[All Rights Reserved]
SLIATE
SRI LANKA INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION
(Established in the Ministry of Higher Education, vide in Act No. 29 of 1995)
Higher National Diploma in English
Semester Second Year, First Examination – 2014
EN1108- Literature in English (Old)- (FT/PT)
No. of questions : 06
No. of pages
: 03
Time
: Three(03) hrs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Instructions for Candidates:
1. Answer any five questions.
2. All questions carry equal marks
3. PART A and C is mandatory for all students and answer THREE other questions.
4. Part B is mandatory for FULL TIME students and answer TWO other questions
from Part D selecting ONE question each from short stories and poetry sections.
5.
PART TIME students should answer THREE questions from Part D selecting at
least ONE question each from short stories and poetry sections.
.
1
PART A
01. Identify the following extracts and comment on the relevance of them to the larger
context with special reference to features like techniques, themes and language.
I.
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
II.
Great water drops are dribbling
Falling like orange or mango
Fruits showered forth in the wind
Or perhaps I should say so
Much like beads I could in prayer tell
III.
“One day it rained torrentially from dawn. The postmaster’s pupil waited for a long
time at the door, but when the usual call failed to come she quietly entered the room,
with her bundles of books. She saw the postmaster lying on his bed: thinking that he
was resting, she began to, she began to tiptoe out again.”
IV.
“Even as the train steamed in at the outer signal, I could scent a customer. I had a kind
of water diviner’s instinct. If I felt the pull of good business, I drifted in the direction
of the coming train; I could stand exactly where a prospective tourist would alight and
look for me.
Or
“My friends told me that even if I got my degree I would still remained unemployed,
and some of them even promised to give me a job after they overthrew the
government and seized power. But how could I be party to the violence they were
proposing to resort to?”
[5x4=20 marks]
PART B
Drama
(FOR FULL TIME STUDENTS ONLY)
This question is compulsory for FULL TIME students.
02. Arthur Miller’s play, ‘Death of a Salesman’ is a harsh criticism of the American
Dream. Discuss.
Or
In the play ‘Arms and the Man’, Shaw presents a realistic account of war and removes
all pretensions of nobility from war. Do you agree? Justify.
[20 marks]
2
HNDE EN 1108 Literature in English 2014
PART C
Novel
This question is compulsory for Full Time & Part Time students.
03. Comment on the characterization of major characters in the novel “The Guide” by R K
Narayan.
Or
“The character of Prof. Amaradasa in “Curfew and a Full Moon” by Ediriwira
Sarachchandra represents the dilemmas of the academics.” Discuss.
[20 marks]
PART D
Answer at least ONE question from EACH section.
Short Stories
04. (a) Discuss the significance of the nature imagery in the short story “The
Postmaster” by Rabindranath Tagore.
Or
Comment on the plot development of the short story “The Open Window” by Saki.
(b) Critically analyze the theme of exploitation depicted in Chitra Fernando’s short
story “Missilin”.
[20 marks]
Poetry
05. (a) Discuss the Romantic features in William Wordsworth’s poems “Daffodils” and
“My Heart Leaps Up”.
(b) Comment on the different perspectives of war depicted in Kamala Wijeratne’s
poetry with reference to her poems in the syllabus.
(c) Write a critical appreciation of the poem “Entertainment” by Nissim Ezekiel.
(d) “Robert Herrick’s poem ‘To Daffodils’ is about the brevity of life”. Review.
[20 marks]
3
HNDE EN 1108 Literature in English 2014