Romantic Poetry
Rebecca McFarlan
mcfarlan@ih.k12.oh.us
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Romantic Poetry
(5)
(10)
(15)
(20)
1.
2.
3.
There Was a Boy
William Wordsworth
There was boy; ye knew him well, ye cliffs
And islands of Winander! – many a time,
At evening, when the earliest stars began
To move along the edges of the hills,
Rising or setting, would he stand alone,
Beneath the trees, or by the glimmering lake;
And there, with fingers interwoven, both hands
Pressed closely palm to palm and to his mouth
Uplifted, he, as through an instrument,
Blew mimic hootings to the silent owls,
That they might answer him. – And they would shout
Across the watery vale, and shout again,
Responsive to his call, -- with quivering peals,
And long halloos, and screams, and echoes loud
Redoubled and redoubled; concourse wild
Of jocund din! And, when there came a pause
Of silence such as baffled his best skill:
Then, sometimes, in that silence, while he hung
Listening, a gentle shock of mild surprise
Has carried far into his heart the voice
Of mountain-torrents; or the visible scene
Would enter unawares into his mind
With all its solemn imagery, its rocks,
Its woods, and that uncertain heaven received
Into the bosom of the steady lake.
The speaker recounts the experiences of the boy in the
poem with
(A) mock heroic tones
(B) resentful disdain
(C) nostalgic reverence
(D) gently controlled pity
(E) faint satiric humor
Which of the following illustrates the rhetorical device
of apostrophe?
(A) “ye knew him well, ye cliffs” (line 1)
(B) “when the earliest stars began/To move” (lines 3-4)
(C) “with fingers interwoven” (line 7)
(D) “they would shout/Across the watery vale” (lines
11-12)
(E) “the voice/Of mountain-torrents” (lines 20-21)
The phrase “Rising or setting” (line 5) modifies which
of the following?
(A) “evening” (line 3)
1
“stars” (line 3)
“edges” (line 4)
“hills” (line 4)
“he” (line 5)
4.
As determined by context, which of the following
would best fit between “owls” (line 10) and “That”
(line 11)?
(A) until
(B) in
(C) when
(D) so
(E) if
5.
Which of the following is the best rendering of the
phrase “concourse wild/Of jocund din” (lines 15-16)?
(A) A deafening clatter of wings
(B) A tumultuous, loud, gleeful noise
(C) A painful mixture of sharp sound
(D) An aggressive, threatening, vocal attack
(E) A witty and mocking conversation
6.
The word “din” (line 16) is most strongly reinforced by
which of the following pairs of lines?
(A) 3 and 4
(B) 5 and 6
(C) 9 and 10
(D) 14 and 15
(E) 20 and 21
7.
In context, the word “baffled” (line 17) is best
interpreted to mean
(A) defied
(B) confused
(C) reflected
(D) strengthened
(E) induced
8.
The phrase “his best skill” (line 17) is an oblique
reference to which of the following?
(A) “To move along the edges” (line 4)
(B) “would he stand alone” (line 5)
(C) “with fingers interwoven” (line 7)
(D) “as through an instrument” (line 9)
(E) “Blew mimic hootings” (line 10)
Romantic Poetry
Rebecca McFarlan
mcfarlan@ih.k12.oh.us
9.
The heaven is “uncertain” (line 24) in the sense that it
(A) is a reflection that moves
(B) is of doubtful existence for the speaker
(C) is a metaphor for fate
(D) threatens the speaker
(E) reflects various colors
10.
The speaker’s experience described in lines 19-25 (“a
gentle shock . . . the steady lake”) is best characterized
as
(A) a delusion induced by a powerful artist
(B) a mystical experience resulting from prayer
(C) a heightened consciousness of the beauty of nature
(D) an indifference to a force that no longer responds to
him
(E) a growing resentment at his own insignificance.
12.
Which of the following is the best interpretation of “He
thought he kept the universe alone” (line1)?
(A) He maintained a detached attitude toward society.
(B) He felt that he was utterly alone in the world.
(C) Through contemplation, he merged his whole self
with nature.
(D) Because of special insight, he felt he alone knew
the essence of the universe.
(E) He kept to himself entirely and avoided any
contact with other living things.
13.
The echo is “mocking” (line 3) because the speaker
(A) had hoped for some response to his call
(B) is cynical about other human beings
(C) has despaired of the existence of God
(D) is being ridiculed by other travelers in the woods
(E) is humorously criticizing himself and his aloneness
14.
The primary implication of lines 5 through 8 is that
(A) human beings are possessed of a primal need for
one another
(B) life is richer when one knows who one’s antagonist
is
(C) one understands oneself well only after being
measured against others
(D) life and nature eternally oppose and frustrate the
essential needs of human beings
(E) each human being is like a copy of a masterpiece
whose essence remains a mystery
15.
