2016 - English poetry
1. Short Questions (50 words each)
(a) What were the two factors that helped Wordsworth develop an intimate connection with nature?
Wordsworth’s love for nature developed mainly from two factors: first, his early life spent in the beautiful Lake District surrounded by mountains, rivers, and valleys; second, his sensitive and imaginative mind, which helped him feel nature’s spiritual presence deeply and connect emotionally with it.
(b) What are the three stages of a poet's life, according to Wordsworth?
Wordsworth describes three stages:
- Childhood – pure joy and love for nature.
- Youth – emotional passion and imagination.
- Maturity – calm reflection, spiritual understanding, and moral strength gained through memory and thought.
(c) Write two characteristics of Coleridge's poetry.
- Supernatural imagination – Coleridge blends fantasy with reality, making the unreal seem believable (as in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner).
- Philosophical depth – His poems explore deep human emotions, faith, and imagination.
(d) How is 'autumn' personified in the poem To Autumn?
Keats personifies Autumn as a beautiful woman involved in harvesting activities — a reaper, a gleaner, and someone sitting peacefully watching the sunset. Autumn becomes a living, breathing spirit that fills the world with richness and calm.
(e) What is Shelley's final message in his poem Ode to the West Wind?
Shelley’s message is one of hope and renewal. He asks the West Wind to spread his thoughts across the world like “ashes and sparks” to bring about spiritual and social rebirth. The closing line — “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” — expresses optimism.
(f) Mention two important characteristics of Matthew Arnold as a poet.
- Serious moral tone – Arnold’s poetry often reflects on faith, doubt, and loss of spiritual values.
- Classical restraint and balance – His poems are thoughtful, calm, and focused on reason rather than emotion.
2. Medium Questions (150 words each)
(a) How do Wordsworth, Keats, and Coleridge define poetry?
- Wordsworth calls poetry “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” recollected in tranquillity.
- Coleridge says poetry is the result of the “balance between imagination and reason.”
- Keats believes poetry should express beauty and truth naturally, without forced moral lessons.
All three see poetry as emotional, imaginative, and connected to human experience and nature.
(b) Differentiate between Wordsworth and Coleridge as poets.
Wordsworth focuses on nature, simplicity, and human emotion in common life. He finds moral and spiritual lessons in nature.
Coleridge, on the other hand, explores the supernatural and mysterious, mixing imagination with philosophy.
While Wordsworth’s poetry is realistic and moral, Coleridge’s is dream-like, mysterious, and deeply imaginative.
(c) Discuss briefly Lippo's childhood from your reading of the prescribed poem.
In Browning’s Fra Lippo Lippi, Lippo describes his childhood as miserable. He was an orphan and lived in the streets, stealing food to survive. Later, he was taken into a monastery where he began painting. His early hunger and struggle made him value real human life, which influenced his realistic art.
(d) Comment on Matthew Arnold's poetic style in the poem Dover Beach.
In Dover Beach, Arnold’s style is calm, reflective, and musical. He uses simple language and imagery of the sea to express deep thoughts about faith and loss. His tone is melancholic yet controlled. The poem’s rhythm and imagery mirror the movement of the waves, giving it emotional depth.
3. Long Questions (250 words each)
(a) Critically examine Coleridge as a romantic poet with special reference to The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Coleridge is a true Romantic poet because of his imagination, emotion, and deep sense of mystery. In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, he blends the real and supernatural beautifully. The poem shows nature as alive and moral — punishing the Mariner for killing the innocent albatross. Coleridge explores guilt, repentance, and redemption. His use of symbolism and musical language creates a dreamlike atmosphere. Through the Mariner’s suffering and salvation, Coleridge expresses the Romantic belief in spiritual connection between man and nature.
(b) Explain how Coleridge portrays the natural world before and after the Ancient Mariner shoots the albatross.
Before the Mariner kills the albatross, nature is kind and friendly — the ship sails smoothly, and the albatross brings joy and good luck.
After the bird is killed, nature turns hostile — the sea becomes silent, the wind stops, and the crew suffers thirst and heat.
Coleridge shows that harming nature brings punishment. The natural world is not lifeless; it has a divine presence that reacts to human actions.
(c) What is an 'ode'? Mention in some detail John Keats' contribution to the tradition of English odes.
