ICSE Class 10 English: Poetry Collection — Summary Notes 2026

The Brook — Alfred Lord Tennyson

• Personification: brook speaks in first person; life journey metaphor (brook = life)
• Structure: alternating stanzas (brook speech + human scenes); brook contrasts mortal (men may come and go) with eternal nature
• Key quote: 'For men may come and men may go, But I go on for ever'; ICSE asks meaning and literary device

The Bangle Sellers — Sarojini Naidu

• Indian context: Rajput bazaar; different bangles for different phases of woman's life
• Silver and blue for unmarried girls; bright bangles for brides; gold-flecked grey and purple for older women
• Feminist interpretation: woman's identity defined by stage of life; bangles as symbol of cultural and social identity

The Old Man — Author reference

• Poem about ageing, loneliness, dignity; old man faces challenges of old age with stoicism
• Key themes: aging, societal neglect of elderly, inner strength, the passage of time
• ICSE extract questions: explain specific stanza; identify theme of stanza; literary device used

Abou Ben Adhem — James Henry Leigh Hunt

• Abou Ben Adhem wakes to see angel writing in a golden book; asks what is being written — names who love God
• Abou's name not there; asks angel to write him as 'one who loves his fellow men'
• Moral: love for humanity = love for God; leads people leads to God's blessing; next night his name leads the list

Literary Devices in ICSE Poems

• Imagery: vivid descriptive language appealing to senses; 'crimson wings' (bangles)
• Rhyme and metre: examine rhyme scheme; does regular metre match regular content? Does broken metre reflect broken emotion?
• Personification: common; attribute human qualities to non-human ('the brook speaks')

Comparing Poems in ICSE

• ICSE sometimes asks to compare two poems in terms of theme, style, or structure
• Framework: state similarity or difference, quote from both poems, analyse effect of technique in each
• Common comparison: nature as metaphor in two poems; love of humanity as theme across texts

ICSE English Poem Exam Tips

• ICSE English Literature Paper 1 has poetry section; 3–4 questions on set poems
• For each poem: know title, poet, stanza count, theme, 3 literary devices, 2 important quotations
• Extract questions: 1–2 stanzas shown; explain meaning, effect of language, theme illustrated