? What is the purpose of Launcelot’s visit to his old

master? [3]
(iii) What does Lorenzo mean when he says, “tell gentle Jessica I will not fail her;”?
[3]
Why does he urge Launcelot to “speak it privately”?
(iv) What had Jessica said to Launcelot in an earlier scene when she heard that he was leaving her father’s service?

 [3]
(v) What was Jessica planning to do later that night?
[4]
Question 3.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Portia: There, take it, prince; and if my form lie there,
Then I am yours.
He opens the golden casket
Morocco: O hell! what have we here?
A carrion Death, within whose empty eye
There is a written scroll I’ll read the writing.
(i) Where are Portia and Morocco? Why has Morocco travelled to this place? 
[3]
(ii) Morocco chooses the golden casket.
[3]
What message does the scroll inside it contain?
(iii) Who had designed the casket test? What were the rules of the test?
[3]
(iv) How many other caskets were there in the room?
[3]
State what was inscribed on each of them.
(v) What does Portia say after Morocco Leaves?
[4]
What aspect of her character is revealed by her words?

SECTION B – POETRY
Answer at least one question from this Section.
A Collection of Poems
Question 4
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Who will buy these delicate, bright
Rainbow-tinted circles of light?
Lustrous tokens of radiant lives.
For happy daughters and happy wives.
           (Bangle Sellers, Sarojini Naidu)
(i) Who are the speakers in the poem? Where are they going?
[3]
What do they intend to do there?
(ii) How are bangles described in the above lines?
[3]
What do the bangles sysmbolise?
(iii) What does the poet compare to ‘fields of sunlit corn’, later in the poem?
[3]
Why does the poet refer simultaneously to bridal laughter and bridal tear?
(iv) In the poet’s opinion, what does a woman who ‘has journeyed through life midway’ take pride in?
[3]
(v) What important stages of a woman’s life does the poet refer to in this poem?
[4]
What colours are associated with each of these stages?
Oswaal ICSE Solved Paper - 2020, ENGLISH PAPER–2 (LITERATURE), Class-IX [ 3
Question 5
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow”:
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
               (Daffodills-William Wordsworth)
(i) Describe the poet’s mood at the beginning of the poem. [3]
Which word in the opening the suggests the mood?
(ii) What arrests the attention of the poet on his walk? [3]
How does he describe this view?
(iii) To what does he compare this view? How far does this view extend? [3]
(iv) Explain briefly the immediate effect of this view upon the poet. [3]
What mood is conveyed by the following lines of the poem?
‘Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
(v) What lasting effect does this view have on the poet? [4]
What is the central theme of the poem?
Question 6.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
We’ll answer this by asking you,
What used the darling ones to do?
‘How used they keep themselves contended
Before this monster was invented?’
               (Television, Roald Dahl)
(i) Who are the ‘darling ones’? [3]
How did they entertain themselves before the invention of television?
(ii) In what ways do parents find the television useful or convenient? [3]
(iii) What, according to the poet, are the harmful effects of television on the minds of children? [3]
(iv) What kind of stories did children of Roald Dahl’s generation read? [3]
Which children’s author does he name in the poem?
(v) At the end of the poem, what does Roald Dahl ask parents to do with their television sets? How according to
the poet, would children respond to this action of theirs? [4]

SECTION C – PROSE
Answer at least one question from this Section.
A Collection of Short Stories
Question 7
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
“I was taking care of animals,” he explained.
“Oh,” I said, not quite understanding.
“Yes,” he said, “I stayed, you see, taking care of animals. I was the
last one to leave the town of__________________.” He did not look
like a shepherd nor a herdsman and I looked at his black dusty clothes
and his grey dusty face and his steel rimmed spectacles and said,
“What animals were they”
(i) Where is this story set? Who is the narrator? [3]
To which town did the Old Man belong?
(ii) What animals was the Old Man taking care of? [3]
4 ] Oswaal ICSE Solved Paper - 2020, ENGLISH PAPER–2 (LITERATURE), Class-IX