Which of the following is the critical transition point in
the poem?
(A) “He would cry out. . .” (line 6)
(B) “And nothing ever came . . .” (line 9)
(C) “Unless it was . . .” (line 10)
(D) “But after a time . . .” (line 13)
(E) “As a great buck. . .” (line 16)
16.
Which of the following is the most accurate statement
about the word “embodiment” (line 10)?
(A) It is an indirect reference to the “universe” (line 1).
(B) It is a simile for the “echo” (line 3) of the speaker.
(C) It is a metaphor for boulders and “talus” (line 11).
(D) It is a pronoun foreshadowing the “him” in line 15.
(E) It is an abstract noun denoting the “buck” (line 16).
17.
The figure of speech in line 18 is
The Most of It
Robert Frost
(5)
(10)
(15)
He thought he kept the universe alone;
For all the voice in answer he could wake
Was but the mocking echo of his own
From some tree-hidden cliff across the lake.
Some morning from the boulder-broken beach
He would cry out on life, that what it wants
Is not its own love back in copy speech,
But counter-love, original response.
And nothing ever came of what he cried
Unless it was the embodiment that crashed
In the cliff’s talus* on the other side,
And then in the far-distant water splashed,
But after a time allowed for it to swim,
Instead of proving human when it neared
And someone else additional to him,
As a great buck it powerfully appeared,
Pushing the crumpled water up ahead,
And landed pouring like a waterfall,
And stumbled through the rocks with horny tread,
And forced the underbrush—and that was all.
* Rock debris at the bottom of a cliff.
11.
In this poem, the speaker perceives that for human
beings nature is most like which of the following?
(A) Nurturing and supportive
(B) Hostile and violent
(C) Unpredictable and unknowable
(D) Unaware and indifferent
(E) Oppressive and sinister
2
Romantic Poetry
Rebecca McFarlan
mcfarlan@ih.k12.oh.us
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
18.
a simile
personification
a symbol
an extended metaphor
allegory
As the buck is presented in lines 16-20, the effect is one
of a
(A) beautiful and enchanting presence
(B) primeval and impervious force
(C) hostile and destructive power
(D) curious and animated intelligence
(E) cunning and deceptive spirit
The Eolian Harp*
(5)
(10)
(15)
(20)
(25)
(30)
(35)
My pensive Sara! Thy soft cheek reclined
Thus on mine arm, most soothing sweet it is
To sit beside our Cot, our Cot o’ergrown
With white-flower’d Jasmin, and the broad-leav’d Myrtle,
(Meet emblems they of Innocence and Love!)
And watch the clouds, that late were rich with light,
Slow saddening round, and mark the star of eve
Serenely brilliant (such should Wisdom be)
Shine opposite! How exquisite the scents
Snatch’d from yon bean-field! And the world so hush’d!
The stilly murmur of the distant Sea
Tells us of silence.
And that simplest Lute,
Placed length-ways in the clasping casement, hark!
How by the desultory breeze caress’d,
Like some coy maid half yielding to her lover,
It pours such sweet upbraiding, as must needs
Tempt to repeat the wrong! And now, its strings
Boldlier swept, the long sequacious notes
Over delicious surges sink and rise,
Such a soft floating witchery of sound
As twilight Elfins make, when they at eve
Voyage on gentle gales from Fairy-Land,
Where Melodies round honey-dropping flowers,
Footless and wild, like birds of Paradise,
Nor pause, nor perch, hovering on untam’d wing!
O! the one Life within us and abroad,
Which meets all motion and becomes its soul,
A light in sound, a sound-like power in light,
Rhythm in all thought, and joyance every where –
Methinks, it should have been impossible
Not to love all things in a world so fill’d;
Where the breeze warbles, and the mute still air
Is Music slumbering on her instrument.
(40)
(45)
(50)
(55)
(60)
And thus, my Love! as on the midway slope
Of yonder hill I stretch my limbs at noon,
Whilst through my half-clos’d eye-lids I behold
The sunbeams dance, like diamonds, on the main,
And tranquil muse upon tranquillity;
Full many a thought uncall’d and undetain’d,
And many idle flitting phantasies,
Traverse my indolent and passive brain,
As wild and various as the random gales
That swell and flutter on this subject Lute!
And what if all of animated nature
Be but organic Harps diversely fram’d,
That tremble into thought, as o’er them sweeps
Plastic and vast, one intellectual breeze,
At once the Soul of each, and God of all?
But thy more serious eye a mild reproof
Darts, O beloved Woman! nor such thoughts
Dim and unhallow’d dost thou not reject,
And biddest me walk humbly with my God.
Meek Daughter in the family of Christ!
Well hast thou said and holily disprais’d
These shapings of the unregenerate mind;
Bubbles that glitter as they rise and break
On vain Philosophy’s aye-babbling spring.
