Looking for the NCERT Class 11 English book Woven Words? This is the official short-story and poetry anthology for Class 11 English — 20 chapters in all — and the official chapter PDFs are on this page. The book holds 8 short stories and 12 poems across 143 printed pages.
The PDF table below gets you the file fast. What this page adds is what the PDF alone does not: a chapter-by-chapter map measured from the book itself — each chapter’s page span, its activity and exercise load, and the story-versus-poem split that decides how you revise.
Nothing here replaces reading the anthology; it tells you what the reading contains before you start.
Download the official NCERT Class 11 English book Woven Words PDF
The files in this table are NCERT’s own PDFs, hosted on ncert.nic.in — the official source the printed edition is published from. The file names show the book’s internal parts: keww101.pdf through keww108.pdf are the eight stories, and keww111.pdf through keww122.pdf are the twelve poems.
Open the first of them, keww101.pdf, to confirm the edition — it contains Chapter 1 (Short Stories, pp. 1-9) — before you download the rest of the book.
| 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 Class 11 English book PDF — the book, measured
- 20 chapters indexed, each with a verified ncert.nic.in PDF link in the table above.
- 143 printed pages in the official edition, numbered 1 to 143 across the linked files.
- 12 activities, all inside the poetry chapters — the eight stories carry none.
- All 20 chapters have official links, and Chapter 7 (Glory at Twilight) is flagged for exercise review.
- The book never numbers its section headings. Every short story ends with the same three titled groups — Understanding the Text, Talking About the Text, and Language Work — and every poem ends with Understanding the Poem and Try This Out.
| Part of the book | Chapters | Printed pages | Activities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short Stories | 1-8 | 105 (pp. 1-105) | 0 |
| Poetry | 9-20 | 38 | 12 |
The two rows above are the whole book’s shape: prose carries the length, poetry carries the activities.
Class 11 English chapters — what each story and poem contains
| 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 |
In the directory above, a section is one of NCERT’s numbered headings, a figure is a numbered figure, an activity is a printed task, and a question is an end-of-chapter exercise.
Woven Words is a text-driven anthology: its chapters carry no numbered section headings, and the book has no captioned figures to navigate. Revision here means working closely with the stories and poems themselves — reading the text and moving through the exercises that follow each piece — rather than memorising diagrams.
Because every story chapter ends with the same three blocks — Understanding The Text, Talking About The Text and Language Work — and every poem chapter adds Try This Out on top, the one-sentence orientations below tell you only what makes each chapter different.
Chapter 1: Short Stories (pp. 1-9)
This opening chapter sets the pattern for the whole story section: the story The Lament is wrapped in Understanding The Text, Talking About The Text and Language Work, so it is the chapter to read first when you want to learn how this book expects a story to be studied.
Chapter 2: A Pair of Mustachios (pp. 10-18)
A Pair of Mustachios follows the same three-block route — Understanding The Text, Talking About The Text and Language Work — and closes with an extra printed task, May The Best Beard Win, which makes it the chapter to read when you want to see how NCERT extends a story beyond the standard questions.
Chapter 3: The Rocking-horse Winner (pp. 19-36)
One of the longer stories in the book, The Rocking-horse Winner gives a student practising sustained close reading a solid stretch of narrative before the poetry half begins, with the usual three blocks waiting at the end.
Chapter 4: The Adventure of the Three Garridebs (pp. 37-55)
The Adventure of the Three Garridebs is a chapter for readers who like a longer adventure narrative: its printed blocks open with a section named for Howard Garrideb before the usual Understanding The Text, Talking About The Text and Language Work.
Chapter 5: Pappachi’s Moth (pp. 56-61)
The shortest story chapter in the book and the only one whose blocks add Reading For The Blind after the standard three, Pappachi’s Moth is a quick, contained read for a night when time is short.
Chapter 6: The Third and Final Continent (pp. 62-84)
The longest chapter in the book, The Third and Final Continent ends the story section with the usual Understanding The Text, Talking About The Text and Language Work — plan a longer reading session for it, and let the title be your clue to the story’s shape.
Chapter 7: Glory at Twilight (pp. 85-98)
Glory at Twilight adds Discuss in pairs to the usual three blocks, and its exercise count is flagged as a suspected capture error — read it for the story, and check the printed book if that number matters.
Chapter 8: The Luncheon (pp. 99-105)
A compact story that closes the story section, The Luncheon is a good chapter to read when you want one complete unit — the reading, the three standard blocks and the language work — in a single sitting.
Chapter 9: Poetry (3 pages)
The first poetry chapter opens the second half of the book with the poem The Peacock, and from here the pattern changes to Understanding The Poem plus Try This Out — the rhythm every poem chapter follows.
Chapter 10: Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds (2 pages)
The unit built around Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds still carries a full activity, so it shows the poetry pattern completed in miniature.
Chapter 11: Coming (3 pages)
Coming keeps the standard Understanding The Poem and Try This Out pattern, so it suits a student who wants the poetry rhythm before attempting the longer poems.
Chapter 12: Telephone Conversation (pp. 114-116)
Telephone Conversation pairs its conversation-driven poem with the usual Understanding The Poem and Try This Out, which makes it a natural chapter to read aloud in pairs before answering.
Chapter 13: The World is too Much With Us (2 pages)
The World is too Much With Us is a chapter whose title states its complaint directly; its counts are flagged for review, so read it for the poem itself rather than for exact exercise numbers.
