ICSE Class 10 English Paper 2 Question Paper with Answer Key 2026: PDF Download, Exam Analysis

The Council of the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) conducted the English Paper 2 (Literature) on February 20, 2026. The exam was conducted for 2 hours, between 11 A.M. and 1 P.M. Based on the live updates and student reviews, we have provided the unofficial ICSE Class 10 English Paper 2 Answer Key 2026 here. As per the ICSE Class 10 Passing Marks 2026 , you need to score a minimum of 33% aggregate marks overall to pass, with at least 35% in each subject (including a pass in at least five out of six subjects, with English compulsory).

You can use the ICSE Class 10 English Paper 2 unofficial answer key 2026 to calculate your probable score. Through answer keys you can match your answer with the correct answers to all the objective questions asked in the exam. ICSE class 10 English Paper 2 will be held for 80 marks, which is divided for Section A (compulsory, 16 marks), Sections B, C, D (16 marks each, attempt one from each), and one other question from any section. Continue reading the article below to get more idea on ICSE Class 10 English Paper 2 Answer Key 2026.

ICSE English Literature Exam 2026 Live Updates

ICSE Class 10 English Paper 2 Unofficial Answer Key 2026

Section A of ICSE 10th English Literature is compulsory, and all questions must be answered. The ICSE 10th English Literature unofficial answer key 2026 will be released for the objective portion only. You can check out the answer key from the table below once it is updated:

Section A (Question 1)

Question No.	Question	Answer Key
i	What were Julius Caesar's dying words?	(b) Et tu brute?Then fall Caesar!
ii	Which of the following phrases best describes Antony's mood when he says: 'O mighty Caesar! dost thou lie so low? Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, Shrunk to this little measure?	(b) grief and sorrow
iii	Which of the following does Anthony not say about Caesar in his funeral speech?	(a) Caesar was ambitious and wanted to be crowned king
iv	Antony says, " These many shall die, their names are prick'd" (a) ruthless (b) anvious (c) frustrated (d) angry	(a) ruthless
v	During their quarrel, Brutus says to Cassius, 'Away, slight man! Brutus's tone in the above line can be best described as _____ (a) disappointed (b) argumentative (c) vengeful (d) dismissive	(d) dismissive
vi	Towards the end of the play, Pindarus reports that Titinus had been captured by enemy troops. What does Cassius do on hearing this news? (a) He orders an immediate attack to rescue Titinus. (b) Fearing defeat, he decides to flee the battlefield. (c) He persuades Pindarus to help him take his life. (d) He surrenders to Antony's forces to save his men.	(c) He persuades Pindarus to help him take his life.
vii	What did Martin dislike about the elevator in his apartment building? (a) The unpleasant smell (b) Its dirty floor (c) Its small size (d) The poor ventilation	(c) Its small size
viii	Choose the option that lisst the sequence of events from Stephen Leacock's short story, 'With the Photographer' in the correct order: 1. Even as he was protesting, the photographer managed to take a candid photograph with which he was very pleased. 2. At the studio, the photographer's criticism of his face, made the author feel worthless and unattractive. 3. Disturbed and upset by the photographer's criticisms and instructions, the author voiced his protest. 4. The author wanted to have his photograph taken. (a) 3,2,1,4 (b) 4,2,3,1 (c) 2,3,4,1 (d) 1,4,3,2	(b) 4,2,3,1
ix	'Nana has many voices for stop.There is a special one she uses to shut every one up.' What do these lines from Ama Ata Aidoo's short story, "The Girl Who Can', tell us about Nana? (a) She's a loud, rude woman. (b) She has a strong powerful voice. (c) She can speak many languages. (d) She dominates the household.	(d) She dominates the household.
x	What were the people in Mead's neighborhood doing when he was out walking at night? (a) Watching television (b) Reading magazines (c) Driving to the gas station (d) Staring out of their windows	(a) Watching television
xi	In Alphonse Daudet's short story, "THe Last Lesson", Franz says that 'all our bad news had come from there.' What does 'there' refer to? (a) The School building (b) The bulletin board (c) The clock tower (d) The town hall	TBU
xii	Which of the given options contains the figure of speech that appears in the following lines from long fellows poem, "Haunted Houses? The spirit-world around this world of sense Floats like an atmosphere,....' (a) Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear (b) 'When Frost was spectre-gray' (c) 'An hundred years should go to praise/Thine eyes' (d) 'She sways like a flower in the wind of our song;'	(d) 'She sways like a flower in the wind of our song;'
xiii	THe mood in the poem, 'When Great Trees Fall', moves from ____ (a) hurt to wonder (b) calm to distress (c) hope to despair (d) fear to hope	(a) hurt to wonder
xiv	In the Poem, "The Glove and the Lions", King francis exclaims, 'rightly done!'. What action of Count de Lorge does he applaus when he says this? (a) Leaping into the pit full of angry lions. (b) Retrieving the Lady's glove from the pit. (c) Flinging the glove angrily in the lady's face. (d) Sighing for the 'beauteous lively dame'.	(c) Flinging the glove angrily in the lady's face.
xv	Select the option that shows the correct relationship between Statement 1 and Statement 2 based on the poem, 'A Considerable Speck'. Statement 1: The mite on the paper ran, crept, faltered, hesitated and cowered. Statement 2: The poet-narrator realized that it was an intelligent living creature. (a) Statement 1 is true and Statement 2 is false. (b) Statement 1 is false and Statement 2 is true. (c) Statement 1 is the reason for Statement 2. (d) Statement 2 is a contradiction of Statement 1.	(c) Statement 1 is the reason for Statement 2.
xvi	Sukumar Ray's poem, 'The Power of Music' can be classified as ______ (a) nonsense verse (b) a sonnet (c) a lyrical poem (d) an ode	(a) nonsense verse

