I Am! (John Clare poem) Quizzes

I Am! (John Clare poem) I Am!

By Claire Adler · Edited by James Cooper · Last reviewed August 14, 2022

1 When was John Clare born?

The mid eighteenth century

The mid nineteenth century

The late eighteenth century

The early nineteenth century
2 Which of the following is NOT true of Clare's parents?

They became estranged from Clare later in life

They were barely literate

They were from London

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

Mary Joyce

John Keats

Patty Turner

Susan Smith
4 What was Clare's first book?

The Village Minstrel and Other Poems

Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery

The Rural Muse

The Shepherd's Calendar
5 Which of the following best describes Clare's poetic career during his life?

He published many volumes, but remained largely unknown

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

His first book was a failure, but he gradually earned respect with his subsequent volumes

He never published his poetry during his life
6 Where was Clare when he wrote "I Am!"?

Helpston

London

Northampton Lunatic Asylum

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

The instability of the individual

The beauty of the countryside

The evils of social isolation

The uncertainty of existence
8 What is the rhyme scheme of "I Am!"?

aabbcc

abcabc

ababab

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

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

Free verse (no fixed meter)

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 the exclusive attribute of poets

As dependent on the perception of other people

As the one thing independent of other people's opinions

As entirely non-existent
11 Which of the following BEST replaces the word vapours in line 6?

Odors

Mists

Specters

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

My friends forsake me like a memory lost

Into the living sea of waking dreams

Like shadows in love’s frenzied stifled throes

And yet I am, and live—like vapours tossed
13 What characteristic of the sea is MOST relevant to Clare's use of it as a symbol in stanza 2?

Its turbulence

Its vastness

Its capacity to drown him

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

Worships

Respects

Goals

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

Alien

Weird

Distant

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

Simile

Parallelism

Metaphor

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

The apocalypse

A return to childhood

Sleep

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

The destruction of the countryside

Existence without a sense of self

The speaker's failure to achieve his goals

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

But the vast shipwreck of my life’s esteems

I am the self-consumer of my woes

Like shadows in love’s frenzied stifled throes

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

Grieve

Play

Live

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

Mournful and reflective

Resentful and frustrated

Overwhelmed and emotional

Cheerful and hopeful
22 How does the speaker see grief?

As something that makes him stronger

As an inevitable part of life

As something that brings him closer to God

As a problem
23 Which images in "I Am!' suggest impermanence?

Memory, the grass, vapours

Memory, vapours, the sea

The grass, the sea, vapours

Memory, vapours, dreams
24 How does the third stanza differ from the first two?

The speaker comes up with a solution to his problem

The speaker entirely abandons hope

The speaker's tone becomes mournful and yearning

The speaker believes his life can improve
25 In which line does Clare NOT use syntax to question the role of the individual?

There to abide with my Creator, God

But the vast shipwreck of my life’s esteems

I am the self-consumer of my woes

I am—yet what I am none cares or knows

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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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