The NCERT Class 11 English book Woven Words is a single textbook of 20 chapters spread over 143 printed pages, arranged as eight stories followed by twelve poems. The official chapter PDFs of the Woven Words book are on this page, and every link below is NCERT’s own file hosted on ncert.nic.in.
The PDF gives you the text; this page tells you what is inside the text. Chapter by chapter you will find the page range each of the 20 chapters occupies in the official PDF, the named sections that close the chapter, and how many exercise questions it carries, so you can judge a chapter’s size before you open a single file.
Download the Woven Words chapters — official NCERT PDFs
The files in the table below are NCERT’s own, hosted on ncert.nic.in — the same PDFs the board publishes. If you want to look at one before you start, the opening chapter, Short Stories, is at its official NCERT PDF on ncert.nic.in.
| Ch. | Chapter | Pages | Official PDF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Short Stories | 9 | |
| 2 | A Pair of Mustachios | 9 | |
| 3 | The Rocking-horse Winner | 18 | |
| 4 | The Adventure of the Three Garridebs | 19 | |
| 5 | Pappachi's Moth | 6 | |
| 6 | The Third and Final Continent | 23 | |
| 7 | Glory at Twilight | 14 | |
| 8 | The Luncheon | 7 | |
| 9 | Poetry | 3 | |
| 10 | Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds | 2 | |
| 11 | Coming | 3 | |
| 12 | Telephone Conversation | 3 | |
| 13 | The World is too Much With Us | 2 | |
| 14 | Mother Tongue | 2 | |
| 15 | Hawk Roosting | 3 | |
| 16 | For Elkana | 5 | |
| 17 | Refugee Blues | 3 | |
| 18 | Felling of the Banyan Tree | 3 | |
| 19 | Ode to a Nightingale | 5 | |
| 20 | Ajamil and the Tigers | 4 |
The Woven Words book, measured
- 20 chapters across 143 printed pages, and every chapter has its own chapter PDF linked from this page.
- Short Stories part (Chapters 1-8) — the eight story chapters open the book.
- Poetry part (Chapters 9-20) — twelve poetry chapters close the book.
- The chapters carry named closing sections such as Understanding The Text or Understanding The Poem; the book does not number its section headings.
Inside the NCERT Class 11 English book Woven Words
| Ch. | Chapter | Sections | Activities | Figures | Questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Short Stories | — | — | — | 3 |
| 2 | A Pair of Mustachios | — | — | — | 3 |
| 3 | The Rocking-horse Winner | — | — | — | 4 |
| 4 | The Adventure of the Three Garridebs | — | — | — | 5 |
| 5 | Pappachi's Moth | — | — | — | 4 |
| 6 | The Third and Final Continent | — | — | — | 6 |
| 7 | Glory at Twilight | — | — | — | 1 |
| 8 | The Luncheon | — | — | — | 3 |
| 9 | Poetry | — | 1 | — | 5 |
| 10 | Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds | — | 1 | — | 5 |
| 11 | Coming | — | 1 | — | 6 |
| 12 | Telephone Conversation | — | 1 | — | 8 |
| 13 | The World is too Much With Us | — | 1 | — | 2 |
| 14 | Mother Tongue | — | 1 | — | 4 |
| 15 | Hawk Roosting | — | 1 | — | 6 |
| 16 | For Elkana | — | 1 | — | 6 |
| 17 | Refugee Blues | — | 1 | — | 5 |
| 18 | Felling of the Banyan Tree | — | 1 | — | 8 |
| 19 | Ode to a Nightingale | — | 1 | — | 6 |
| 20 | Ajamil and the Tigers | — | 1 | — | 6 |
The directory above counts, chapter by chapter, the pages each unit occupies in the official PDF, the named sections that follow the story or poem, and how many exercise questions close it.
Chapter 1: Short Stories (pp. 1-9)
The book opens with the Short Stories part, and this chapter presents the story The Lament before its closing sections.
- The Lament
- Understanding The Text
- Talking About The Text
- Language Work
It runs 9 pages with 3 closing questions — a compact, typical story chapter.
Chapter 2: A Pair of Mustachios (pp. 10-18)
The story A Pair of Mustachios fills the chapter, and the closing set adds a fourth, discussion-style section, May The Best Beard Win, after Language Work.
- Understanding The Text
- Talking About The Text
- Language Work
- May The Best Beard Win
9 pages and 3 closing questions, plus the May The Best Beard Win discussion section.
Chapter 3: The Rocking-horse Winner (pp. 19-36)
With The Rocking-horse Winner, this is one of the longer story chapters in the Short Stories part.
- Understanding The Text
- Talking About The Text
- Language Work
18 pages and 4 closing questions — a unit that deserves its own revision session.
