Based on the 2025-26 SQP | Literary Devices and Contrasting Imagery | English | CBSE Class 10th

1. Poetry: The Hub of Literary Devices

• Fire and Ice:
  • Question: How does the rhyme scheme (abaabcbcb) help in bringing out the contrasting ideas in the poem?
  • Answer: The rhyme scheme links ‘fire’ with ‘desire’ and ‘ice’ with ‘suffice’ and ‘hate’, creating a structural contrast that mirrors the thematic opposition between passionate desire and cold hatred.
  • Literary Device: Imagery/Metaphor—Fire represents greed/lust; Ice represents indifference/hate.
• Amanda!:
  • Question: The repetition of “Amanda!” highlights a specific tone. Contrast this with the imagery in the girl’s imaginative escapes.
  • Answer: The repetition emphasizes external control and pressure. In contrast, the imagery of a “mermaid” or “orphan” represents freedom and silence, highlighting the tension between the nagging reality and her longing for independence.
• A Tiger in the Zoo:
  • Question: Describe the contrasting imagery used to show the tiger’s life in a cage versus the wild.
  • Answer: The poet uses “concrete cell” and “quiet rage” to show confinement, contrasting with “shadow,” “long grass,” and “snarling” to represent natural freedom.
• Fog:
  • Question: How does the metaphor of a cat reinforce the theme of transience?
  • Answer: The fog arrives on “little cat feet,” stays “looking over harbor and city,” and then “moves on.” This imagery parallels the fleeting, temporary moments in life that arrive and depart without notice.

2. Prose: Imagery and Symbolism

• A Letter to God:
  • Question: The hailstones are compared to “new coins” and “frozen pearls.” Why is this metaphor significant?
  • Answer: It shows Lencho’s shifting perspective—initially seeing the rain as wealth (coins), then seeing the hailstorm as a beautiful but destructive force (frozen pearls).
• Mijbil the Otter:
  • Question: Contrast Mijbil’s behavior in “static water” versus “moving water.”
  • Answer: Mijbil shows a “love for movement”—he cannot tolerate static water and will splash it until it overflows, contrasting with his juggling of marbles while lying on his back, showing coordination and curiosity.
• Madam Rides the Bus:
  • Question: Contrast the visual imagery of the “young cow” Valli saw on her way to the town and back.
  • Answer: On the way to town, the cow is a source of “enthusiasm” and laughter as it runs in front of the bus. On the return journey, the imagery shifts to a “dead cow” by the roadside, which “stills” Valli and represents her first encounter with the grim reality of death.

3. Footprints Without Feet: Character & Irony

• The Thief’s Story:
  • Question: Analyze the character arc of Hari Singh using the contrast between his intentions and his ultimate action.
  • Answer: The irony lies in a thief who returns stolen money not out of fear, but out of a realization that education and Anil’s trust are more valuable than a few hundred rupees.
• The Necklace:
  • Question: How does the situational irony at the end of the story impact the theme of materialism?
  • Answer: Matilda spends ten years in poverty to replace a necklace she believed was diamond, only to find it was “paste” (fake). This highlights the futility of her vanity and pride.

Table for Quick Revision