UPMSP Intermediate Assamese key terms

Assamese prose writing, covering essays, short stories, biographical sketches and reflective pieces studied in the textbook; questions ask about theme, character and the writer's style rather than verse form.

The emotional import or mood a passage conveys, such as pathos, patriotic fervour or gentle humour; identifying the dominant bhav is a standard comprehension question on prose and poetry alike.

The way a writer builds a character through action, speech and the reactions of others; answers should cite textual incidents rather than offer general adjectives about the person.

A condensed restatement of a passage's central argument in the candidate's own words; it must preserve the main point and omit illustrative detail, and is usually capped at a fixed word count.

Assamese verse, including devotional, romantic and modern poems in the syllabus; appreciation requires attention to rhythm, imagery and emotional effect, not merely paraphrase of content.

The aesthetic relish a poem or dramatic scene evokes in a prepared reader, classified traditionally as erotic, heroic, pathetic, comic and so on; naming the rasa requires showing which lines produce it.

The rasa of love and beauty, whether of union or separation; in Assamese lyrics it often appears as longing for the beloved or, in Vaishnava verse, as the soul's longing for Krishna.

The rasa of courage, enterprise and martial spirit, evoked by descriptions of battle, resolve or noble sacrifice; patriotic poems in the syllabus commonly draw on it.

The rasa of grief and compassion, aroused by loss, parting or suffering; an answer should point to the specific images or laments that generate the sorrow.

Poetic ornament, the figures of speech that heighten expression; the syllabus expects candidates to identify a figure in a given line and justify the identification by quoting it.

Simile: an explicit comparison of two unlike things using words such as 'like' or 'as'; the two objects compared must be named for the figure to count as upama rather than metaphor.

Metaphor: an implied comparison in which one thing is spoken of as if it were another, without a word of comparison; the identification is fused rather than stated.

Alliteration, the repetition of a consonant sound in nearby words for musical effect; candidates should name the repeated sound and locate it in the quoted line.

Metre, the measured arrangement of syllables and stresses that gives verse its cadence; Assamese verse uses both syllabic and accentual patterns, and recitation helps candidates feel the beat.

Full-length drama in the syllabus, analysed through plot structure, conflict, character and dialogue; answers should distinguish what happens on stage from what is merely reported.

Speech exchanged between characters on stage, which advances plot and reveals personality; analysing dialogue means noting tone, register and what a character conceals as well as what is said.

A unit of dramatic action marked by a change of setting or characters; scene divisions help candidates trace how tension rises and falls within an act.

A short play with a single act, few characters and one concentrated situation; because there is no room for subplot, everything hinges on a single turning point.

A passage not from the prescribed textbook, set to test independent reading; answers must be drawn from the text itself, not from background knowledge of the author.

The situation in which a quoted line occurs; a context question requires naming the speaker and occasion before explaining the line's meaning and significance.

The phonetic junction of two sounds at a word boundary, producing a combined form; Assamese grammar treats vowel and consonant sandhi separately and expects the rule to be stated.

Compound formation, in which two or more words combine into one; candidates should classify the compound and show which member is principal and which is subordinate.

A word formed from a verbal root by adding a suffix, functioning as noun or adjective rather than as a finite verb; recognising these forms aids both grammar and translation questions.

A word class or part of speech in Assamese grammar, traditionally divided into noun, pronoun, verb, indeclinable and so on; parsing a word means naming its class and function.

Rewriting a sentence without changing its meaning, for example from direct to indirect speech or from active to passive voice; the grammatical category named in the instruction must actually change.

Essay composition on a set or chosen topic, judged on structure, relevance and correctness; a clear introduction, developed body paragraphs and a brief conclusion are expected.

A short unified composition on one idea, usually with a topic sentence and supporting detail; unlike an essay it has no headings and should stay tightly focused on a single point.

A formal letter written to an authority to request something, following a fixed layout of sender, date, addressee, subject, salutation, body and closing; tone must be respectful and concise.

The applied-writing skill of composing personal and formal letters in correct Assamese format; marks are awarded for layout, appropriate register and grammatical accuracy.

The chronological study of Assamese writing from early devotional verse through the modern period, including major authors, genres and the social conditions shaping them.

Devotional lyric verse associated with the Vaishnava movement initiated by Srimanta Sankaradeva, expressing longing and surrender to Krishna; it dominates the early literary period.

The nineteenth-century phase of Assamese literary awakening, named after the journal Arunodaya, marked by prose writing, printing and contact with English education and reformist ideas.

A literary tendency valuing emotion, imagination and nature over restraint and reason, influential in Assamese poetry of the early twentieth century; its presence is argued from imagery and tone.

Rendering a passage from one language into another while preserving meaning, register and idiom; literal word-for-word rendering is penalised when it produces unnatural Assamese.

A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be deduced from its individual words; correct use requires knowing the established figurative sense and the grammatical slot it fills.