ICSE Class 10 English Literature Sample Paper 2026 by Experts: Practice for Last Minute Revision, Download PDF

For the ICSE Class 10 English Literature (Paper 2) scheduled for February 20, 2026, sample paper created by subject matter specialists will be a quick way to practice and revise for the exam. The sample paper questions shared here precisely follows the most recent CISCE syllabus and marking scheme, offering students a strategic advantage before the final board examination. The questions replicate the 2026 exam schedule, and follow a framework of 80 marks for external evaluation, with two hour exam duration.

These questions curated by experts cover the entire syllabus, which also includes 'Julius Caesar’, prose excerpts from ‘Treasure Chest’ and poetry context. By solving these questions students will be able to get accommodated with character sketches, theme analysis, and more. Additionally, students can also access these questions in PDF format, for which direct link is provided in the article. Along with exam structure, and topic-wise weightage for a quick overview of the syllabus. Students can download the ICSE Class 10 English Literature Sample Paper 2026 in PDF format from here to help them revise more effectively.

Also check: ICSE Date Sheet 2026

ICSE Class 10 English Literature Sample Paper 2026 by Experts: Exam structure 

Shared here is a detailed distribution of ICSE Class 10 English Literature (Paper 2) exam structure 2026 prepared by experts. This is designed as per ICSE guidelines and paper pattern 2026 for English Literature. The table contains section-wise distribution of topics and weightage per marks. Use this to revise and get acquainted with the pattern well. 

ICSE Class 10 English Language Topic-Wise Weightage 2026

The topic-wise weightage here shares a balanced distribution of questions from each section. It will be easy to practice and revise for the English Paper 2 exam.

Also check: ICSE Class 10 Specimen Papers 2026

ICSE Class 10 English Literature Sample Paper 2026, By Experts

Given here are ICSE Class 10 English Literature Sample Paper 2026 questions by experts. Utilise the questions shared here to practice section wise and topic based questions. 

SECTION A(ATTEMPT ALL QUESTIONS FROM THIS SECTION)

Question 1. Choose the correct option:

1. What does Leonard Mead love to do? 

a) remaining outdoors on a misty evening 

b) walking by night or day 

c) writing an article every day 

d) enjoying watching television programmes

2. Why was there only one police car in the story, 'The Pedestrian'? 

a) There was a shortage of cars and for the police. 

b) The crime rate was low, and there was no need for the police. 

c) There was no one available to operate these cars. 

d) None of the above.

3. What does Mark Antony say to the audience being the reason for Caesar's death? 

a) Caesar's ambition. 

b) Caesar's tyranny. 

c) The conspirators' loyalty to the Roman Republic. 

d) The conspirators' hatred for Caesar.

4. What does Mark Antony say he will do in his speech at Caesar's funeral? 

a) Avenge Caesar's death 

b) Persuade the people to support the conspirators 

c) Show the people the true nature of Caesar's killers 

d) Mourn Caesar's death and honour him

4. What does Octavius say about the significance of the sword? 

a) It is a symbol of power. 

b) It is a tool for justice. 

c) It is a weapon of war. 

d) It is a means of revenge.

5. What does Messala tell Titinius about the outcome of the battle?

a) Octavius is victorious. 

b) Octavius is defeated by Brutus. 

c) The battle is still ongoing.

d) The outcome is not mentioned

6. What does the speaker mean by 'There are more guests at table than the hosts invited' in the poem 'Haunted Houses'?

a) The hosts have invited more people than they can accommodate.

b) The speaker is imagining additional guests at the table

c) The presence of ghosts makes it feel like there are more people present

d) The speaker is referring to uninvited guests who have crashed the party.

7. In the poem, 'A Considerable Speck', the speaker realises something at the end. What does he ultimately try to convey in the poem?

