MCQs on life and works of William Wordsworth

MCQs - life and works of Wordsworth

1. William Wordsworth was born in?
A. 1769
B. 1770
C. 1771
D. 1772

2. Where was William Wordsworth born?
A. London
B. Cockermouth
C. Grasmere
D. Ambleside

3. Who was William Wordsworth’s close collaborator and friend?
A. Samuel Taylor Coleridge
B. John Keats
C. Lord Byron
D. Percy Bysshe Shelley

4. In which year did Wordsworth become the Poet Laureate of England?
A. 1839
B. 1840
C. 1843
D. 1845

5. What inspired Wordsworth’s love for nature in his early life?
A. His travels to Italy
B. His education in Cambridge
C. His upbringing in the Lake District
D. His friendship with Coleridge

6. Which of the following works is a collaboration between Wordsworth and Coleridge?
A. The Prelude
B. Lyrical Ballads
C. Tintern Abbey
D. The Excursion

7. In which year was Lyrical Ballads first published?
A. 1796
B. 1798
C. 1800
D. 1802

8. 8. In which magazine, in the year 1787, that William Wordsworth made his debut as a writer by publishing a sonnet? (same year he entered St. John's College, Cambridge)

A. The European Magazine

B. New Poetry

C. The Tatler

D. The Rambler

9. Wordsworth’s poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” is also known as:
A. Daffodils
B. The Excursion
C. The Prelude
D. The Solitary Reaper

10. Wordsworth’s poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” is about:
A. A peaceful river
B. A field of daffodils
C. A snowy mountain
D. A romantic sunset

11. Which poetic movement is William Wordsworth associated with?
A. Victorian Poetry
B. Modernism
C. Romanticism
D. Metaphysical Poetry

12. Wordsworth’s concept of poetry is best expressed in which phrase?
A. “The best words in the best order”
B. “The spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”
C. “A thing of beauty is a joy forever”
D. “Poetry is the criticism of life”

13. Which poem by Wordsworth is subtitled “On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye”?
A. Ode: Intimations of Immortality
B. Tintern Abbey
C. The Solitary Reaper
D. The Recluse

14. Lord Byron, in a letter to Francis Hodgson, referred Wordsworth as ……. ?
A. Dear Friend
B. Lost Reader
C. Turdsworth
D. Symbolist

15. Which of the following is NOT a principle expressed in the Preface to Lyrical Ballads?
A. The poet is a man speaking to men.
B. The subject matter of poetry should include ordinary life and rural subjects.
C. Poetic form should adhere strictly to classical conventions.
D. Poetry originates from emotions recollected in tranquillity.

16. Who was William Wordsworth’s sister and lifelong companion, who greatly influenced his poetry?
A. Dorothy Wordsworth
B. Mary Wordsworth
C. Elizabeth Wordsworth
D. Sarah Wordsworth

17. What is a key characteristic of Wordsworth’s poetic diction?
A. Complex diction and syntax
B. Use of plain and everyday language
C. Preference for dramatic monologues
D. Focus on urban settings

18. What event in Wordsworth’s life deeply influenced his writing during his early years?
A. The French Revolution
B. The Industrial Revolution
C. The American Revolution
D. The War of 1812

19. Which university did Wordsworth attend?
A. Oxford University
B. Cambridge University
C. University of Edinburgh
D. University of London

20. What tragedy struck Wordsworth early in his life?
A. The death of both his parents
B. The loss of his wife
C. The failure of his first publication
D. Financial bankruptcy

21. What is the subtitle of Wordsworth’s The Prelude?
A. A Study in Nature
B. Growth of a Poet’s Mind
C. Adventures of a Poet
D. Songs of the Lake District

22. The Prelude is often described as:
A. A collection of short poems
B. A lyrical drama
C. An autobiographical epic poem
D. A series of sonnets

23. Which work of Wordsworth includes his famous “Lucy” poems?
A. Lyrical Ballads
B. The Excursion
C. The Recluse
D. The Prelude

24. In The Solitary Reaper, what is the reaper compared to?
A. A skylark
B. A cuckoo
C. A nightingale
D. A dove

25. Which collection contains Wordsworth’s poem We Are Seven?
A. The Excursion
B. Lyrical Ballads
C. The Recluse
D. Poems in Two Volumes

26. Wordsworth’s Ode: Intimations of Immortality reflects on which theme?
A. The beauty of nature
B. The loss of childhood innocence
C. The power of love
D. The transience of life

27. Which of Wordsworth’s works did he refer to as his “philosophical poem”?
A. The Prelude
B. The Excursion
C. The Recluse
D. Lyrical Ballads

28. Which of the following phrases best describes Wordsworth’s poetic philosophy?
A. Poetry is “emotion recollected in tranquillity.”
B. Poetry is “the science of feelings.”
C. Poetry is “the depiction of heroism.”
D. Poetry is “an experiment in drama.”

