When I Was One-and-Twenty Quizzes

When I Was One-and-Twenty "When I Was One-and-Twenty"

1 When did Housman write the majority of his poetry?

The mid nineteenth century

The early twentieth century

The late nineteenth century

The early nineteenth century
2 Who is the speaker of “When I Was One-and-Twenty”?

A middle-aged man from the countryside

An old man who has moved to the city

A young man from the countryside

A younger version of Housman
3 Which of the following best describes Housman's character as a scholar?

Lax

Garrulous

Witty

Confrontational
4 Which of the following does not describes Housman as a poet?

Sentimental

Old-fashioned

Witty

Scholarly
5 What is the title of Housman's most famous collection of poems?

A Shropshire Lad

A London Lad

A Shropshire Boy

A London Boy
6 How long are the stanzas in "When I Was One-and-Twenty"?

Eight Lines

Seven Lines

Sixteen Lines

Six Lines
7 What is the rhyme scheme of "When I Was One-and-Twenty"?

ABCBADAD

ABCBCDAD

The two stanzas do not share a rhyme scheme

ABABABAB
8 How does the speaker characterize himself in the past?

Proud

Poor

Stupid

Happy
9 How does the wise man describe love?

As a feeling that should be reserved for God

As an overwhelming force

As a transaction

As a relationship with other people
10 What does the ending of the first stanza imply?

The speaker is in love now but not then

The speaker was already in love

The speaker never fell in love

The speaker gave away his heart
11 Which of the following best describes Housman's version of rural life?

Idealized

Demonized

Accurate

Critical
12 Who was the primary audience of pastoral poetry?

Urbanites attracted to the fantasy of rural life

Suburbanites who saw themselves as rural

Rural people who had moved to the city and were nostalgic for what they left behind

Rural people reading about their own lives
13 Which of the following is not an example of "old-fashioned" language in "When I Was One-and-Twenty"?

Rue

Bosom

Guinea

'Tis
14 Which element of pastoral poetry does Housman employ most frequently?

Simple, innocent speaker

Focus on shepherds

Descriptions of the countryside

Religious allegory
15 Why might Housman have been attracted to the pastoral genre?

He wanted to criticize the genre

He found it freeing

He was himself from Shropshire

He believed all scholarship should be emotional
16 What does the phrase "in vain" usually connote?

A costly expenditure

A valuable sacrifice

A tragic heartbreak

A bad deal
17 How do the last two lines subvert the reader's expectations?

We assumed the speaker was learned

We assumed the wise man was wrong

We assumed the speaker had a positive view of love

We assumed the speaker was older
18 What is ironic about the wise man's allusion to "endless" woe?

The speaker's youth means he can't know that his grief is really endless

The speaker is only sad because he never found love

In reality, the speaker has already gotten over the pain of love

None of the above
19 How does the irony of "When I Was One-and-Twenty" change the mood of the poem?

It reveals Housman's hatred of the speaker

It renders the poem more optimistic

It renders the poem more bitter

It renders the poem more pessimisstic
20 What does "When I Was One-and-Twenty" suggest about love?

Love is just a transaction, and the lover always ends up losing

A cynical attitude about love can be just as naive as a hopeful one

True love is something only young people can experience

Love is painful, but the pain is worth it
21 How does Housman NOT characterize the speaker?

As a bit foolish

As bitter

As wise

As world-weary
22 What is suspicious about the "wise man"?

He doesn't listen to the young man's response

The advice he gives turns out to be incorrect

The advice he gives serves to benefit him

His wisdom is in the eyes of the youthful speaker
23 Which of the following is a similarity between "When I Was One-and-Twenty" and the famous pastoral poem "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" by Christopher Marlowe?

Both poems are writen in a sing-song style

Both poems describe the beauty of the countryside

Both poems are ironic

Both poems emphasize pleasure
24 When and where did the pastoral tradition originate?

Renaissance England

Ancient Greece

Ancient Rome

The English industrial revolution
25 How does the wise man's transactional vision of love evolve over the course of the poem?

It is proven wrong by the joys of love

It remains stable throughout the poem

It becomes more pronounced

It is tempered by grief

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Study Guide for When I Was One-and-Twenty

When I Was One-and-Twenty study guide contains a biography of A. E. Housman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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