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 late nineteenth century

The early nineteenth century

The early twentieth century

The mid nineteenth century
2 Who is the speaker of “When I Was One-and-Twenty”?
A younger version of Housman

A young man from the countryside

A middle-aged man from the countryside

An old man who has moved to the city
3 Which of the following best describes Housman's character as a scholar?
Garrulous

Confrontational

Lax

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

Old-fashioned

Sentimental

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

A Shropshire Lad

A Shropshire Boy

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

Eight Lines

Seven Lines

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

ABCBADAD

The two stanzas do not share a rhyme scheme

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

Happy

Stupid

Proud
9 How does the wise man describe love?
As a relationship with other people

As a transaction

As a feeling that should be reserved for God

As an overwhelming force
10 What does the ending of the first stanza imply?
The speaker never fell in love

The speaker was already in love

The speaker is in love now but not then

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

Demonized

Critical

Accurate
12 Who was the primary audience of pastoral poetry?
Rural people reading about their own lives

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

Urbanites attracted to the fantasy of rural life

Suburbanites who saw themselves as rural
13 Which of the following is not an example of "old-fashioned" language in "When I Was One-and-Twenty"?
'Tis

Rue

Bosom

Guinea
14 Which element of pastoral poetry does Housman employ most frequently?
Focus on shepherds

Descriptions of the countryside

Religious allegory

Simple, innocent speaker
15 Why might Housman have been attracted to the pastoral genre?
He wanted to criticize the genre

He believed all scholarship should be emotional

He found it freeing

He was himself from Shropshire
16 What does the phrase "in vain" usually connote?
A bad deal

A valuable sacrifice

A tragic heartbreak

A costly expenditure
17 How do the last two lines subvert the reader's expectations?
We assumed the speaker had a positive view of love

We assumed the speaker was learned

We assumed the wise man was wrong

We assumed the speaker was older
18 What is ironic about the wise man's allusion to "endless" woe?
The speaker is only sad because he never found love

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

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

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

It reveals Housman's hatred of the speaker

It renders the poem more pessimisstic

It renders the poem more bitter
20 What does "When I Was One-and-Twenty" suggest about love?
Love is painful, but the pain is worth it

True love is something only young people can experience

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

Love is just a transaction, and the lover always ends up losing
21 How does Housman NOT characterize the speaker?
As world-weary

As bitter

As wise

As a bit foolish
22 What is suspicious about the "wise man"?
The advice he gives turns out to be incorrect

His wisdom is in the eyes of the youthful speaker

The advice he gives serves to benefit him

He doesn't listen to the young man's response
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 describe the beauty of the countryside

Both poems are ironic

Both poems emphasize pleasure

Both poems are writen in a sing-song style
24 When and where did the pastoral tradition originate?
The English industrial revolution

Renaissance England

Ancient Greece

Ancient Rome
25 How does the wise man's transactional vision of love evolve over the course of the poem?
It is tempered by grief

It is proven wrong by the joys of love

It becomes more pronounced

It remains stable throughout the poem

When I Was One-and-Twenty Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for When I Was One-and-Twenty is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Ask Your Own Question

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.

Read the Study Guide for When I Was One-and-Twenty…