29.Which Romantic poet was universally esteemed as the "Grand Old Man of English Letters"?

A) Samuel Taylor Coleridge
B) William Wordsworth
C) Robert Southey
D) John Keats

 

30.Which poem begins with the line “Earth has not anything to show more fair”?
A. Tintern Abbey
B. Composed Upon Westminster Bridge
C. The Solitary Reaper
D. Resolution and Independence

31. Which French philosopher profoundly influenced the Romantic poets ?

A) Voltaire
B) Denis Diderot
C) Jean-Jacques Rousseau
D) Montesquieu

32. The Preface to the Lyrical Ballads was published in

A. 1798

B. 1799

C. 1800

D. 1801

 

33. For Wordsworth the function of poetry is to give

A. joy

B. happiness

C. catharsis

D. pleasure

 

34. To Wordsworth, “poetry is a spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, emotions recollected in …………”

A. images

B. tranquility

C. simple life

D. sensation

 

35. Which of the following is true about, “A Slumber did my spirit steal”?

A. It is an eight-line poem in two stanzas

B. published in Lyrical Ballads in 1798 co-authored by Coleridge

C. describes speaker’s love for a girl named Lucy

D. All the above

 

36. Wordworth’s poet is a man speaking to

A. everyone

B. his readers

C. men

D. nature

 

37. Which of the following statements about Lyrical Ballads is NOT true?

A) It was co-authored by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge

B) Lyrical Ballads marked the beginning of the Romantic Age

C) It immediately became a bestseller and was widely praised by critics

D) The preface to the second edition (1800) outlined key principles of Romanticism

 

38. Wordsworth propounds his theory of ____________ in his Preface to Lyrical Ballads

A. verse

B. rhyme

C. poetic diction

D. tradition

 

39. An Appendix on Poetic Diction was added to the Preface to the Lyrical Ballads in_____.

A. 1800

B. 1798

C. 1805

D. 1802

 

40. Wordsworth states, “Poetry sheds no tears such as Angels weep, but natural and

A. earthly tears

B. childish tears

C. human tears

D. mournful tears

             

41. Wordsworth believes that a poet is,

A. “a man speaking to poets”

B. “a man speaking to men”

C. “a man speaking to human”

D. “a man speaking to God”

 

42. According to Wordsworth, poetic diction has

A. Rules

B. No rules

C. Rustic language

D. Simple language

             

43. Wordsworth says prose and poetry differs by

A. Style

B. Emotion

C. Preface

D. Metre

 

44. Which is the first poem in 1798 edition of Lyrical Ballads?

A) "Tintern Abbey"
B) "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
C) "We Are Seven"
D) "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"

 

45. Which is the first poem in 1798 edition of Lyrical Ballads?

A) "Tintern Abbey"
B) "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
C) "We Are Seven"
D) "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"

 

46. Wordsworth's illegitimate daughter was named:
A) Dorothy
B) Mary
C) Caroline
D) Catherine

47. Wordsworth's collaboration with Coleridge produced:
A) Biographia Literaria
B) Lyrical Ballads (1798)
C) The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (alone)
D) Kubla Khan

48. Wordsworth's autobiographical epic is:
A) Tintern Abbey
B) The Excursion
C) The Prelude
D) Ode: Intimations of Immortality

49. Which of Wordsworth's children died in 1812?
A) Catherine and John
B) Dora and William
C) Thomas and Caroline
D) Dorothy and Mary

50. Wordsworth's wife was:
A) Dorothy Wordsworth
B) Annette Vallon
C) Mary Hutchinson
D) Sara Coleridge

51.Who described Wordsworth's poetry as "Egoistic Sublime"?
A) Mathew Arnold
B) John Keats
C) Samuel Taylor Coleridge
D) Robert Southey

52. Which critic abused Wordsworth in the Edinburgh Review?
A) William Hazlitt
B) Francis Jeffery
C) Thomas De Quincey
D) Charles Lamb

53. Wordsworth is called as

A. Bard of Rydal Mount

B. Harbinger of nature

C. Patriarch of Letters

D. All the above

 

54. Wordsworth's first published poems (1793) were:
A) Lyrical Ballads
B) The Prelude
C) Descriptive Sketches and An Evening Walk
D) The Excursion