For never guiltless may I speak of him,
The Incomprehensible! save when with awe
I praise him, and with Faith that inly feels;
Who with his saving mercies healed me,
A sinful and most miserable man,
Wilder’d and dark, and gave me to possess
Peace, and this Cot, and thee, heart-honour’d Maid!
*a box with strings across its open ends that makes
music as the breeze passes through it
3
Romantic Poetry
Rebecca McFarlan
mcfarlan@ih.k12.oh.us
19.
In the first section of the poem (lines 1-12), the speaker
seeks to convey a feeling of
(A) curiosity
(B) contentment
(C) remoteness
(D) resignation
(E) foreboding
23. In lines 14-15, the breeze is compared to
(A) a lute
(B) a maiden
(C) a lover
(D) an elf
(E) a wave
20. In context, “saddening” (line 7) suggests that the
(A) clouds have become darker
(B) speaker is increasingly melancholy
(C) happiness of the speaker will fade
(D) security of the couple will be threatened
(E) prospect of night vexes the speaker
24. Which of the following occurs directly because the
breeze is “desultory” (line 14)?
(A) The speaker cannot clearly hear the harp.
(B) The music of the harp is not evenly sustained.
(C) The speaker is obliged to personify the harp.
(D) Only the speaker can understand the meaning of the
music.
(E) The music of the harp distracts the speaker.
21. The speaker gives symbolic significance to which of the
following?
I.
The “Jasmin” (line 4)
II. The “Myrtle” (line 4)
III. The “star” (line 7)
IV. The “Sea” (line 11)
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
25. The speaker’s description of the sound of the lute
emphasizes all of the following EXCEPT its
(A) seductiveness
(B) magical quality
(C) sweetness
(D) sensuousness
(E) remoteness
I and II only
III and IV only
I, II, and III only
I, II, and IV only
I, II, III, and IV
26. In lines 32-33, “the mute still air . . . instrument”
suggests that the
(A) sound of the lute makes the speaker drowsy
(B) air itself contains potential music
(C) sound of the lute can make the air itself mute
(D) lute can make music even without the breeze
(E) music cannot exist while the air remains still
22. Lines 11 and 12 (“The . . . silence” ) are best understood
to mean which of the following?
(A) The silence is such that even the sea itself is aware
of it.
(B) We are in a quiet place, but the sea, however distant,
is at least not silent.
(C) Even the gentle murmuring of the sea is fading into
silence.
(D) The fact that we can just hear the far-off sea shows
how quiet our surroundings are.
(E) The silence of the sea speaks more forcefully than
words can of the hushed world around us.
27. In line 38, “tranquil” functions as which of the
following?
(A) an adjective modifying “I” (line 36)
(B) an adverb modifying “behold” (line 36)
(C) an adjective modifying “sunbeams” (line 37)
(D) an adjective modifying “muse” (line 38)
(E) an adverb modifying “muse” (line 38)
28. In lines 34-43, the speaker compares
(A) his muse to tranquillity
(B) his brain to the lute
(C) the midpoint of his life to noon
4
Romantic Poetry
Rebecca McFarlan
mcfarlan@ih.k12.oh.us
(D) his thoughts to the ocean
(E) his muse to a sunbeam
29. In the poem, the Eolian harp is, for the speaker, all of the
following EXCEPT
(A) a source of inspiration
(B) a source of pleasure
(C) a gentle reproof
(D) a suggestive symbol
(E) an enchanting voice
30. Lines 44-48 can best be described as a
(A) digression from the main subject of the poem
(B) change from description to narration
(C) counterargument to establish the speaker’s
credibility
(D) metaphorical application of the image of the lute
(E) simile for the relationship between the speaker and
Sara
31. In the last section of the poem, the speaker implies that
to try to fathom the “Incomprehensible” (line 59) is
(A) every thinking person’s duty
(B) possible only through metaphor
(C) difficult except during privileged moments
(D) the true function of music and poetry
(E) an act of overweening pride
32. It can be inferred that Sara’s attitude toward the
speaker’s speculations is one of
(A) open hostility
(B) gentle disapproval
(C) mild amusement
(D) fond admiration
(E) respectful awe
33. The poem is an example of which of the following verse
forms?
(A) Blank verse
(B) Heroic couplet
(C) Terza rima
(D) Ballad meter
(E) Free verse
5
Romantic Poetry
Rebecca McFarlan
mcfarlan@ih.k12.oh.us
Answers to Romantic Poetry
“There Was a Boy”
1. C 2. A 3.B 4.D 5.B 6.D 7.A 8.E 9.A 10. C
“The Most of It”
1. D 2. B 3. A 4. A 5. C 6. E 7. A 8. B
“Eolian Harp”
1. B 2. A 3. C 4. D 5. C 6. B 7. E 8. B 9. A 10. B 11. C 12. D 13. E 14. B 15. A
6