Delhi University
English Paper V (b) Classical Literature Previous Year Question Paper Year 2005 : IInd Year
Q.I. Critically comment on :
(a) Aphrodite
“Big though Priam was, he came in unobserved, went up to Achilles, grasped his knees and kissed his hands, the terrible, man killing hands that had slaughtered many of his sons.”
(b) There are three who own no property, A student, a slave, a dependent woman;
The wife of a slave, you are his now, my dear; A masterless slave wench, your are now slave wealth!
The significance of Draupadi being dragged to the court by her hair.
© The Cinesias-Myrrhine episode as illustrating Lysistrata’s happy idea of sex-strike.
The seizure of the acropolis in Lysistrata.
Answer :
Q. 2. (a) How does Plato argue that poets “have no grasp of truth” ?
Bring out the significance of Draupadi reminiscing about her marriage to the five Pandavas. 6
(b) Write a note on comedy in the Athenian city state ?
Briefly define the concept of Dharma.
Answer :
Q. 3. Critically comment on Euripides’ depiction of Medea’s tragedy as relating to her status as a foreign woman in Athens.
“And they tell us, we at home
Live free from danger, they go out to battle; fools !”
How and why does Medea foreground marriage as an arena for tragedy ? 15
Answer :
Q. 4. Critically examine the representation of female sexuality and motherhood in Abhijnana Shakuntalam,
Abhijnana Shakuntalam dramatises the conflict between desire and duty. Discuss. 15
Answer :