55. How many poems did Coleridge contribute to Lyrical Ballads (1798)?
A) 1
B) 4
C) 10
D) All 23

56. The 1800 Preface is called:
A) A Guide to Romanticism
B) The Romantic Manifesto
C) The Poet's Handbook
D) Nature's Bible

57. Which is NOT a Lucy poem?
A) Lucy Gray
B) Strange fits of passion
C) A slumber did my spirit seal
D) She dwelt among untrodden ways

 

58. The Prelude was originally titled:
A) The Recluse
B) Spots of Time
C) Growth of a Poet's Mind
D) Poem to Coleridge

59. Wordsworth became Poet Laureate after:
A) Coleridge's death
B) Southey's death
C) Publishing The Prelude
D) Publishing Lyrical Ballads

60. Which version of The Prelude has 14 books?
A) 1799
B) 1805
C) 1850
D) All versions

61. In Prelude, "Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive" refers to:
A) Childhood
B) French Revolution
C) Meeting Coleridge
D) Becoming Poet Laureate

62. The "Matthew" poems were written during:
A) 1785-1790
B) 1798-1799
C) 1805-1807
D) 1814-1815

63. Which Wordsworth poem was explicitly modelled after Thomas Gray's "Hymn to Adversity"?

A) "Ode: Intimations of Immortality"
B) "Lines Written in Early Spring"
C) “Ode to Duty”
D) "The Solitary Reaper"

 

64. "London, 1802" is a:
A) Ballad
B) Petrarchan sonnet
C) Ode
D) Dramatic monologue

65. In a sonnet, The volta (turn) occurs at:

A) Line 5
B) Line 9
C) Line 12
D) Line 14

66. Sonnet is written in:

A) Iambic Hexameter
B) Iambic Trimeter
C) Iambic Tetrameter
D) Iambic Pentameter

67. The poem "London, 1802" is addressed to:

A) William Blake
B) John Milton
C) Samuel Taylor Coleridge
D) Rousseau

68. "Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart" was famous line from?

A) "London, 1802"
B) "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
C) "We Are Seven"
D) "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"

 

69. Which of the following is in blank verse?
A) We Are Seven
B) The Prelude
C) I Wandered Lonely
D) The Solitary Reaper

70. "The child is father of the man" appears in:
A) Tintern Abbey
B) My Heart Leaps Up
C) We Are Seven
D) The Prelude

71. "The child is father of the man" is a

A. Metaphor

B. Paradox

C. Simile

D. Alliteration

 

72. The Excursion was 2^nd part of Wordsworth's unfinished work:
A) The Recluse
B) Lyrical Ballads
C) Prelude
D) Guide to the Lakes

73. Which is the 1^st part of Wordsworth's unfinished work, The Recluse:
A) The Excursion
B) Lyrical Ballads
C) Prelude
D) Guide to the Lakes

 

74. Laodamia retells a story from:
A) Greek mythology
B) The Bible
C) Arthurian legend
D) French history

75. Wordsworth's only play was:
A) The Foster-Mother's Tale
B) The Borderers
C) Michael
D) The Thorn

76. The term by Wordsworth, "Spots of Time" refers to:
A) Clock imagery
B) Epiphanic childhood moments
C) Political events
D) Nature's cycles

77. Romantic poetry is generally,

A. Objective poetry

B. Subjective poetry

C. Artificial poetry

D. Natural poetry

 

78. Wordsworth died in_____.

A. 1845

B. 1855

C. 1850

D. 1860

 

79. Wordsworth is buried in:
A) Westminster Abbey
B) Grasmere Churchyard
C) Rydal Mount
D) Cockermouth

80. Which work was published posthumously?
A) Tintern Abbey
B) The Excursion
C) The Prelude
D) Ode: Intimations of Immortality

Answers: William Wordsworth
1.  B	2.  B	3. A	4. C	5. C	6. B	7. B	8. A	9.  A	10. B
11. C	12. B	13. B	14. C	15. C	16. A	17. B	18. A	19. B	20. A
21. B	22. C	23. A	24. C	25. B	26. B	27. C	28. A	29. B	30. B
31. C	32. C	33. D	34. B	35. D	36. C	37. C	38. C	39. D	40. C
41. B	42. B	43. D	44. B	45. A	46. C	47. B	48. C	49. A	50. C
51. B	52. B	53. D	54. C	55. B	56. B	57. A	58. D	59. B	60. C
61. B	62. B	63. C	64. B	65. B	66. D	67. B	68. A	69. B	70. B
71. B	72. A	73. C	74. A	75. B	76. B	77. B	78. C	79. B	80. C