Chapter 4: The Adventure of the Three Garridebs (pp. 37-55)
The story The Adventure of the Three Garridebs leads with a named section of its own, Howard Garrideb, before the usual closing set.
- Howard Garrideb
- Understanding The Text
- Talking About The Text
- Language Work
19 pages and 5 closing questions — a long unit to plan for.
Chapter 5: Pappachi’s Moth (pp. 56-61)
Pappachi’s Moth is a short story chapter whose closing set includes a distinctive extra section, Reading For The Blind.
- Understanding The Text
- Talking About The Text
- Language Work
- Reading For The Blind
6 pages with 4 closing questions — a compact unit.
Chapter 6: The Third and Final Continent (pp. 62-84)
At 23 pages, The Third and Final Continent is the longest unit of the Short Stories part.
- Understanding The Text
- Talking About The Text
- Language Work
The usual three closing sections follow the story, and the chapter carries 6 closing questions.
Chapter 7: Glory at Twilight (pp. 85-98)
Glory at Twilight is a story chapter whose closing sequence adds a Discuss in pairs step before Language Work.
- Understanding The Text
- Talking About The Text
- Discuss in pairs
- Language Work
14 pages. The exact number of closing questions should be checked against the printed PDF; the named sections above are as printed in the book.
Chapter 8: The Luncheon (pp. 99-105)
The Luncheon closes the story chapters and returns to the standard three-part closing set.
- Understanding The Text
- Talking About The Text
- Language Work
7 pages and 3 closing questions.
Chapter 9: Poetry (3 pages)
This chapter opens the Poetry part with the poem The Peacock, followed by Understanding The Poem and Try This Out.
- The Peacock
- Understanding The Poem
- Try This Out
3 pages and the Try This Out activity that every poetry chapter carries; the exact question count should be checked against the PDF.
Chapter 10: Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds (2 pages)
Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds gives this 2-page poetry chapter its title.
- Understanding The Poem
- Try This Out
2 pages and a Try This Out activity; the question count is best checked against the printed PDF.
Chapter 11: Coming (3 pages)
Coming is a 3-page poetry chapter in the Poetry part.
- Understanding The Poem
- Try This Out
3 pages and a Try This Out activity; the question count should be confirmed against the PDF.
Chapter 12: Telephone Conversation (pp. 114-116)
Telephone Conversation follows the standard poetry shape: the poem, Understanding The Poem, then Try This Out.
- Understanding The Poem
- Try This Out
3 pages and 8 closing questions.
Chapter 13: The World is too Much With Us (2 pages)
The World is too Much With Us is a 2-page poetry chapter in the Poetry part.
- Understanding The Poem
- Try This Out
2 pages and a Try This Out activity; the question count needs checking against the PDF.
Chapter 14: Mother Tongue (2 pages)
Mother Tongue is one of the shortest chapters in the book at 2 pages.
- Understanding The Poem
- Try This Out
2 pages and a Try This Out activity; check the question count in the printed PDF.
Chapter 15: Hawk Roosting (pp. 121-123)
Hawk Roosting is a 3-page poetry chapter in the Poetry part.
- Understanding The Poem
- Try This Out
3 pages and 6 closing questions.
Chapter 16: For Elkana (pp. 124-128)
For Elkana is a 5-page poetry chapter with a distinctive extra: a separate section on The Limerick.
- Understanding The Poem
- Try This Out
- The Limerick
5 pages and 6 closing questions.
Chapter 17: Refugee Blues (pp. 129-131)
Refugee Blues is a 3-page poetry chapter with the two-section close shared across the Poetry part.
- Understanding The Poem
- Try This Out
3 pages and 5 closing questions.
Chapter 18: Felling of the Banyan Tree (pp. 132-134)
Felling of the Banyan Tree is a 3-page poetry chapter.
- Understanding The Poem
- Try This Out
3 pages and 8 closing questions.
Chapter 19: Ode to a Nightingale (pp. 135-139)
Ode to a Nightingale is a 5-page poetry chapter.
- Understanding The Poem
- Try This Out
5 pages and 6 closing questions.
Chapter 20: Ajamil and the Tigers (pp. 140-143)
Ajamil and the Tigers brings the book to a close and is the final poetry chapter.
- Understanding The Poem
- Try This Out
4 pages, 6 closing questions, and the last unit of the book.
What changes when the book moves from stories to poems
The two halves of Woven Words share a rhythm — a text to read, then questions about it — but the closing sections differ, and so does the shape of the work.
| Aspect | Story chapters (1-8) | Poetry chapters (9-20) |
|---|---|---|
| What each chapter opens with | A short story | A poem |
| Which closing sections follow | Understanding The Text, Talking About The Text, Language Work | Understanding The Poem, Try This Out |
| How the exercises are framed | Comprehension, discussion and language exercises | Poem comprehension plus a creative Try This Out activity |
The practical difference is Try This Out: every poetry chapter carries one such activity, while the story chapters close with Language Work instead.