An ode is a lyrical poem expressing deep feelings, often addressed to an idea, object, or season.
Keats perfected the English ode by combining emotion with rich imagery and philosophical thought. His odes — To Autumn, Ode to a Nightingale, Ode on a Grecian Urn — explore beauty, truth, life, and death.
He gave the ode a perfect structure, musical rhythm, and sensuous language. His odes balance reality and imagination, making them timeless.
(d) State the meaning of 'pantheism'. Examine how Shelley blends his pantheistic ideas in Ode to the West Wind.
Pantheism is the belief that God is present in all things in nature — that nature itself is divine.
In Ode to the West Wind, Shelley sees the wind as a divine force — a destroyer and preserver that renews life. He identifies himself with the wind, wishing to spread his ideas like the wind spreads seeds. His spirit blends with nature, showing unity between man and the universe. This reflects his pantheistic faith in nature’s power and renewal.
4. Essay Questions (500 words each)
(a) What is Matthew Arnold's central message in Dover Beach?
Arnold’s Dover Beach expresses sadness over the loss of faith in the modern world. Standing on the shore, the poet hears the “grating roar” of the pebbles, which reminds him of human misery. The “Sea of Faith” once full, is now retreating, leaving humanity empty and confused.
Arnold compares the sound of waves to human suffering. He believes science and materialism have weakened faith and love. The world, though beautiful, has no real joy or certainty.
The poet appeals to his beloved to remain true and faithful, as love is the only strength left in a changing world.
Arnold’s central message is that in a world without faith, only love, loyalty, and human connection can bring meaning. The poem reflects the Victorian struggle between faith and doubt, expressed in musical, reflective language.
(b) What is a dramatic monologue? How does it reveal Lippo’s inner conflicts in Fra Lippo Lippi?
A dramatic monologue is a poem where a single speaker addresses a silent listener, revealing his thoughts and personality through speech.
In Fra Lippo Lippi, Browning uses this form to present Lippo, a monk and painter, who defends his art. Through his speech, we see his inner conflict between religious duty and artistic truth.
Lippo argues that art should show real human life, not just holy figures. He believes that physical beauty reflects divine creation.
His monologue exposes his frustration with the Church’s narrow view of art. He wants freedom to paint what he sees.
Thus, Browning uses the monologue to reveal Lippo’s personality — lively, humorous, and realistic — and to discuss art, religion, and truth.
(c) Comment on P. B. Shelley's prophetic view of history. Discuss his use of the poetic persona as a reformer.
Shelley believed poets were prophets and reformers who could inspire change through imagination. He saw poetry as a moral and revolutionary force that could awaken society.
In Ode to the West Wind and Prometheus Unbound, Shelley presents himself as a visionary who wants to free humanity from ignorance and oppression.
His “poetic persona” speaks with passion, calling for liberty and renewal. The West Wind symbolizes destruction of the old and birth of the new.
Shelley’s prophetic vision is not political only — it’s spiritual. He believes love, beauty, and imagination can purify mankind.
His poetry combines intense emotion with hope for a better world, making him one of the greatest reformer-poets of the Romantic Age.
(d) Discuss the role of 'memory' in Wordsworth's poetry with reference to Tintern Abbey.
In Tintern Abbey, memory plays a vital role in Wordsworth’s emotional and spiritual growth. When he revisits the same place after five years, he recalls his youthful experiences with nature.
In childhood, nature gave him wild pleasure. Later, through memory, he finds peace and moral guidance in those experiences.
Memory helps him relive past joy and connect it with present reflection. It becomes a source of inner strength and inspiration.
He believes that remembered beauty of nature brings healing to the mind and heart.
Thus, in Tintern Abbey, memory unites past and present, forming a spiritual bond between man and nature, leading to wisdom and calmness.
(e) How would you relate To Autumn to Keats’s notions of truth, imagination, and beauty?
To Autumn perfectly expresses Keats’s belief that truth and beauty are one. He finds beauty in the ordinary season of autumn — its ripeness, calm, and natural change.
Through imagination, he personifies Autumn as a graceful woman, celebrating nature’s harmony. There is no sadness, only fulfilment and quiet acceptance of life’s cycle.
The poem shows that truth lies in the acceptance of life and death as natural processes.
