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KSEAB SSLC TL English study materials
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KSEAB SSLC TL English practice questions

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Question 1Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In the prescribed prose lesson 'The Gentleman of the Jungle', who represents the elephant's claim to occupy the man's hut?

  1. The man's own relatives who came to advise him
  2. The king's officers from the nearby town
  3. The village elders who settled land disputes
  4. A commission of animals headed by the lion Correct answer.

Explanation

The story shows how the man is asked to bring his case before a body of animals, and the lion presides over that gathering. This commission then rules in favour of the elephant, showing how power shapes justice.

Question 2Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Gentleman of the Jungle', the man finally regains his hut mainly because:

  1. the animals vote again after hearing his speech
  2. the lion orders the elephant to vacate the hut
  3. he uses fire, which the animals fear Correct answer.
  4. the elephant feels ashamed and leaves voluntarily

Explanation

The lesson's climax turns on the man's use of fire against the animals, which reverses the earlier judgement. The story thus suggests that the weak survive only when they stop relying on the fairness of the powerful.

Question 3Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

The title 'The Gentleman of the Jungle' is best read as:

  1. an ironic label for the elephant that takes over the hut Correct answer.
  2. a respectful title for the lion as head of the commission
  3. a description of the man, who behaves politely throughout
  4. a reference to the narrator, who observes the events

Explanation

The word 'gentleman' is applied ironically to a beast that behaves with gross injustice while claiming to be reasonable. The irony exposes how polite language can disguise greed and force.

Question 4Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In the lesson 'The Eyes Have It', the narrator's remark that he could not see the girl is significant because:

  1. he was too shy to look at her face
  2. he was blind and was hiding that fact Correct answer.
  3. he had never learned to describe people
  4. the compartment was completely dark

Explanation

The narrator is blind, and much of the story's charm lies in his concealment of this from the girl. The reader understands the truth that the characters themselves withhold from each other.

Question 5Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Eyes Have It', what does the narrator learn about the girl after she leaves the train?

  1. She too was blind and had no sight Correct answer.
  2. She had been reading a book the whole time
  3. She had been travelling to meet her brother
  4. She had recognised him from an earlier journey

Explanation

The story's final revelation is that the girl was also blind, so neither traveller had truly seen the other. This shared blindness gives the tale its gentle irony.

Question 6Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

The narrator's long description of the scenery in 'The Eyes Have It' is best understood as:

  1. a report of what he actually saw clearly
  2. an invention built from memory and imagination Correct answer.
  3. evidence that he had partial sight restored
  4. a travelogue inserted to fill space

Explanation

Because the narrator is blind, his vivid scenery comes from remembered impressions and imagination rather than present sight. The gap between his words and his condition is the story's quiet irony.

Question 7Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In the lesson 'The Gift of the Magi', why does Della sell her hair?

  1. To pay the rent on their small apartment
  2. To buy a watch chain for her husband's watch Correct answer.
  3. To buy a warm coat for the winter
  4. To buy herself a set of combs she admired

Explanation

Della parts with her hair to raise money for a Christmas present for Jim, choosing a chain for his treasured watch. Her sacrifice sets up the story's ironic exchange of gifts.

Question 8Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Gift of the Magi', what makes the couple's gifts to each other ironic?

  1. Both gifts were bought from the same shop
  2. The gifts were exchanged before Christmas Day
  3. Both gifts turn out to be second-hand
  4. Each gift is useless because of the other's sacrifice Correct answer.

Explanation

Jim sells his watch to buy combs, while Della sells her hair to buy a chain, so each present is rendered unusable. The irony deepens the story's point that their love, not the objects, is the real treasure.

Question 9Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

The narrator's closing comment on the young couple in 'The Gift of the Magi' suggests that they are:

  1. foolish for wasting their only possessions
  2. the wisest of all gift-givers Correct answer.
  3. wiser than the magi of ancient times
  4. unaware of the true value of money

Explanation

The narrator compares the couple to the Magi and calls them the wisest of givers because their gifts spring from selfless love. The comparison elevates their sacrifice above mere material exchange.

