The Lucy Poems are a group of five lyrical works by William Wordsworth, written between 1798 and 1801. They reflect themes of nature, love, beauty, and loss, centered around a mysterious girl named Lucy. The five poems include: “Strange fits of passion have I known,” “She dwelt among the untrodden ways,” “I travelled among unknown men,” “Three years she grew in sun and shower,” and “A slumber did my spirit seal.” Set against natural landscapes, these poems highlight Lucy’s purity and the sorrow of her untimely death. They remain some of Wordsworth’s most poignant reflections on human emotion and mortality.
- Who is the author of the poem “Three years she grew in sun and shower”?
a) Samuel Taylor Coleridge
b) Lord Byron
c) William Wordsworth
d) John Keats
Answer: c) William Wordsworth - In what collection was “Three years she grew in sun and shower” primarily published?
a) Songs of Innocence
b) The Excursion
c) Lyrical Ballads, with Other Poems (second edition)
d) Manfred
Answer: c) Lyrical Ballads, with Other Poems (second edition) - What is the approximate publication year of the collection that includes this poem?
a) 1798
b) 1800
c) 1807
d) 1814
Answer: b) 1800 - For how long did “she” grow in “sun and shower”?
a) One year
b) Two years
c) Three years
d) Four years
Answer: c) Three years - Who is the speaker in the first six stanzas of the poem?
a) The poet
b) Lucy
c) Nature
d) An observer
Answer: c) Nature - How does Nature describe Lucy as a “flower”?
a) A common flower
b) A withered flower
c) A lovelier flower than ever sown on earth
d) A fragile flower
Answer: c) A lovelier flower than ever sown on earth - What does Nature decide to do with this Child?
a) Leave her with her parents
b) Take her to herself
c) Send her to school
d) Hide her from the world
Answer: b) Take her to herself - What does Nature promise to make Lucy?
a) A queen
b) A scholar
c) A Lady of her own
d) A musician
Answer: c) A Lady of her own - What two things will Nature be to her “darling”?
a) Mother and father
b) Law and impulse
c) Guide and friend
d) Teacher and student
Answer: b) Law and impulse - In which natural settings will the Girl feel Nature’s overseeing power?
a) Only in gardens
b) In rock and plain, in earth and heaven, in glade and bower
c) Only in human dwellings
d) In cities and towns
Answer: b) In rock and plain, in earth and heaven, in glade and bower - What will Nature’s overseeing power do to Lucy?
a) Confine or restrict
b) Kindle or restrain
c) Abandon or neglect
d) Educate or ignore
Answer: b) Kindle or restrain - How will Lucy be “sportive”?
a) As a playful kitten
b) As the fawn that wild with glee across the lawn
c) As a merry bird
d) As a running child
Answer: b) As the fawn that wild with glee across the lawn - What will belong to Lucy regarding natural sounds?
a) The roaring thunder
b) The breathing balm and the silence and the calm
c) The clamor of the wind
d) The crashing waves
Answer: b) The breathing balm and the silence and the calm - To what kind of things will the “silence and the calm” belong?
a) Vocal creatures
b) Mute insensate things
c) Singing birds
d) Lively animals
Answer: b) Mute insensate things - What will “the floating clouds” lend to Lucy?
a) Their moisture
b) Their state (grace/majesty)
c) Their darkness
d) Their speed
Answer: b) Their state (grace/majesty) - What will the willow tree do for her?
a) Provide shade
b) Bear fruit
c) Bend
d) Stand tall
Answer: c) Bend - What will Lucy not fail to see even in the motions of the Storm?
a) Fear
b) Chaos
c) Grace that shall mold her form
d) Destruction
Answer: c) Grace that shall mold her form - How will this grace mold the Maiden’s form?
a) By direct intervention
b) By silent sympathy
c) Through loud instruction
d) With visible effort
Answer: b) By silent sympathy - What will be “dear” to Lucy from the sky?
a) The morning sun
b) The stars of midnight
c) The rainbow
d) The moon
Answer: b) The stars of midnight - Where will she lean her ear?
a) In her bed
b) In many a secret place
c) To the wind
d) To human voices
Answer: b) In many a secret place - What flows in these “secret places”?
a) Mighty rivers
b) Rivulets that dance their wayward round
c) Still lakes
d) Cascading waterfalls
Answer: b) Rivulets that dance their wayward round - What “beauty born of murmuring sound” will pass into her face?