Section B

Question no.	Question	Answer
Q2	Read the extract from, 'Julius Caesar' Act 3, Scene 1, given below and answer the questions that follow: Antony: Pardon me , Julius! Here wast thou bay'd, brave hart; Here didst thou fall and here thy hunters stand, Sign'd in thy spoil, and crimson'd in thy lethe. O world, thou wast the forest to this hart; And this indeed, O world, the heart of thee. How like a deer, strucken by many princes, Dost thou here lie! Cassisus: Mark Antony - Antony: Pardon me, Caius Cassius: The enemies of Caesar shall say this; Then, in a friend, it is cold modesty. (i) Why does Antony say Pardon me, Julius!? (ii) Where was Caesar bay'd? Explain the meaning of the words, 'Here wast thou bay'd, brave heart;' (iii) Name any two of the 'hunters' who were present at the scene. Why are they described as being, sign'd and crimson'd? (iv) What does Cassius ask Antony immediately after this exchange? How does Antony respond to this question? (v) What does Antony request of Brutus? Who warns Brutus and why? What does this tell you about the person who warns Brutus?	(I) Antony asks for forgiveness because he has just shaken hands with Caesar's murderers and is acting friendly toward them. He feels he is being a traitor to the memory of his dear friend. (ii) Caesar was bay'd at the Capitol in Rome. Antony uses a metaphor comparing Caesar to a "brave hart". "Bay's" refers to the moment of a hunted animal is surrounded by barking hounds and cannot escape. He is saying Caesar was a majestic being trapped and killed by predatory conspirators. (iii) Two hunters (conspirators) present are Brutus and Cassius. They are described as 'crimson'd' because their hands and weapons are covered in Caesar's deep red blood. They are sign'd because they have smeared themselves with his blood as a badge or sign of their deed. (iv) Cassius asks Antony whether he should be counted as a friend to the conspirators or if they should proceed without him. Antony responds that he is their friend, provided they can give him a valid reason why Caesar was dangerous and why his death was unnecessary. (v) Antony requests permission to produce Caesar's body in the marketplace and to speak at his funeral. Cassius warns Brutus against granting this request. Cassius warns him because he fears Antony's oratory skils will move the common people to riot against the conspirators. This highlights Cassius as a shrewd, practical, and suspicious individual who understands human nature better than the idealistic Brutus.
Q3	Read the extract from ‘Julius Caesar’ Act 5 Scene 3, given below and answer the questions that follow: Brutus: O Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet! Thy spirit walls abroad, and turns our swords In our proper entrails. Brave Titinus Cato: Look whe’r he have not crown’d dead Cassius! (i) Explain what Brutus means when he says, ‘O Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet! Thy spirit walks abroad, and turns our swords In our own proper entrails’. (ii) What were Cassisus’s last thoughts before he died? How did Titinius honor the dead Cassisus? (iii) What does Brutus promise when he says, ‘I shall find time Cassius…’? Why and what does it reveal?	(i) Brutus is acknowledging that even though Caesar is dead, his influence and power remain. His “spirit” is causing the conspirators to turn their own swords against themselves, leading to their defeat and death. (ii) Cassius dies realising that he has been killed by the very sword he used to stab Caesar, seeing it as Caesar’s final revenge. Titinius honors Cassius by placing a Garland on his head and then killing himself with Cassisu’s sword to show his undying loyalty. (iii) Brutus promises that he will find a time in the future to properly mourn and weep for Cassius. He makes this promise because he must focus on the ongoing battle and cannot afford to lose his composure now. It reveals Brutus is stoic nature and his commitment to duty over personal emotion.