Question 10Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In the lesson 'The Farmer's Wife', the woman's main struggle is with:

  1. her son's refusal to attend school
  2. a dispute over land with her neighbours
  3. a household task she must complete alone Correct answer.
  4. a journey to a distant market town

Explanation

The lesson centres on the wife's effort to manage a demanding domestic duty, showing her patience and resourcefulness. Her struggle is practical and close to home rather than a public quarrel.

Question 11Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

The portrait of the farmer's wife in the prescribed lesson chiefly brings out her:

  1. endurance and quiet strength Correct answer.
  2. impatience with her family
  3. ambition to become wealthy
  4. desire to leave village life

Explanation

The lesson builds her character through the way she bears burdens and keeps the household going. Her strength is shown in patient endurance rather than in grand ambition.

Question 12Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Selfish Giant', why does spring refuse to enter the Giant's garden?

  1. The Giant had locked the garden gate
  2. The birds had all flown away for the winter
  3. The garden soil was too poor for flowers
  4. The children were no longer allowed to play there Correct answer.

Explanation

The story makes the garden's seasons depend on the children's presence, so when the Giant drives them out, spring stays away. His selfishness is thus shown as a kind of winter of the heart.

Question 13Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

What finally brings spring back to the Giant's garden in 'The Selfish Giant'?

  1. The Giant sells the garden to a neighbour
  2. The Giant breaks down the wall and lets the children in Correct answer.
  3. The Giant plants new trees himself
  4. The villagers dig up the garden

Explanation

When the Giant opens his garden to the children, the seasons return and the garden blooms again. The change in his heart is expressed through the change in the landscape.

Question 14Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

The child whom the Giant finds at the far corner of the garden is best interpreted as:

  1. a warning that the garden will be taken away
  2. a symbol of love that redeems the Giant Correct answer.
  3. an ordinary boy who had climbed the wall
  4. a neighbour's son who was lost

Explanation

The child's wounds and the Giant's awe give the encounter a symbolic, religious colouring, pointing to love and forgiveness. The scene marks the Giant's moral transformation rather than a mere incident.

Question 15Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In the lesson 'The Last Leaf', what does the last ivy leaf on the wall turn out to be?

  1. A paper leaf pasted up by Sue
  2. A real leaf that survived the storm
  3. A leaf that Behrman painted on the wall Correct answer.
  4. A leaf that Johnsy imagined in fever

Explanation

Behrman paints the leaf in the storm so that Johnsy will believe one leaf remains, and the painted leaf saves her hope. His act is the story's true masterpiece and its final gift.

Question 16Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Last Leaf', Johnsy's belief that she will die when the last leaf falls reveals:

  1. her dislike of her neighbours
  2. her deep knowledge of medicine
  3. her fragile state of mind Correct answer.
  4. her wish to leave the city

Explanation

Johnsy's illness has made her identify her own life with the falling leaves, which shows how despair has taken hold of her mind. The story treats hope and attitude as forces that affect recovery.

Question 17Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

Behrman's death in 'The Last Leaf' is presented as:

  1. the price of a selfless act Correct answer.
  2. the result of long-standing illness
  3. a punishment for his bad temper
  4. a pointless accident in the street

Explanation

Behrman catches pneumonia while painting the leaf in the cold and rain, so his death is directly tied to his sacrifice. The story honours him as the painter of a true masterpiece.

Question 18Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In the lesson 'The Model Millionaire', Hughie Erskine's chief difficulty is that he:

  1. has lost his inheritance to a friend
  2. has talent but no money to marry on Correct answer.
  3. cannot find any work at all
  4. has quarrelled with his wealthy uncle

Explanation

Hughie has charm and artistic taste but little income, which stands between him and marriage to Laura. The story turns on how generosity, not money, changes his fortune.

Question 19Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Model Millionaire', why does Hughie give money to the beggar?