Keats’s rich imagery — the fruits, the songs of gnats, the sunsets — reflects his deep sense of beauty and artistic perfection.
In To Autumn, imagination transforms a simple scene into a universal truth about life’s beauty and impermanence. It is Keats’s most mature expression of his poetic philosophy.
M.A. 2nd Semester (New) Exam, 2020
English: English Poetry (Romantic to Victorian)
Full Marks: 80 | Time: 3 Hours
1(a) Write short answers of the following questions: 1×8=8
(i) Name one defining characteristic of Romantic poetry.
Ans: Romantic poetry is characterized by an emphasis on imagination and emotion over reason and intellect.
(ii) State any one major feature of William Blake as a poet.
Ans: William Blake combined mysticism with social criticism and visionary imagination.
(iii) Name any two Victorian poets who were influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite Movement.
Ans: Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Christina Rossetti.
(iv) What are the two mythical sources of Tennyson's poem, “Ulysses”?
Ans: Homer’s Odyssey and Dante’s Inferno.
(v) What is referred to by the term Pantheism?
Ans: Pantheism is the belief that God and Nature are identical — that God is present in all things.
(vi) What are the three periods of Wordsworth’s poetic development as suggested by the poem, “Tintern Abbey”?
Ans: (1) The period of sensual pleasure, (2) The period of love for Nature’s forms, and (3) The period of spiritual reflection.
(vii) Mention the different human figures with which the Autumn season is personified by Keats.
Ans: Keats personifies Autumn as a reaper, a gleaner, and a cider presser.
(viii) Why was P. B. Shelley expelled from the University of Oxford?
Ans: Shelley was expelled for publishing the pamphlet “The Necessity of Atheism.”
1(b) Choose the correct option from the following: 1×4=4
(i) Who among the following wrote a virulently hostile critical review of Keats' Endymion in the Quarterly Review?
Ans: (2) John Wilson Croker ✅
(ii) Which of the following poems is written by Wordsworth as a reply to Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner?
Ans: (1) Peter Bell ✅
(iii) Identify the odd one from the following.
(1) Guilt and Sorrow
(2) Caliban upon Setebos
(3) Alastor
(4) Queen Mab
Ans: (2) Caliban upon Setebos ✅ (It is by Browning, others are Romantic poems)
(iv) From which poem are the following lines taken?
"He prayeth well who loveth well / Both man and bird and beast."
Ans: (3) The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ✅
1(c) Fill in the blanks: 1×4=4
(i) In Biographia Literaria, Wordsworth and Coleridge agreed to deal with two kinds of poetry — one dealing with everyday events and the other dealing with supernatural themes. ✅
(ii) The term Negative Capability was first mentioned by Keats in one of the letters written in December, 1817. ✅
(iii) The terms Hellenism and Hebraism are associated with Matthew Arnold. ✅
(iv) The poets residing in the Lake District of North West England were known as Lake Poets. ✅
2. Answer any five (2×5=10)
(a) Briefly mention the features of the Romantic Movement that distinguished it from the ideals and conventions of the preceding age.
Ans: The Romantic Movement emphasized imagination, emotion, nature, individual freedom, and the glorification of the common man, in contrast to the reason and order of the Classical Age.
(b) Why is the mother in Blake's “A Cradle Song” (Songs of Innocence) moved to tears while looking at her baby?
Ans: The mother is moved because she sees divine innocence and purity in her child’s smile, which reminds her of Christ’s love.
(c) Why does Matthew Arnold allude to Sophocles in “Dover Beach”?
Ans: Arnold refers to Sophocles to suggest that the sense of human suffering has been a timeless reality, recognized even in ancient Greece.
(d) In “Fra Lippo Lippi,” what does Lippi tell the guards about his becoming a monk?
Ans: Lippi tells the guards he was forced to become a monk when he was a starving orphan, not out of piety but necessity.
(e) Write briefly on the 'Skeptic poets' of the Victorian era.
Ans: Skeptic poets like Arnold and Tennyson expressed doubts about religion and faith due to the rise of science and materialism.
(f) Describe the effect of the West Wind on the Earth and in the Sky.
Ans: On Earth, the West Wind drives dead leaves; in the Sky, it scatters clouds like winged seeds of storm and rain.