Section C

Question no.	Question	Answers
Q4	Read the following extract from Ama Ata Aidoo's short story, 'The Girl Who Can' and answer the questions that follow: 'Like all this business to do with my legs. I have always wanted to tell them not to worry. I mean Nana and my mother. That it did not have to be an issue for my 2 favourite people to fight over. But I didn’t want either to be told not to repeat that or it to be considered so funny that anyone would laugh at me until they cried. After all, they were my legs…' (i) What issue did her two favorite people fight over and why? (ii) What other issue concerning Adjoa did Nana and Maami disagree on? What opinion did each have? (iii) Mention 3 little clues in Nana’s behaviour that led Adjoa to realise Nana’s views on her legs had changed. (iv) How does Adjoa’s Success as a runner bring about a change in Nana? Mention two of Nan’s character traits.	(i) The two people, Adjoa's Mother and grandmother fought over the issue of Adjoa's legs. They fought because Nana believed Adjoa's legs were too thin and spindly to support a woman's hips for childbearing, while mother felt protective of her daughter and found Nana's constant criticism hurtful. (ii) They disagreed on value of Adjoa's schooling. Nana initially viewed school as a waste of time and a nonsense place, whereas mummy wanted her daughter to have the opportunities provided by an education. (iii) First, Nana began to carry a joyous school uniform herself, treating it with great care. Second, she stopped criticising Adjoa's legs and instead watched her walk with a silent, contemplative look. Third, after Adjoa won a race, Nana took the winning cup and polished it until it’s shown, showing visible pride in her granddaughter’s physical achievement. (iv) Adjoa’s Success proves to Nana that thin legs can have a different kind of strength and purpose, specifically for running, which challenges her traditional view that legs are only for supporting hips. Two traits of Nana: She is traditional (Held onto old fashioned views about childbearing.) but also adaptable (She was willing to change her mind when presented with proof of Adjoa’s talent)

Section A (extract-based MCQs) will carry 16 marks (each for 1 mark). There will be other sections; you must attempt one question from each of the Sections B, C and D and one other question from any Section of your choice. Sections B (Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare), C (Prose, Treasure Trove – A Collection of Poems and Short Stories), and D (Poetry, Treasure Trove – A Collection of Poems and Short Stories) will also have 16 marks. You will get 15 minutes to read the question paper, and will not be allowed to write at this time. Hope the above mentioned answer key has helped you in evaluating your performance. Also Check ICSE Class 10th Result 2026

ICSE Class 10 English Paper 2 Exam Timings

The ICSE Class 10 English Paper 2 exam started at 11:00 am. The exam will be conducted for 2 hours. It will conclude at 01:00 pm. The students had to report to the exam center at least half an hour before to complete all the verification details. Before starting the exam, 15 minutes of reading time was also provided to students. During which students could prepare a strategy to answer questions.

ICSE Class 10 English Paper 2 Passing Marks

The ICSE Class 10 English Paper 2 exam will be conducted for 100 marks. It is divided into external exam and internal assessment. The theory exam is conducted for 80 marks and 20 marks are reserved for internal assessment. Overall, students require at least 35% marks to pass the exam. For internal assessment, 10 marks will be given by the school and 10 marks will be marked by an external examiner. It is necessary to pass both the exams individually. On scoring below 35% marks, students will be considered failed. They will have to appear for the exam again.

ICSE Class 10 English Result

ICSE Class 10 English Paper 2 exam is successfully concluded. The exam took place for 2 hours. The board is likely to release the result in the last week of April or first week of May 2026. By visiting the official website and entering the unique id, index number, and captcha code, students will be able to check the result. At least 35% marks will be required to pass the exam. It will include a total of theory exam and internal assessment. On the basis of the result scored, the board will issue the marksheet to students. It will be provided to them by the school heads.