  1. He feels pity for the old man's poverty Correct answer.
  2. He wants to impress the painter Trevor
  3. He hopes to be repaid with interest
  4. He mistakes him for a servant of the painter

Explanation

Hughie parts with his last coin out of genuine sympathy for the ragged old man posing for a portrait. His kindness is uncalculated, which makes the later twist a reward for character.

Question 20Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

The twist in 'The Model Millionaire' depends on the fact that the beggar:

  1. was Trevor's uncle visiting from abroad
  2. was actually a famous painter in disguise
  3. had once employed Hughie's father
  4. was a millionaire posing as a model Correct answer.

Explanation

The ragged sitter turns out to be a wealthy man who was posing for the painter, so Hughie's gift goes to someone who can repay it many times over. The irony rewards his generosity rather than his calculation.

Question 21Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In the lesson 'A Wrong Man in Workers' Paradise', the artist's arrival in the workers' world creates conflict because:

  1. his love of beauty clashes with pure utility Correct answer.
  2. he steals tools from the workers
  3. he cannot understand the local language
  4. he refuses to obey the rules of the workshop

Explanation

The workers' paradise values only useful labour, so the artist's delight in beauty seems idle and disruptive. The story contrasts usefulness with art and suggests that both are needed.

Question 22Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

What change does the artist gradually bring about in the workers' paradise?

  1. He convinces the elders to send him home
  2. He teaches the workers to value beauty in their work Correct answer.
  3. He persuades the workers to stop working altogether
  4. He builds a new factory for the community

Explanation

The artist's presence leads the workers to add grace and ornament to their labour, so beauty enters their lives. The story argues that art is not useless but completes human work.

Question 23Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In the lesson 'The Ant and the Grasshopper', the two brothers are contrasted mainly through their:

  1. political opinions
  2. religious beliefs
  3. attitudes to work and pleasure Correct answer.
  4. choice of friends

Explanation

One brother lives for enjoyment while the other is industrious and prudent, echoing the fable of the ant and the grasshopper. The story plays with whether the hardworking or the carefree brother is finally rewarded.

Question 24Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

The ending of 'The Ant and the Grasshopper' is ironic because:

  1. the fable's moral is proved exactly right
  2. the idle brother prospers without effort Correct answer.
  3. the hardworking brother inherits a fortune
  4. both brothers lose their money

Explanation

The story upsets the fable's expected moral by letting the careless brother succeed through luck rather than industry. This irony questions the simple equation of hard work with reward.

Question 25Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In the lesson 'The Lottery Ticket', the husband's change of mood after thinking about the prize shows:

  1. his sudden interest in charity
  2. his wish to buy a new house
  3. his growing suspicion and greed Correct answer.
  4. his relief at avoiding debt

Explanation

As the couple imagine winning, their thoughts turn to what each would keep for themselves, breeding distrust. The story exposes how the dream of money can poison ordinary affection.

Question 26Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Eyes Have It', the narrator's remark that he could 'see' the girl's hair and dress is best explained by which fact about him?

  1. He is a painter who notices visual detail.
  2. He has perfect eyesight but is inattentive.
  3. He is describing a photograph he once saw.
  4. He is blind and relies on imagination and other senses. Correct answer.

Explanation

The narrator is blind, so his detailed 'seeing' is constructed from sounds, smells, and imagination rather than sight. This ironic gap between his words and his condition shapes the story's central misunderstanding.

Question 27Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Gift of the Magi', Della's decision to sell her hair is driven mainly by her wish to:

  1. buy a platinum fob chain for Jim's watch. Correct answer.
  2. pay off the couple's household debts.
  3. buy a warm overcoat for Jim.
  4. purchase a set of ornamental combs.

Explanation

Della sells her hair to buy a Christmas present worthy of Jim's treasured watch, specifically a platinum fob chain. Her sacrifice is an act of love, not debt repayment or self-adornment.

Question 28Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Selfish Giant', the Giant's change of heart is first signalled when he:

  1. puts up a notice-board warning trespassers.
  2. lifts the small child into the tree and helps it blossom. Correct answer.
  3. builds a high wall around the garden.
  4. orders the children to leave his garden at once.

