I Am! (John Clare poem) Quizzes

I Am! (John Clare poem) I Am!

1 When was John Clare born?

The early nineteenth century

The mid nineteenth century

The late eighteenth century

The mid eighteenth century
2 Which of the following is NOT true of Clare's parents?

They were from London

They were barely literate

They became estranged from Clare later in life

They were laborers
3 Who was Clare's first love?

Susan Smith

Mary Joyce

Patty Turner

John Keats
4 What was Clare's first book?

The Rural Muse

Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery

The Shepherd's Calendar

The Village Minstrel and Other Poems
5 Which of the following best describes Clare's poetic career during his life?

His first book was highly successful, but then he faded into obscurity

He never published his poetry during his life

He published many volumes, but remained largely unknown

His first book was a failure, but he gradually earned respect with his subsequent volumes
6 Where was Clare when he wrote "I Am!"?

Helpston

Northampton Lunatic Asylum

London

High Beech asylum
7 Which of the following is NOT a primary theme of "I Am!"?

The evils of social isolation

The beauty of the countryside

The uncertainty of existence

The instability of the individual
8 What is the rhyme scheme of "I Am!"?

abcabc

abababab

ababab

aabbcc
9 What is the meter of "I Am"?

Free verse (no fixed meter)

Trochaic pentameter (five pairs of one stressed and then one unstressed syllable)

Iambic tetrameter (three pairs of one unstressed and then one stressed syllable)

Iambic pentameter (five pairs of one unstressed and then one stressed syllable)
10 How does Clare define the self in the first stanza of "I Am!"?

As dependent on the perception of other people

As the exclusive attribute of poets

As entirely non-existent

As the one thing independent of other people's opinions
11 Which of the following BEST replaces the word vapours in line 6?

Specters

Ghosts

Odors

Mists
12 Which of the following is NOT an example of simile?

And yet I am, and live—like vapours tossed

Into the living sea of waking dreams

Like shadows in love’s frenzied stifled throes

My friends forsake me like a memory lost
13 What characteristic of the sea is MOST relevant to Clare's use of it as a symbol in stanza 2?

Its vastness

Its turbulence

Its capacity to drown him

Its lack of landmarks
14 Which of the following BEST replaces the word "esteems" in line 10?

Goals

Delusions

Respects

Worships
15 Which of the following BEST replaces the word "strange" in line 12?

Weird

Gross

Distant

Alien
16 What literary device does NOT appear in the second stanza?

Simile

Metaphor

Repetition

Parallelism
17 What does the speaker desire in the third stanza?

A return to childhood

The apocalypse

Death

Sleep
18 What problem does the speaker hope to solve in the third stanza?

The speaker's failure to achieve his goals

The destruction of the countryside

Existence without a sense of self

The speaker's feelings of woe
19 Which line of "I Am!" recalls the themes of Clare's early work?

Like shadows in love’s frenzied stifled throes

I am the self-consumer of my woes

But the vast shipwreck of my life’s esteems

The grass below—above the vaulted sky.
20 Which of the following BEST replaces the word "abide" in line 15?

Live

Pray

Play

Grieve
21 What is the tone of "I Am!"?

Overwhelmed and emotional

Cheerful and hopeful

Resentful and frustrated

Mournful and reflective
22 How does the speaker see grief?

As something that brings him closer to God

As a problem

As something that makes him stronger

As an inevitable part of life
23 Which images in "I Am!' suggest impermanence?

Memory, vapours, the sea

Memory, vapours, dreams

Memory, the grass, vapours

The grass, the sea, vapours
24 How does the third stanza differ from the first two?

The speaker entirely abandons hope

The speaker comes up with a solution to his problem

The speaker believes his life can improve

The speaker's tone becomes mournful and yearning
25 In which line does Clare NOT use syntax to question the role of the individual?

I am the self-consumer of my woes

There to abide with my Creator, God

I am—yet what I am none cares or knows

But the vast shipwreck of my life’s esteems

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I Am! (John Clare poem) study guide contains a biography of John Clare, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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