Study pages for every Woven Words chapter
Where a full chapter study page exists on this site — the story or poem explained and its questions worked through — the block below links to it, and chapters still being prepared are marked so the status is visible at a glance.
| Ch. | Chapter page |
|---|---|
| 1 | Short Stories (coming soon) |
| 2 | A Pair of Mustachios (coming soon) |
| 3 | The Rocking-horse Winner (coming soon) |
| 4 | The Adventure of the Three Garridebs (coming soon) |
| 5 | Pappachi's Moth (coming soon) |
| 6 | The Third and Final Continent (coming soon) |
| 7 | Glory at Twilight (coming soon) |
| 8 | The Luncheon (coming soon) |
| 9 | Poetry (coming soon) |
| 10 | Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds (coming soon) |
| 11 | Coming (coming soon) |
| 12 | Telephone Conversation (coming soon) |
| 13 | The World is too Much With Us (coming soon) |
| 14 | Mother Tongue (coming soon) |
| 15 | Hawk Roosting (coming soon) |
| 16 | For Elkana (coming soon) |
| 17 | Refugee Blues (coming soon) |
| 18 | Felling of the Banyan Tree (coming soon) |
| 19 | Ode to a Nightingale (coming soon) |
| 20 | Ajamil and the Tigers (coming soon) |
How to study Woven Words: a reading order
This order works for the structure of this specific book, and the Class 11 English hub can point you to the other textbooks around it.
- Read the eight story chapters (Chapters 1-8) in order. They share the same closing pattern — Understanding The Text, Talking About The Text, Language Work — so the rhythm of one prepares you for the next.
- Then work through the twelve poetry chapters (Chapters 9-20), doing the Try This Out activity with each poem rather than moving straight on.
- Use the chapter table above to check a chapter’s length and question count before you start, and plan time for the heavier units.
- Split the long units into separate sessions: The Third and Final Continent runs 23 pages and The Rocking-horse Winner 18, while the 2-page poems such as Mother Tongue can be done in one sitting.
One plain note: textbook contents and the examinable syllabus are not always identical — check the current official syllabus before exams.
Other NCERT Class 11 English books on this site
Woven Words is one of several Class 11 English textbooks published by NCERT. The books below live on this site:
- NCERT books root — every class, one list.
- NCERT Class 11 books hub — the full Class 11 shelf.
- Class 11 English books — the subject page for all three textbooks.
- NCERT Class 11 English Hornbill — the prose and poetry anthology taught alongside Woven Words.
- NCERT Class 11 English Snapshots — the supplementary reader for Class 11.
Sources and data verification
This listing is maintained for the 2026-27 academic session using the NCERT textbook information available to us. NCERT remains the authority for confirming the latest edition.
- The chapter titles, page ranges, closing sections and question sets listed here come from the NCERT Class 11 English Woven Words textbook, official edition on ncert.nic.in.
- This page covers Woven Words only. Hornbill and Snapshots are separate Class 11 English textbooks and their contents are not covered here.
- This listing is maintained for the current academic session using the NCERT information available to us.
- NCERT settles the textbook, its editions and PDFs. CBSE settles the curriculum, the syllabus and the examinations, so follow the official CBSE syllabus for examinable scope.
Reference: NCERT Class 11 English textbook, official edition on ncert.nic.in. Figure captions and section titles quoted from the textbook; page references are to the official PDF.
Common questions about the Woven Words book
How many chapters are in the NCERT Class 11 English book Woven Words?
20 chapters across 143 printed pages — eight story chapters (Chapters 1-8) and twelve poetry chapters (Chapters 9-20). The download table above links to each chapter’s PDF.
Is the Woven Words PDF free and official?
Yes. Every link in the download table points to NCERT’s own PDFs hosted on ncert.nic.in, so you are reading the actual textbook file. There is no charge for any of the 20 chapter PDFs.
Which chapter is The Lament in?
The Lament is the opening story of the Short Stories part, in Chapter 1 (pp. 1-9). It is the first story a reader meets in the book.
Which chapters are the poems in Woven Words?
The twelve poetry chapters run from Chapter 9 to Chapter 20, from The Peacock to Ajamil and the Tigers. Each is a short poem unit closing with Understanding The Poem and Try This Out.
What is the difference between the story chapters and the poem chapters in Woven Words?
Story chapters close with Understanding The Text, Talking About The Text and Language Work, and a few add a further section. Poetry chapters close with Understanding The Poem and a Try This Out activity — the creative task of the chapter.