Explanation

The Giant's compassion awakens when he helps the tiny child who cannot reach the tree, and the tree immediately blooms. This act of kindness marks the beginning of his moral transformation.

Question 29Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Last Leaf', Sue's decision to pose as a model for an artist magazine shows her:

  1. plan to leave Greenwich Village permanently.
  2. desire to become a famous painter herself.
  3. practical resourcefulness to earn money for Johnsy's care. Correct answer.
  4. indifference to Johnsy's illness.

Explanation

Sue takes on modelling work to pay for food and medicine while caring for Johnsy. Her action reveals quiet practicality and devotion rather than ambition or indifference.

Question 30Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Model Millionaire', Hughie's visit to Baron Hausberg's house reveals that the Baron:

  1. refused to help Hughie financially.
  2. had posed as the beggar to test Hughie's generosity. Correct answer.
  3. was angry about the money Hughie had given him.
  4. had never met Hughie before the visit.

Explanation

The Baron reveals that he was the beggar in the studio and rewards Hughie's kindness with a large cheque. The visit confirms that the Baron deliberately tested Hughie's character.

Question 31Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'A Wrong Man in Workers' Paradise', the artist's initial conflict with the workers arises because he:

  1. tries to become the leader of the paradise.
  2. values beauty and leisure in a world that prizes only useful labour. Correct answer.
  3. steals tools and materials from the workers.
  4. refuses to work and demands to be fed for free.

Explanation

The artist introduces play, decoration, and art into a society organised entirely around productive work. The workers see his activities as useless, which creates the cultural clash.

Question 32Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Ant and the Grasshopper', the narrator's comparison of the brothers mainly serves to:

  1. criticise the fable's traditional moral as false.
  2. suggest that both brothers are equally selfish.
  3. show that the hardworking brother is not necessarily the happier one. Correct answer.
  4. prove that idleness always leads to ruin.

Explanation

Maugham contrasts George, the industrious brother, with Tom, the charming idler, and shows Tom prospering through luck. The story complicates the simple moral that hard work guarantees reward.

Question 33Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Lottery Ticket', Ivan's growing excitement about the prize is soon replaced by:

  1. generous plans to share the money with the poor.
  2. determination to buy a new house immediately.
  3. indifference to the lottery result.
  4. suspicion and resentment toward his wife and her family. Correct answer.

Explanation

As Ivan imagines winning, he begins to see his wife and her relatives as obstacles to his enjoyment of the money. Chekhov shows how the fantasy of wealth poisons his domestic affection.

Question 34Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Farmer's Wife', the woman's attitude toward her husband's illness is best described as:

  1. open hostility and neglect.
  2. exaggerated grief and self-pity.
  3. dutiful care mixed with suppressed resentment. Correct answer.
  4. complete indifference to his condition.

Explanation

The wife performs her nursing duties but her inner feelings are strained and bitter. The story exposes the gap between outward duty and inward resentment.

Question 35Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Eyes Have It', the girl's remark that she likes the narrator's voice because it sounds 'sincere' is significant because:

  1. it suggests she is mocking his manner of speaking.
  2. it shows she cannot see his blindness and judges him by sound alone. Correct answer.
  3. it proves she has recognised him from a previous meeting.
  4. it reveals she is also blind and relies on hearing.

Explanation

The girl's compliment is based on auditory impression, not sight, which reinforces the story's theme of perception without vision. Her judgement is sincere but incomplete, just as his is.

Question 36Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Gift of the Magi', the narrator's comparison of Della and Jim to the Magi chiefly emphasises that the couple:

  1. are wise because they give sacrificially, not because they are rich. Correct answer.
  2. are equal in social status to the biblical Magi.
  3. are foolish because they waste their only treasures.
  4. have made a mistake that they will regret forever.

Explanation

The narrator calls them 'the magi' because their gifts, though now useless, embody the wisdom of self-giving love. The comparison elevates their sacrifice above material value.

