The Waste Land Quizzes

The Waste Land Quiz 1

1 Which month is the "cruellest"?
May

April

December

September
2 Where is the Starnbergersee?
in Michigan

just outside London

in Paris

near Munich
3 "The river sweats...
oil and tar."

fumes and fire."

saffron and lilac."

water."
4 Who is demobbed?
Lil's husband

Prufrock

Sweeney

Madame Sosostris
5 "Demobbed" means:
"awarded with a medal of honor"

"released from the army"

"killed"

"lynched"
6 What battle did Stetson supposedly participate in?
Waterloo

the Battle of the Bulge

the Battle of Britain

Mylae
7 "By the waters of ____ I sat down and wept..."
Leman

the Nile

the Seine

the Thames
8 Which of the following cities is mentioned in "The Waste Land"?
Marseilles

Novgorod

Timbuktu

Vienna
9 Magnus Martyr is a:
church

ocean

football stadium

epic poem
10 The opening section of "The Waste Land" is entitled:
"The Fire Sermon"

"The Burial of the Dead"

"Death by Water"

"Shantih"
11 Who visits the typist?
Prufrock

a Bradford millionaire

Mrs. Porter

the young man carbuncular
12 Who witnesses the visit?
Tiresias

Madame Sosostris

Vivienne

Ezra Pound
13 The clairvoyant is named
Vivienne

Madame Sosostris

Aldous Huxley

Mrs. Porter
14 Mr. Eugenides is a:
witch doctor

filmmaker

poet

merchant
15 Mr. Eugenides invites the Narrator to:
the Cannon Street Hotel

Venice

the Plaza

the Ritz Carlton
16 "the _____ hour"
violet

indigo

aqua

turquoise
17 Who is "throbbing between two lives"?
the typist

Tiresias

Mr. Eugenides

Phlebas
18 The narrator is told that he should fear death by:
starvation

disease

water

fire
19 "When lovely woman stoops to folly" is an allusion to:
the Koran

Hamlet

Ovid's Metamorphoses

Oliver Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield
20 Who rapes Philomela?
the typist

Odysseus

Tereus

Zeus
21 Translate "Oed' und leer das Meer"
"Desolate and empty is the sea"

"The ship has arrived, appearing on the horizon"

"A kiss is just a kiss"

"Isolde is lost forever"
22 Which of the following works of literature does Eliot NOT cite?
Hamlet

The Inferno

On The Road

The Spanish Tragedie
23 In what city is Queen Victoria Street (in the poem)?
Boston

Gloucester

London

New York
24 What does the Narrator know when confronted with the hyacinth girl?
nothing

the way to restore fruitfulness to the wasteland

the meaning of life

the reason he is in love
25 Who is "known to be the wisest woman in Europe, / With a wicked pack of cards"?
Cleopatra

Mrs. Porter

the typist

Madame Sosostris

The title, The Burial of the Dead, speaks to the theme of death and loss and the continuity of suffering and spiritual decay.

Asked by bonface g #509926

Answered by jill d #170087 on 2/21/2024 11:04 AM

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What is the actual setting of the wasteland Eliot describes?

The Waste Land is set in a post war wastelend... a place destroyed by a massive war. The poem was written post WWI.

Asked by tingali

Answered by jill d #170087 on 7/7/2023 10:24 AM

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What does the thunder say? Why does Eliot suggest bringing order to self in a disordered world?

The poem closes with the repetition of the three words the thunder said: "Give, show compassion, and control yourself." This is what will help a disordered world.

Asked by Riya D #1270286

Answered by Aslan on 11/20/2022 6:03 PM

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The Waste Land

by T.S. Eliot

The Waste Land Quiz 1

The Waste Land Questions and Answers

Study Guide for The Waste Land

Essays for The Waste Land

Lesson Plan for The Waste Land

E-Text of The Waste Land

Wikipedia Entries for The Waste Land