a) The sound of the wind
b) The sound of the rivulets
c) The sound of distant music
d) The sound of birdsong
Answer: b) The sound of the rivulets - What will rear Lucy’s form to “stately height”?
a) Human nourishment
b) Vital feelings of delight
c) Physical exercise
d) Academic study
Answer: b) Vital feelings of delight - What will “swell” her “virgin bosom”?
a) Pride
b) Such thoughts (from Nature)
c) Food
d) Fear
Answer: b) Such thoughts (from Nature) - Where do Nature and Lucy intend to live together?
a) In a bustling city
b) In this happy dell
c) On a mountaintop
d) By the ocean
Answer: b) In this happy dell - What happened immediately after Nature “spake” and “the work was done”?
a) Lucy grew old.
b) Lucy’s race was run; she died.
c) Lucy became famous.
d) Lucy disappeared.
Answer: b) Lucy’s race was run; she died. - What did Lucy leave to the speaker?
a) Wealth and possessions
b) This heath, this calm, and quiet scene
c) A new life
d) Great sadness
Answer: b) This heath, this calm, and quiet scene - What else did Lucy leave the speaker?
a) A promise for the future
b) The memory of what has been, and never more will be
c) A task to complete
d) A letter
Answer: b) The memory of what has been, and never more will be - What is the central theme of the poem?
a) The joy of childhood
b) Nature’s education of a child and the profound grief of her loss
c) The beauty of landscapes
d) The power of human love
Answer: b) Nature’s education of a child and the profound grief of her loss - The poem is a part of which famous series by Wordsworth?
a) The River Duddon Sonnets
b) The Lucy Poems
c) The Immortality Odes
d) The Tintern Abbey poems
Answer: b) The Lucy Poems
- In “A lovelier flower / On earth was never sown,” what does “sown” primarily mean?
a) Planted or cultivated
b) Scattered carelessly
c) Hidden from view
d) Built
Answer: a) Planted or cultivated - In “Both law and impulse,” what does “impulse” refer to in this context?
a) A sudden urge
b) A driving force or instinct
c) A legal command
d) A type of punishment
Answer: b) A driving force or instinct - What does “glade” mean in the second stanza?
a) A steep cliff
b) An open space in a forest
c) A deep cave
d) A large body of water
Answer: b) An open space in a forest - What does “bower” mean in the second stanza?
a) A large tree trunk
b) A leafy, shady retreat or arbor
c) A tall building
d) A thorny bush
Answer: b) A leafy, shady retreat or arbor - In “To kindle or restrain,” what does “kindle” mean?
a) To extinguish
b) To ignite or excite
c) To soothe
d) To separate
Answer: b) To ignite or excite - What does “sportive” mean in the third stanza?
a) Athletic
b) Playful and lively
c) Strict and serious
d) Observant
Answer: b) Playful and lively - What is “breathing balm” likely referring to in the third stanza?
a) A medicinal ointment
b) Soothing, gentle air or fragrance
c) Heavy fog
d) A strong wind
Answer: b) Soothing, gentle air or fragrance - What does “insensate” mean in “mute insensate things”?
a) Highly emotional
b) Without feeling or consciousness
c) Very sensitive
d) Full of sense
Answer: b) Without feeling or consciousness - What does “state” mean in “The floating clouds their state shall lend / To her”?
a) A political entity
b) A condition of being, often majestic or dignified
c) A period of time
d) A fixed position
Answer: b) A condition of being, often majestic or dignified - What does “sympathy” mean in “By silent sympathy”?
a) Pity for someone’s misfortune
b) Shared feeling or harmonious influence
c) A formal agreement
d) Open communication
Answer: b) Shared feeling or harmonious influence - What are “rivulets” in the fifth stanza?
a) Large rivers
b) Small streams or brooks
c) Deep valleys
d) Mountain peaks
Answer: b) Small streams or brooks - What does “wayward round” imply about the rivulets?
a) They flow in a straight line.
b) They follow an unpredictable, winding course.
c) They always flow in circles.
d) They are very slow.