(iii) Why was the Old Man required to leave his home? [3]
Why was he unhappy about having to leave?
(iv) How old was the Old Man?
[3]
What does he mean when he says, “I am without politics”?
(v) What was the narrator trying to persuade the Old Man to do? What is the central theme of Hemingway’s

short story “Old Man at the Bridge”? [4]
Question 8.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
 astily other went out, some glancing at Maggie, and some resolutely refraining from a look, until all had gone. She was
H
alone! Just beyond the threshold Joe Thompson, paused, and said to the blacksmith’s wife, who was hastening off with the
rest,--
“It’s a cruel thing to leave her so.”
“Then take her to the poor house: she’ll have to go there,’ answered the blacksmith’s wife, springing away, and leaving Joe
behind.
(i) Briefly explain the circumstances that had led to Maggie being left all alone.
[3]
(ii) Why did the neighbours feel that Maggie should be sent to the poor house?
[3]
(iii) What did Joe Thompson do for a living?
[3]
What did he do when he re-entered the hovel?
(iv) How had Maggie become bed-ridden?
[3]
(v) How did Maggie prove to be an angel in disguise in the life of Jane Thompson?
[4]
Question 9
Answer the following questions with reference to Ruskin Bond’s short story ‘A Face in the Dark.’
(i) Who is Mr Oliver? What is his profession? Whom did he encounter while taking a short out through the pine

trees? [4]
(ii) What is the cause of his panic? Whom did he stumble on? Bring out the similarity between the two encounters

that Mr. Oliver had that night? [4]
(iii) Give a brief description of Mr. Oliver’s second encounter that night.
[8]
Comment briefly on the ending of the story and say what makes it effective.

ANSWERS
SECTION A – DRAMA
Solution 1
(i) 
The scene takes place at a public place in Venice. These words are addressed to Bassanio. Basannio wanted
any contradictory suggestions from Antonio. [3]
(ii) Shylock meant that Antonio was a good man and is sufficiently credit-worthy. He had ships sailing to different

parts and can be depended upon. [3]
(iii) Argosy means large merchant ships. Antonio’s argosies are headed for Tripoli, Indies, Mexico and England.

 [3]
(iv) The possible dangers that threatened Antonio’s argosies at sea were:

a. Land and sea rats
b. Land and sea thieves or pirates
c. Peril of winds
d. Peril of water
e. Peril of rocks [3]
(v) Shylock is antagonistic to Antonio because Antonio had been criticizing and defaming Shylock at the Venetian

Stock Exchange. Antonio had been condemning Shylock’s money lending operations and undue profits
which Shylock had been making from those operations. [4]
Oswaal ICSE Solved Paper - 2020, ENGLISH PAPER–2 (LITERATURE), Class-IX [ 5
Solution 2
(i) The speakers are in a street in Venice. Launcelot had delivered a letter from Jessica, to Lorenzo. Lorenzo knew

who the sender was from the hand writing on the paper envelope. [3]
(ii) Launcelot’s ‘old master’ was Shylock. Launcelot’s 'new master' was Bassanio. Launcelot had visited his old

master to invite him to dinner with his new master. [3]
(iii) By saying this, Lorenzo meant that he will surely come and will not let down Jessica by breaking his promise.

He urged Launcelot to ‘speak it privately’ so as not to reveal to anyone else the plan of escape of Jessica from
Shylock’s house as torchbearer of Lorenzo. [3]
(iv) Shylock’s daughter Jessica bade good-bye to Launcelot and told him that his presence made life with her

father more bearable. She was sorry that he was leaving her father's service. She also referred him as a 'merry
- devil'. [3]
(v) Jessica was planning to disguise as torchbearer of Lorenzo and escape from Shylock’s house later that night.

She would serve as page for the masquerade party that night and escape taking along with her father’s gold
and jewels. [4]
Solution 3
(i) Portia and Morocco are at Portia's house in Belmont. Morocco had travelled to Belmont as a suitor and wanted

to marry Portia. [3]
(ii) 
The golden casket had Death’s head (a skull with a scroll within hollow eye-socket) with the message”All that
glitters is not gold”. This meant that it is not necessary that a golden casket shining from outside will be the
only casket carrying Portia’s picture. [3]
(iii) The casket test was designed by Portia’s father before his death. There were three chests, made of gold, silver,

and lead respectively, each with an inscription. Inside one chest was a picture of Portia; if a suitor chose the
chest with the picture, he could marry Portia. The rules of the test were that if the suitor chooses the wrong
casket, he would leave the place immediately not tell any one which casket he chose and never woo any other
lady for marriage.[3]
(iv) The gold chest said, "Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire. "There were two more caskets in

the room. The silver read, "Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves." The lead casket read, "Who
chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath." [3]
(v) Portia said that it was a gentle way of getting rid of Morocco. She also said that let all the princes of his

complexion choose the casket in the same way as was done by Morocco. These words reveal that she was a
cruel character who was willing every person other than Bassanio to a life of celibacy. [4]

SECTION B – POETRY
Solution 4
(i) The speakers in the poem are the bangle sellers. They are going to a temple fair. They intend to get sufficient

number of buyers or customers for their colourful bangles. [3]
(ii) The bangles have been described as delicate, bright and rainbow-coloured or multi-coloured shining loads.