3. Answer any four (3×4=12)
(a) Give in your own words the opinions of the crew on the Mariner’s act of killing the albatross.
Ans: At first, the crew blames the Mariner for killing the bird of good omen. Later, when the fog clears, they praise him, thinking he has done a good act. But soon they suffer and realize it was a sin.
(b) “The sea of faith was once, too, at the full…” Describe the use of this metaphor in “Dover Beach.”
Ans: The “Sea of Faith” symbolizes the once-strong religious belief that has now receded, leaving humanity desolate and spiritually empty.
(c) In “Fra Lippo Lippi,” how does Browning express sympathy with Renaissance humanism and realism?
Ans: Browning portrays Lippi as an artist who believes that beauty and humanity should be truthfully depicted in art, not suppressed by monastic rules.
(d) What, according to Keats, does the music of Autumn consist of? What is its nature?
Ans: The music of Autumn comes from gnats, lambs, crickets, and birds. It is soft, mellow, and full of calm beauty, symbolizing fulfillment.
(e) “When thy little heart doth wake…” Why does the mother dread for the child’s future?
Ans: In Songs of Experience, the mother fears that the child’s innocence will be destroyed by worldly corruption and suffering.
4. Answer any three (6×3=18)
(a) Write a note on the themes of innocence and experience in the two “Cradle Songs.”
Ans: In Songs of Innocence, the “Cradle Song” shows the mother’s joy and faith in divine innocence. In Songs of Experience, innocence gives way to fear and awareness of sin and suffering. Together, they contrast pure innocence with worldly experience.
(b) Give a pen-picture of the natural world before and after the shooting of the albatross.
Ans: Before the killing, nature is friendly — the sea is calm, winds gentle. After the act, nature turns hostile — the ship is becalmed, water rots, and ghostly visions appear, reflecting the sailors’ guilt.
(c) Make a critical assessment of “Ulysses” as a representative Victorian poem on progress.
Ans: “Ulysses” embodies the Victorian spirit of adventure, faith in progress, and striving for knowledge. Tennyson presents Ulysses as restless, unsatisfied, symbolizing man’s desire for ceaseless advancement.
(d) Discuss Shelley’s use of Nature imagery in “Ode to the West Wind.”
Ans: Shelley uses vivid imagery — the wild wind, dead leaves, clouds, waves — to portray nature as powerful, transformative, and symbolic of revolutionary energy and renewal.
5. Answer any three (8×3=24)
(a) Compare and contrast Tennyson and Browning as Victorian poets.
Ans:
Tennyson represents the reflective, melancholic aspect of the Victorian age, focusing on doubt, faith, and loss. Browning, on the other hand, portrays the active, psychological and optimistic side, exploring human motives and moral strength. Tennyson’s style is lyrical and musical (In Memoriam, Ulysses), while Browning’s is dramatic and intellectual (Fra Lippo Lippi, My Last Duchess). Both express the moral and spiritual struggles of their time but from contrasting perspectives.
(b) Critically evaluate Wordsworth as a Nature poet with reference to “Tintern Abbey” and “Ode: Intimations of Immortality.”
Ans:
Wordsworth saw Nature as a living spirit and moral guide. In Tintern Abbey, he shows how Nature shapes human character and spiritual growth. In Intimations of Immortality, he laments the loss of childlike vision but finds consolation in the memory and moral strength Nature imparts. He thus transforms Nature from mere scenery to a source of divine experience.
(c) Critical appreciation of “Ode on a Grecian Urn.”
Ans:
Keats’s Ode on a Grecian Urn celebrates art’s eternal beauty. The urn captures timeless moments of love, youth, and music. Its message, “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” suggests that art offers permanence and ideal truth beyond human mortality. The poem’s sensuous imagery and rich symbolism make it a masterpiece of Romantic art.
(d) Comment on the note of melancholy in “Dover Beach.” Discuss the importance of the landscape in expressing it.
Ans:
Arnold’s Dover Beach expresses deep melancholy at the loss of faith and certainty. The calm sea, moonlit shore, and withdrawing tide symbolize spiritual decline. The landscape mirrors the poet’s inner emptiness. The “Sea of Faith” once full, now retreating, powerfully reflects the Victorian crisis of belief. The poet ends with a plea for love and fidelity amidst chaos.
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