Question 37Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Selfish Giant', the Giant's garden remains in winter for so long mainly because:

  1. the Giant has forbidden the children to play there. Correct answer.
  2. the Giant has destroyed all the flowers and trees.
  3. the birds and flowers are afraid of the Giant's dog.
  4. the garden is located in a cold northern country.

Explanation

The story personifies nature: Spring refuses to enter because the Giant has walled out the children. The perpetual winter is a moral condition, not a geographical one.

Question 38Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Last Leaf', Behrman's painting of the last leaf on the wall is an act of:

  1. careless mischief that accidentally helps Johnsy.
  2. revenge against Johnsy for ignoring him.
  3. self-sacrifice that gives Johnsy hope and costs him his life. Correct answer.
  4. professional ambition to win an art prize.

Explanation

Behrman braves the storm to paint a leaf so that Johnsy will believe she can survive. The act is deliberate and selfless, and it leads to his death from pneumonia.

Question 39Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'The Model Millionaire', the Baron's gift of ten thousand pounds to Hughie is best understood as:

  1. a reward for Hughie's generosity to a supposed beggar. Correct answer.
  2. payment for a portrait Hughie had painted.
  3. a loan that Hughie is expected to repay.
  4. compensation for an injury Hughie suffered.

Explanation

The Baron was the beggar in the studio and was moved by Hughie's kindness. The cheque is a reward for character, not a fee, compensation, or loan.

Question 40Prose (prescribed lessons): comprehension, theme, character and inference

In 'A Wrong Man in Workers' Paradise', the workers eventually allow the artist to stay because:

  1. he agrees to work harder than any of them.
  2. his art and playfulness add a new dimension of joy to their lives. Correct answer.
  3. he threatens to destroy their machines.
  4. they need him to repair their broken tools.

Explanation

The artist introduces beauty, decoration, and leisure, which the workers come to appreciate. Their initial hostility gives way to acceptance as they discover the value of non-utilitarian activity.

Question 41Poetry (prescribed poems): appreciation, figures of speech and central idea

In the prescribed poem 'The School Boy' by William Blake, the speaker compares a child kept from joyful learning to a plant that is denied which condition?

  1. Rich soil and careful pruning
  2. Bees to carry its pollen
  3. A trellis to climb upon
  4. Sunlight and rain at the proper season Correct answer.

Explanation

Blake builds the poem on an extended simile between the child and a tender plant. The plant thrives only when it receives 'the summer's joy' - sun and showers in their season - and droops when these are withheld. The poem's central idea is that joyless discipline stunts natural growth.

Question 42Poetry (prescribed poems): appreciation, figures of speech and central idea

Read this line from a prescribed poem: 'The woods are lovely, dark and deep.' Which figure of speech is most clearly produced by the repetition of the conjunction 'and' in this line?

  1. Onomatopoeia
  2. Hyperbole
  3. Polysyndeton Correct answer.
  4. Personification

Explanation

Polysyndeton is the deliberate repetition of conjunctions in close succession, and the doubled 'and' here slows the line and adds weight. It is a syntactic device rather than a comparison or exaggeration. Recognising it helps explain the meditative pace of the closing stanza.

Question 43Poetry (prescribed poems): appreciation, figures of speech and central idea

In the prescribed poem 'A Poison Tree' by William Blake, the speaker's anger grows into a tree and bears a bright apple. This apple most directly represents which idea?

  1. The reward of honest speech
  2. The harvest of hard labour
  3. The sweetness of friendship
  4. The fruit of nursed and hidden wrath Correct answer.

Explanation

Blake's speaker waters his wrath 'in fears, night and morning with my tears', and the tree that results bears the deceptive apple. The apple is a symbol of concealed anger ripened into a trap. The poem's moral is that suppressed anger grows destructive.

Question 44Poetry (prescribed poems): appreciation, figures of speech and central idea

In the prescribed poem 'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost, the speaker says he 'took the one less travelled by, / And that has made all the difference.' What does the phrase 'made all the difference' chiefly suggest?