These bangles symbolize delight for happy daughters and happy wives. [3]
(iii) The poet compared the yellow coloured bangles being sold by bangle sellers as ‘fields of sunlit corn'. The poet

referred simultaneously to bridal laughter and bridal tear as the bride laughs happily as she is getting married
and entering into a life of her dreams, but weeps as she is going to leave her parental abode. [3]
(iv) A woman who ‘has journeyed through life midway’ takes pride as she had reared up her children with

utmost love and care and fulfilled all her house-hold duties, and with honour has sat beside her husband
during the religious ceremonies. She had always remained faithful and devoted to her husband and family.
 [3]
(v) The poet refers to three important stages of a woman’s life in the poem. These are:

a. Maiden – This stage has been associated with silver, blue, green and pink coloured bangles.
b. Bride – This stage has been associated with yellow, orangish-red and deep red coloured bangles.
6 ] Oswaal ICSE Solved Paper - 2020, ENGLISH PAPER–2 (LITERATURE), Class-IX

c. Mother and Wife – This stage has been associated with purple and grey coloured bangles with golden
dots. [4]
Solution 5
(i) The poet’s mood at the beginning of the poem is melancholy. He was roaming aimlessly as a cloud over hills

and valleys. The word ‘lonely’ in the opening line of the poem suggests the mood of the poet. [3]
(ii) A large number of daffodils growing under the trees near the lake arrested the attention of the poet on his

walk. The poet described the daffodils as dancing and inviting the poet to join and enjoy the breeze blowing
in the fields. [3]
(iii) The poet compared the daffodils along the bay with the stars stretched in a continuous line in the galaxy like

Milky Way. According to the poet, this view extended till the horizon. This means that just as there is no way
to find the starting of stars, the daffodils appeared to last till eternity. [3]
(iv) The poet seemed to be profoundly charmed by that view. The lines conveyed that there were large numbers

of daffodils visible, around ten thousand at a time. Also, due to the breeze, the flowers swayed and appeared
to dance in exuberance.[3]
(v) The sight of the dancing daffodils remained dormant in the poet’s sub-conscious mind and, whenever he was

in a vacant or lonely mood, lying on his couch, the memory of the daffodils raised his low spirits, filling his
mind with immense pleasure and thus, he felt elated. Daffodils had left an everlasting precious memory in
the poet’s mind. They became a ‘bliss of solitude’ i.e., ‘the blessing of being alone’, for him. The benevolence
of nature and its power to overcome the feelings of human sadness with its beauty are, is the central theme of
the poem. [4]
Solution 6
(i) The children have been referred to as the ‘darling ones’. Before the invention of the television, the children

used to entertain themselves by reading lots of books. [3]
(ii) For the parents, the television is bliss, as the television keeps the naughty children calm. They neither climb

the windows nor fight with each other. The mother can cook or wash peacefully. According to them, the
television can be the most convenient way of keeping the children occupied. [3]
(iii) According to the poet, watching television all the time is harmful in numerous ways. It rots the senses of

the child and kills his imaginative power. It causes confusion in his mind. He becomes dull and inactive. He
no longer understands a fairy tale or is able to think innovatively. It also affects his eyesight and numbs the
brain. Excessive watching of television makes the child’s brain as soft as cheese. He believes blindly whatever
he watches or hears in it. He does not use his own logic to analyze and interpret things. Television destroys a
child’s ability to think, he keeps staring at the television screen. [3]
(iv) The children of Roald Dahl’s generation read stories of dragons, gypsies, queens, whales, treasure islands,

smugglers, elephants, cannibals etc. and fantasy characters like, Mr. Tod, Squirrel Nutkin, Mrs. Tiggy Winkle,
Mr. Camel, Mr. Rat, etc. The poet names Beatrix Potter as the children book author. [3]
(v) The poet ardently pleads with the parents to discard their television sets; replacing them with book shelves.