a) A reminder of Life's fragility

b) We are insignificant in this vast world

c) Find beauty in small things

d) Reflects the chaos of existence

8. What are Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus doing in Act 4, Scene 1?

a) Compiling a list of their political enemies

b) Making plans to go into exile

c) Planning to spark a civil war

d) Plotting to murder Brutus

9. How does Brutus respond to discovering the bodies of Cassius and Titinius?

a) He prepares for another battle

b) He blames their deaths on Pindarus

c) He orders his army to retreat

d) He surrenders to Antony and Octavius

10. Why does Antony spare Lucilius's life?

a) He mistakes Lucilius for Brutus

b) He believes Lucilius can be turned into an ally

c) He respects Lucilius's courage in battle

d) He trades Lucilius for his own captive soldier

11. What reason does Brutus give to Volumnius for asking him to assist in his suicide?

a) Brutus fears the humiliation of capture

b) Brutus believes his actions deserve death

c) Brutus is afraid Caesar's ghost will hurt him

d) Brutus thinks the enemy troops will retreat if he dies

12. Bhisma's song can be heard from Delhi to ______

a) Agra

b) Sri Lanka

c) Burma

d) Mumbai

SECTION B - DRAMA

(Answer one or more questions from this section)

(Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare)

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

13. Lucilius: Safe Antony: Brutus is safe enough;

I dare assure thee that no enemy

Shall ever take alive the noble Brutus.

The gods defend him from such great shame!

When you do find, or alive or dead

he will be found like Brutus, like himself.

i) In what sense is Brutus safe enough? How are the second and third lines of the extract become prophetic? (that is indicative of what is going to take place)

ii) Who has just been killed when Lucilius is captured? Who has captured Lucilius? What have they done with him? 

iii) "The gods defend him from so great a shame!" What was considered shameful according to the Roman custom? (3)

iv) What is happening on the battlefield? Who is emerging victorious? Mention the two objectives in Lucilius' mind, while impersonating Brutus: What do you think are the objectives? 

v) Give a detailed account of Antony's tribute to Brutus towards the end of the play.

14. Brutus -

You must note beside,

That we have tried the utmost of our friends,

Our legions are brim-full, our cause is ripe.

The enemy increaseth every day.

We, at the height, are ready to decline.

There is a tide in the affairs of men,

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;

Omitted, all the voyage of their life 

Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

a) To whom is Brutus giving the arguments in this extract? What is meant by, "Our legions are brim-full, our cause is ripe."? 

b) Give two arguments of Brutus to indicate that his military strength is in an advantageous position. 

c) Brutus says, "The enemy increaseth every day." State how it increases every day. 

d) "There is a tide in the affairs of men." What comparison is made between the voyage of life and the voyage on sea?

e) According to Brutus, "On such a full sea we are now afloat." How is this statement valid?

15. Read the extract from William Shakespeare's play 'Julius Caesar' given below and answer the questions that follow:

Cassius -

Coming from Sardis, on our former ensign

Two mighty eagles fell, and there they perched,

Gorging and feeding from our soldiers' hands,

Who to Philippi here consorted us.

This morning are they fled away and gone,

And in their steads do ravens, crows, and kites

Fly o'er our heads and downward look on us

As we were sickly prey. Their shadows seem

A canopy most fatal, under which

Our army lies, ready to give up the ghost.

a) In this extract, Cassius narrates something he has seen. What is it? Did he believe in the significance of such things earlier in his life? Give reasons for your answer. (3)

b) Give the meaning of -

"As we were sickly prey. Their shadows seem

A canopy most fatal."

What do these lines signify?

c) What did Cassius see the previous day and that morning? What do these signs signify? 

d) What can you conclude from what Cassius says, a little later, that he was prepared for a possible defeat? How does Brutus console Cassius after this?

e) Briefly state how the play propagates the idea that disloyalty and conspiracy do not succeed.

SECTION C - PROSE - SHORT STORIES

(Answer one or more questions from this scene)

(Treasure Trove - A Collection of ICSE Poems and Short Stories)

16. Read the extract from Alphonse Daudet's short story 'The Last Lesson' given below and answer the questions that follow:

For a moment I thought of running away and spending the day out of doors. It was so warm, so bright! The birds were chirping at the edge of the woods, and in the open field back of the sawmill, the Prussian soldiers were drilling. It was all much more tempting than the rule for participles, but I had the strength to resist and hurried off to school.

a) Who is referred to as 'I' in the extract? Where was he? Why does he think of running away?

b) Why does he want to spend the day outdoors? Which of his characteristic traits is revealed from his wish? 

c) What is the presence of Prussian soldiers a reference to, which is revealed later in the story? How does the presence affect the people? 

d) What does the narrator find more tempting than the rule for participles? Does he fall for the temptation? What does he do? 

e) Explain briefly how is 'The Last Lesson' an appropriate title for the story.

17. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

'Mr. Leonard Mead would pause, cock his head listen look and march on, his feet making no noise on the lumpy walk for long ago he had wisely changed to sneakers when strolling at night because the dogs in the intermittent squads would parallel his journey with barkings, if he wore hard heels...'

i) Why does Mr. Leonard Mead start wearing sneakers instead of hard heels while strolling at night? 

ii) Why does he stumble while walking? What does 'cement was vanishing' suggest?

iii) What is suggested by Mead's comparison with a moth? How has the author highlighted the feeling of fear and foreboding? 

iv) What was Mead's profession? Why did the police car describe it as 'No profession'? What does it reflect upon? Highlight Mr. Mead's fascination with nature.

v) What is the central theme of the story, 'The Pedestrian' which the author wishes to highlight? Why does he mention the year A.D 2053 and say that the narrative is a 'chilling wake-up call?

18. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

'When I passed the Townhall, there was a crowd in front of the bulletin board; for the last two years all our bad news had come from there....'

i) Identify the speaker: Why does he make this remark? At this juncture, who calls out to him? With whom was he standing? 

ii) What kind of atmosphere was encountered by the speaker? What did he expect? Why was he hoping to get that 'usual' atmosphere? 

iii) How did the teacher make his student feel less guilty for not knowing the French language? iv) How did M. Hamel expound the significance of the French language? 

v) The 'Last Lesson' that M Hamel gave to his students was not just a lesson in language and writing, but a lesson in patriotism and resistance to foreign domination of their country' Justify the statement citing examples from the text.

SECTION D

(Answer one or more questions from this Section)

POETRY

(TREASURE CHEST-A Collection of ICSE Short Stories and Poems)

19. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

'The welkin weeps to hear his screech, and mighty mansions tumble.

But now there comes a billy goat, a most sagacious fellow'

i) Who 'weeps' in this extract and why? Which figure of speech is reflected in 'welkin weeps'? In which season can you hear Bhisma singing? State the two places mentioned in the poem. 

ii) How did the poet elaborate on the reaction of these 'wretched brutes' after listening to Bhisma Lochan's singing? 

iii) How has the poet described Bhisma's determination to keep singing? What kind of a poem is this? 

iv) Identify the underlying theme of the poem and explain the same. Justify the title as a perfect Paradox. 

v) Describe the attack of the goat that 'gave the world the golden gift of silence' 

20. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

'The welkin weeps to hear his screech, and mighty mansions tumble.

But now there comes a billy goat, a most sagacious fellow'

i) Who 'weeps' in this extract and why? Which figure of speech is reflected in 'welkin weeps'? In which season can you hear Bhisma singing? State the two places mentioned in the poem. 

ii) How did the poet elaborate on the reaction of these 'wretched brutes' after listening to Bhisma Lochan's singing? 

iii) How has the poet described Bhisma's determination to keep singing? What kind of a poem is this? 

iv) Identify the underlying theme of the poem and explain the same. Justify the title as a perfect Paradox. 

v) Describe the attack of the goat that 'gave the world the golden gift of silence'.

21. Read the extract from Sukumar Ray's poem 'The Power of Music' given below and answer the questions that follow:

But Bhisma Lochan, unconcerned, goes

booming out his broadside.

The wretched brutes resent the blare the hour

they hear it sounded,

They whine and stare with feet in air or wonder

quite confounded.

The fishes dived below the lake in frantic search

for silence,

The very trees collapse and shake - you hear the

crash a mile hence -

And in the sky the feathered fly turn turtle while

they're winging.

a) What was Bhisma Lochan unconcerned about? What is meant by 'he goes booming out his broadside'?

b) Who were the 'wretched brute'? Why did they behave abnormally? 

c) How are the fishes and the trees affected by Bhisma Lochan's singing? (3)

d) What happens to the birds in the skies? Do you agree with the speaker of the poem? Justify. e) The billy goat is 'a sagacious fellow.' Comment

ICSE Class 10 English Literature (Paper 2) Sample Paper 2026: Download PDF 

Students can access complete ICSE Class 10 English Literature sample paper 2026 questions, prepared by experts shared here. The PDF contains major questions shared here for ICSE class 10 Paper 2. Access the direct link to download the PDF from the table shared here and start practicing. Good Luck!

Also Check

ICSE Class 10 Syllabus 2025-2026

ICSE Class 10 Question Papers 2025 with Answer Keys