  1. That the chosen path was physically easier
  2. That both paths were exactly alike
  3. That the choice shaped the course of his later life Correct answer.
  4. That he regretted the decision immediately

Explanation

The line closes the poem by looking back on a moment of choice and attributing lasting consequence to it. 'All the difference' points to how a single decision altered the speaker's life. The poem is about the retrospective meaning we give to choices, not about the paths' actual condition.

Question 45Poetry (prescribed poems): appreciation, figures of speech and central idea

Which figure of speech is used when a poet addresses an absent or abstract thing as if it were a living person capable of hearing, as in 'O Death, be not proud'?

  1. Litotes
  2. Metonymy
  3. Synecdoche
  4. Apostrophe Correct answer.

Explanation

Apostrophe is direct address to someone absent, dead, or to an abstraction such as Death or Sleep. It differs from personification because the address itself, not merely the attribution of qualities, defines the device. This device is common in devotional and reflective verse.

Question 46Poetry (prescribed poems): appreciation, figures of speech and central idea

In the prescribed poem 'The School Boy', the speaker asks how a bird can 'sit and sing' when it is 'born in a cage'. What is the function of this rhetorical question?

  1. It proves the bird is happy in captivity
  2. It challenges the idea that joy can survive confinement Correct answer.
  3. It introduces the boy's fear of birds
  4. It shifts the poem to a description of nature

Explanation

The question is rhetorical: it expects the answer 'it cannot'. Blake uses it to argue that confinement destroys natural joy, whether in a bird or a child. The question therefore strengthens the poem's protest against joyless schooling.

Question 47Poetry (prescribed poems): appreciation, figures of speech and central idea

In the prescribed poem 'On Killing a Tree', the poet describes the tree's bark as 'leprous' and its roots as holding it 'fast to the earth'. Which reading best captures the central idea of the poem?

  1. Trees should be valued only for their timber
  2. The tree's resilience makes it a symbol of enduring life Correct answer.
  3. Trees are harmful to the soil around them
  4. Trees are easily destroyed by a single cut

Explanation

The poem insists that a tree cannot be killed by a simple cut; it must be uprooted and exposed. The detailed account of the tree's stubborn hold on the earth makes it a symbol of deep, enduring vitality. The 'leprous' bark is part of the tree's scarred but living strength.

Question 48Poetry (prescribed poems): appreciation, figures of speech and central idea

A poet writes: 'The moon walked slowly across the meadow.' Which figure of speech dominates this line?

  1. Oxymoron
  2. Personification Correct answer.
  3. Simile
  4. Alliteration

Explanation

Personification gives human action to a non-human thing, and the moon 'walking' is exactly that. The verb attributes deliberate human movement to a natural object. It is not a comparison introduced by 'like' or 'as', so it is not a simile.

Question 49Poetry (prescribed poems): appreciation, figures of speech and central idea

In the prescribed poem 'The Road Not Taken', the speaker admits the two roads were worn 'really about the same'. Why does the poem nonetheless insist on the choice?

  1. Because the roads led to the same destination
  2. Because the speaker was forced to choose by others
  3. Because one road was clearly more beautiful
  4. Because later reflection gives the choice meaning it did not obviously have at the time Correct answer.

Explanation

Frost deliberately undercuts the difference between the roads, then lets the speaker claim that his choice 'made all the difference'. The poem explores how memory and hindsight construct significance. It is a meditation on the stories we tell about our decisions.

Question 50Poetry (prescribed poems): appreciation, figures of speech and central idea

In the prescribed poem 'A Poison Tree', the speaker's wrath with his friend ends when he 'told it'. What does this contrast with the second half of the poem chiefly teach?

  1. That friends are less trustworthy than enemies
  2. That anger is always wrong
  3. That speaking anger ends it, while hiding it lets it grow Correct answer.
  4. That trees grow faster in the sun

Explanation

The first stanza shows anger confessed and finished; the rest shows anger concealed and cultivated into a deadly fruit. The structural contrast carries the moral: expression defuses wrath, silence nourishes it. The tree is the emblem of that nurtured resentment.