He said that initially, the children will protest. They will frown, shout and kick in frustration, but the parents
need to be patient and soon they will observe that, when the children will have nothing else to busy themselves
with, they will gradually get closer to books. [4]

SECTION C – PROSE
Solution 7
(i) The story is set at a pontoon bridge near the Ebro Delta on an Easter Sunday during the Spanish Civil War.

The narrator is a young army officer who had the duty to watch the advancement of the enemy. The Old Man
belonged to the village of San Carlos. [3]
(ii) The Old Man was taking care of his pet animals who were his family. These animals included a cat, two goats

and four pairs of pigeons. [3]
(iii) The Old Man was required to leave his home due to advancement of the enemy army during the Spanish

Civil War. He was unhappy to leave as he was worried about the safety of his animals. [3]
(iv) The Old Man was seventy six years old. By saying that he is without politics, the Old Man wanted to say that

he was neutral as far as politics is concerned. He has chosen not to take sides in the Spanish Civil war.  [3]
(v) The narrator was trying to persuade the Old Man to cross the bridge and sides take up the truck at the end

of the road bridge. The truck would take him to safety to the town of Barcelona. In this story, Hemmingway
Oswaal ICSE Solved Paper - 2020, ENGLISH PAPER–2 (LITERATURE), Class-IX [ 7
shows that though there are wars, they are presented as a glorious and majestic. The basic fact is hidden. So
many people who do not even participate in the war become the worst victims. No one speaks about them
and the tragedy they face. They become homeless and foodless. The old man is a symbol of such victims.
A 76 years old man, has to escape and suffer for no reason during the war. After the war people will talk
about heroism and victory, this old man will find no place in their memory or talks. Hemmingway finds this
a disturbing fact and has tried to portray the uglier side of war, the destruction and distress caused by it.
Whichever party wins, the common man is the guaranteed loser. [4]
Solution 8
(i) A woman in a village died. She was a compulsive alcoholic which resulted in her death. Her three children

were orphaned. The eldest son was adopted by a farmer thinking that the boy would help him in his fields.
The second child who was a daughter was bright and active and was adopted by a lady who was looking for a
bound girl. The youngest child Maggie was suffering from spinal injury and was bed ridden. No one wanted
to adopt her initially and was thus left alone. [3]
(ii) The neighbours felt that Maggie should be sent to poor house as no one was willing to adopt her and take

her responsibility. So, the only option left was to send her to poorhouse where basic care facilities would be
provided to her. [3]
(iii) Joe Thompson was a wheelwright and repaired wooden wheels as a means of earning livelihood. When he

re-entered the hovel, his heart melted for the poor child Maggie. So he lifted her up and carried her to his
house. [3]
(iv) Maggie had fallen from the window and seriously injured her spine. In this way, she became bedridden. [3]

(v) The feeling of love and compassion for Maggie emerged in the heart of Joe’s wife. She became kinder with the

sweet sick girl. Maggie became a speck of happiness in the life of childless Thompson couple. She was a little
girl with a pure, clear and light soul. She turned out to be an ‘angel in disguise’ for them. [4]
Solution 9
(i) Mr. Oliver is the principal character in the fiction story “A Face in the Dark”. He is an Anglo Indian and a

teacher in English Public School, Shimla. While taking a short cut through the pine trees, he came across a
weeping boy who was sitting with his hands covering his face. [4]
(ii) He was panicked to see that the boy had no eyes, ears, nose or any other feature on his face. He started running

in the direction of the school. He stumbled on to the watchman who was coming towards him hanging a
lantern in his hand. The similarity between the two incidents was that just like the boy, the watchman too had
no eyes, ears, nose or any other feature on his face.  [4]
(iii) On seeing the faceless boy, Mr. Oliver darted towards the school fearfully. On the way, he met a watchman

carrying a lantern. When the watchman enquired about his condition, Mr. Oliver narrated to him the
encounter with the faceless boy weeping in the forest. To this, the watchman lifted the lamp close to his face.
Mr. Oliver found that the watchman too did not have any eyes, ears, nose or mouth. The story ends when the
wind blows the lamp out leaving the readers keen to know what happened with Mr. Oliver. The story ends
with a sense of ambiguity, leaving the readers to think whether those were actually ghosts or some prank
played upon the teacher by his students. This unnerving end of the story makes it quite effective. [8]

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