Chapter 14: Mother Tongue (2 pages)
Another short entry, Mother Tongue follows the same Understanding The Poem and Try This Out pattern, and because its counts are flagged for review, treat the exercise numbers as provisional.
Chapter 15: Hawk Roosting (pp. 121-123)
Hawk Roosting fixes its speaker in its title — a hawk, resting — before the poem begins, and it keeps the standard Understanding The Poem and Try This Out route for revision.
Chapter 16: For Elkana (pp. 124-128)
One of the longer poem chapters and the only one whose blocks add The Limerick after Try This Out, For Elkana is the chapter to read when you want to see a poem paired with a form-based follow-up activity.
Chapter 17: Refugee Blues (pp. 129-131)
Refugee Blues names its subject in its title — the experience of refugees — and stays with the standard Understanding The Poem and Try This Out pattern, so it revises exactly like the other poems.
Chapter 18: Felling of the Banyan Tree (pp. 132-134)
Felling of the Banyan Tree is a short poem chapter that still ends with a generous set of exercises, so it earns a place on any revision list that needs question practice.
Chapter 19: Ode to a Nightingale (pp. 135-139)
Ode to a Nightingale is one of the longest poem chapters, and its title advertises the form — an ode — before the standard Understanding The Poem and Try This Out follow.
Chapter 20: Ajamil and the Tigers (pp. 140-143)
Closing the book, Ajamil and the Tigers finishes the poetry section with the same Understanding The Poem and Try This Out pattern it opened with, making it a fitting final chapter to revise from.
Chapter pages for the Woven Words book
The table below links the chapters that have a full study page on this site; the rest are named with their current status so the coverage is honest.
| 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 use the Class 11 English book: an order that works
The anthology repeats the same skeleton in every chapter, so one order of work fits the whole book:
- Read the story once, straight through, without stopping to answer anything.
- Answer Understanding The Text immediately — these questions check whether you followed the narrative.
- Use Talking About The Text for discussion; the questions here are open-ended, so form your view before you write.
- Finish Language Work for each story — it is the block most students skip, and it carries the grammar and vocabulary practice.
- For poems, read twice — once for sense, once for sound — then do Try This Out.
Use the directory above to pace yourself: start with the short stories — The Luncheon and Pappachi’s Moth — before the long ones, The Rocking-horse Winner and The Third and Final Continent.
The Third and Final Continent is the longest chapter at 23 pages, while the shortest poems run only 2 pages each — a two-page poem fits a short revision slot, where a 23-page story needs a full sitting.
One caution: textbook contents and the examinable syllabus are not always identical — check the current official CBSE syllabus before deciding what to revise.
Class 11 English book name: Woven Words, not Hornbill
The NCERT book indexed on this page is Woven Words — the short-story and poetry anthology. Class 11 English is usually taught with a second NCERT textbook, Hornbill, which this site does not index here; if you searched for Hornbill, you are on the right site but the wrong title — Hornbill is a separate book, not another name for this one.
The Class 11 hub lists the other Class 11 NCERT subjects this directory covers.
Related NCERT resources on this site
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.
- NCERT books directory — the complete shelf this page belongs to.
- Class 11 hub — the other Class 11 subjects indexed on this site.
Sources and data verification
- How the chapter map is grounded: the page spans, story/poem split, activity counts, and question counts listed here follow the printed pagination and exercise sections of the NCERT Woven Words textbook, as reproduced in the official chapter PDFs linked above from ncert.nic.in.
- What this page covers — and does not: it covers the Class 11 English Woven Words textbook only. It is not the CBSE subject scheme, which is larger; the Class 11 English entries you see here are what on this page, not every subject CBSE offers.
- Review flags: five of the twenty chapters are flagged for review, and Chapter 7 (Glory at Twilight) has an exercise count marked as a suspected capture error — check the printed book if that count matters to you.
- Who settles what: NCERT settles textbook editions and official PDFs; CBSE settles curriculum, syllabus and examinations. This listing is maintained for the current academic session using the NCERT information available to us.
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?
Woven Words has 20 chapters: chapters 1 to 8 are the short stories and chapters 9 to 20 are the poems. Use the download table above for each chapter’s title, page span and official PDF link.
Is the Woven Words book PDF official and free?
Yes — every chapter link on this page points to NCERT’s own files on ncert.nic.in, numbered keww101.pdf through keww122.pdf. They are free to download, and no paid platform is needed for the textbook itself.
Which chapters are the short stories and which are the poems in Woven Words?
The short stories are chapters 1 to 8, from Short Stories (Chapter 1) through The Luncheon (Chapter 8). The poems are chapters 9 to 20, opening with The Peacock (Poetry, Chapter 9) and closing with Ajamil and the Tigers (Chapter 20).
Which chapter has the poem Telephone Conversation?
Telephone Conversation is Chapter 12 of Woven Words, on pages 114 to 116. It sits between Coming (Chapter 11) and The World is too Much With Us (Chapter 13), and like every poem chapter it ends with Understanding The Poem and Try This Out.
Where can I find answers to the exercises in Woven Words?
The Woven Words exercises are not answered inside the textbook — questions like Understanding The Text are meant to be worked out from your reading and class discussion. Check the current official CBSE syllabus to see which parts of the book are examinable.