And little other care hath she,
The Lady of Shalott.

And moving thro' a mirror clear
That hangs before her all the year,
Shadows of the world appear.

(i) What had the Lady been forbidden to do, under pain
of a curse? What finally made her disobey the command?
(ii) Quote or refer closely to two passages describing the
landscape round the Castle of Shalott.

(iii) Give three details from Tennyson's description of the Lady's arrival in Camelot.

(b) Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay

Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone.

(i) Whom is Ulysses describing here, and what task is he proposing for him?

(ii) How does Ulysses describe the people of his country at the beginning of the poem? Why does he feel unsympathetic towards them?

(c)

(iii) Describe the scene when Ulysses sets sail.

But when I met

Merlin, and ask'd him if these things were truth-
The shining dragon and the naked child

Descending in the glory of the seas—

He laugh'd as is his wont, and answer'd me
In riddling triplets of old time.

(i) Who is speaking here? What was Leodogran trying

to find out from the speaker?

(ii) Say briefly what else we hear of Merlin in this poem.

(iii) Quote or give a full paraphrase of any two or three consecutive lines of the "riddling triplets".

E

(d) Me you call great: mine is the firmer seat,
The truer lance: but there is many a youth
Now crescent, who will come to all I am
And overcome it; and in me there dwells
No greatness, save it be some far-off touch
Of greatness to know well I am not great:
There is the man.

(i) To whom is Lancelot speaking, and on what occasion?

(ii) Give three details from Tennyson's description of Arthur ("There is the man") as he appeared on this occasion. (iii) Rewrite in your own words lines 2-4 of the passage ("but there is many...overcome it") so as to bring out clearly their meaning.

14. Either (a) State briefly in your own words the theme of the poem which begins "You ask me why, tho' ill at ease," in which Tennyson expresses his love of England. Mention two other ways in which he reveals this love, and illustrate them from the poems you have studied.

Or (b) By means of a consideration of two or three of the following characters, say what qualities you think Tennyson most admired in his heroes: (i) Arthur; (ii) Ulysses; (iii) Grenville; (iv) Lancelot.

15. Briefly relate the three different explanations which are offered of Arthur's origin, in The Coming of Arthur, and say how we come to hear of each explanation.

16. Here are two stanzas from one of Tennyson's lyrics. Illustrate from them the poet's skill in using words to suggest both sights and sounds, as well as to express a thought or a feeling:

I

The splendour falls on castle walls

And snowy summits old in story:
The long light shakes across the lakes,
And the wild cataract leaps in glory.

Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.

II

O hark, O hear! how thin and clear,
And thinner, clearer, farther going!
O sweet and far from cliff and scar

The horns of Elfland faintly blowing!
Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying:
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.

BELLOC: Essays

17. Choose three of the passages (a) to (d), and answer briefly the questions which follow:

(a) Mr Bilbury and Mr Newman were astonished that attempted homicide should cost so little in this singular country. They were still more astonished to discover that etiquette demanded a genial reconciliation of the two combatants under such circumstances, and they were positively amazed to find after that reconciliation that they were compatriots. It was their seconds who insisted upon standing the dinner that evening. The whole incident was very happily over save for one passing qualm which Mr Bilbury felt (and Mr Newman also) when he saw the gentleman, whom he had last met as the tri-coloured official of the Republic, passing through the restaurant singing.....

(i) What is the title of this essay?

(ii) Explain briefly why Mr Bilbury and Mr Newman did not know that they were "compatriots".

(iii) When and where had Bilbury last met the "official of the republic", and why is he referred to as "tri-coloured"? (iv) What are you meant to conclude when you read that Bilbury felt a "passing qualm" at seeing the "official" in the restaurant?

(b) There is an old story and a good one to teach us how to fight against any weakness of the sort, which is this. Two old

:

gentlemen who had never met before were in a first-class railway carriage of a train that does not stop until it gets to Bristol. They were talking about ghosts. One of them was a parson, the other was a layman. The layman said he did not believe in ghosts. The parson was very much annoyed, tried to convince him, and at last said, "After all, you'd have to believe in one if you saw one." "No, I shouldn't," said the layman sturdily; "I should know it was an illusion."

sort".

(i) Explain clearly what is meant by "weakness of the

(ii) Say briefly what the parson next said and did, and what the layman thought about it.

(iii) What do you conclude are Belloc's own opinions on the subject of this essay? How are they conveyed to the reader?

(c) He forgets all about God and creation and the rest of it, and allows himself a little separate diatribe against the idiocy of the ostrich before getting back to his theology. So I with sparrows. And now that I have taught you this lesson from Job, I will return to the matter of inaccuracy. Inaccuracy is also the breeder not only of good native phrases, but of excellent tales, like the well-rubbed, polished ancient, and now immutable story of the boy in buttons who got nervous at the grandeur of the bishop, and said, when the sleepy bishop asked who was knocking: "It's the Lord, my boy."

(i) What was the "lesson from Job"?

(ii) Explain clearly "So I with sparrows", showing how sparrows have found their way into an essay on Inaccuracy. (iii) Why, according to Belloc, are men afraid of being inaccurate?

(iv) How in Belloc's opinion can inaccuracy sometimes breed tragedy instead of comedy?

(d) Then when I got nearer to the gun, and I looked closely at it, I saw something which I have seen so often in a million German things that it has become a commonplace for them in my mind, but I know it is perilous to whisper it on this side of

the Channel. The thing that has become a commonplace in my mind is the fact that Germans cannot make, but can only copy. They have many negative virtues, very unsuited to their vast aberrations.

(i) Where had Belloc seen this gun, and why had it been put there?

(ii) Name three German "negative virtues", and explain what Belloc means by "unsuited to their vast aberrations". (iii) What had Belloc seen on the gun? State clearly why he disliked what he saw.

18. By reference to three or four essays in this volume, illus trate the variety of ways in which Belloc has taught you how the interest and excitement of walks and tours may be increased.

19. Either (a) Belloc sometimes writes an "essay-story" to illustrate a point of view. Briefly summarize two such "essay stories", showing what point of view he wished to illustrate in each.

Or (b) What has Belloc to say on three of the following topics: Country bargaining; English Inns; Secondary and Primary impressions; Cats; Accents? ́

20. Give an outline of one of the following essays, showing what it reveals of the author: On Song; The Honest Man and The Devil; An Educational Reform; The Spaniard.

SECTION B

Answer at least one question (but not more than two)
from this section.

SCOTT: Quentin Durward

21. How are (i) the cruelty and vindictive spirit of King Louis XI, and (ii) his superstitious nature, clearly shown during his stay in Peronne? Refer closely to at least two important incidents.