West Bengal Civil Service
Examination-2001
(Optional Papers)
English Paper -II
Time Allowed : 3 Hours Full Marks : 100
All questions carry equal marks.
1. Attempt an appreciation of the following poem after briefly and clearly bringing out its main ideas :
Anthem for Doomed Youth
Wilfred Owen
What passing belles for these who die as cattle ?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them ; no prayers nor bells,
The shrill, demented choirs of wailling shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all ?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good - byes.
The.pallor of girts, brows shall.be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds.
And each slow dusk a drawing - down.of blinds,
2. Write a relevant and concise essay on one of the following :
(a) Naure in Rimantic and Victorian poetry
(b) Bernard Shaw's concept of Man in his major plays
(c) Dicken's children in his novels.
3. Answer one of the following :
(a) Assess the importance of The Lyrical Ballads in the history of English poetry.
(b) Write in brief critical note on the Odes of Shelly and Keats.
(c) Estimate the contribution of Alfred Tennyson to English poetry and compare it with that of Robert Browning. Give illustrations.
(d) What are the chief characteristics of modern poetry ? How are they reflected in The Waste Land ? Substantiate your answer.
4. (a) Show with illustrative references , how far Scott is true to the idea of the historical novel.
OR
(b) Do you think that there is a blend in jane. Austen's novels of comedy and social morality ? Answer with adequate illustration.
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