Answer: b) They follow an unpredictable, winding course. - What does “murmuring sound” evoke in the fifth stanza?
a) Loud noise
b) A soft, low, continuous sound
c) A sharp, sudden noise
d) Human speech
Answer: b) A soft, low, continuous sound - In “vital feelings of delight,” what does “vital” mean?
a) Insignificant
b) Essential for life or growth
c) Weak
d) Angry
Answer: b) Essential for life or growth - What does “stately height” mean in the sixth stanza?
a) Short stature
b) Imposing or dignified tallness
c) A high-pitched sound
d) A rapid climb
Answer: b) Imposing or dignified tallness - What is a “dell” in the context of “happy dell”?
a) A high mountain
b) A small, secluded valley or hollow
c) A large city
d) A wide plain
Answer: b) A small, secluded valley or hollow - What does “Lucy’s race was run!” signify?
a) She won a competition.
b) Her life had ended.
c) She started a new journey.
d) She completed a task.
Answer: b) Her life had ended. - What is a “heath” in the final stanza?
a) A dense forest
b) An area of open uncultivated land, often with heather
c) A cultivated field
d) A busy marketplace
Answer: b) An area of open uncultivated land, often with heather
- “Three years she grew in sun and shower” uses which figure of speech for “sun and shower”?
a) Metaphor (for growth conditions)
b) Personification
c) Synecdoche (where a part stands for the whole of weather conditions)
d) Hyperbole
Answer: c) Synecdoche (where a part stands for the whole of weather conditions) - “A lovelier flower / On earth was never sown” is an example of:
a) Simile
b) Metaphor (Lucy is directly compared to a flower)
c) Irony
d) Alliteration
Answer: b) Metaphor (Lucy is directly compared to a flower) - “Then Nature said, ‘A lovelier flower…'” is an example of:
a) Simile
b) Hyperbole
c) Onomatopoeia
d) Personification (Nature is given human ability to speak)
Answer: d) Personification (Nature is given human ability to speak) - “This Child I to myself will take; / She shall be mine, and I will make / A Lady of my own.” This entire passage represents Nature as:
a) A distant observer
b) A stern judge
c) A nurturing parent or guardian
d) A demanding master
Answer: c) A nurturing parent or guardian - “Myself will to my darling be / Both law and impulse” uses:
a) Juxtaposition
b) Paradox (implied contrast between strictness and freedom)
c) Oxymoron
d) Allusion
Answer: b) Paradox (implied contrast between strictness and freedom) - “Shall feel an overseeing power / To kindle or restrain” uses:
a) Metaphor
b) Antithesis (contrast between kindle and restrain)
c) Simile
d) Anaphora
Answer: b) Antithesis (contrast between kindle and restrain) - “She shall be sportive as the fawn” is an example of:
a) Metaphor
b) Personification
c) Simile (using “as”)
d) Apostrophe
Answer: c) Simile (using “as”) - “And her’s shall be the breathing balm, / And her’s the silence and the calm / Of mute insensate things.” This assigns human-like qualities (breathing, calm) to natural elements, which is a form of:
a) Hyperbole
b) Metonymy
c) Personification
d) Litotes
Answer: c) Personification - “The floating clouds their state shall lend / To her” is an example of:
a) Irony
b) Oxymoron
c) Personification (clouds lending their state)
d) Synecdoche
Answer: c) Personification (clouds lending their state) - “Even in the motions of the Storm / Grace that shall mold the Maiden’s form” uses:
a) Understatement
b) Allusion
c) Paradox (finding grace in a storm)
d) Analogy
Answer: c) Paradox (finding grace in a storm) - “The stars of midnight shall be dear / To her” is an example of:
a) Hyperbole
b) Litotes
c) Affective imagery (appealing to emotion)
d) Zeugma
Answer: c) Affective imagery (appealing to emotion) - “Where rivulets dance their wayward round” is an example of:
a) Simile
b) Metaphor
c) Personification (rivulets dancing)
d) Metonymy
Answer: c) Personification (rivulets dancing) - “And beauty born of murmuring sound / Shall pass into her face” suggests a spiritual or emotional transference, which can be interpreted as:
a) A literal physical change
b) A metaphorical absorption of natural beauty
c) A magical spell
d) A scientific process
Answer: b) A metaphorical absorption of natural beauty - “And vital feelings of delight / Shall rear her form to stately height” implies that emotions are capable of physical action, which is a form of:
a) Apostrophe
b) Hyperbole
c) Personification (feelings rearing a form)
d) Pun
Answer: c) Personification (feelings rearing a form) - “How soon my Lucy’s race was run!” is a common idiom meaning:
a) She ran a quick race.
b) Her life ended quickly.
c) She completed a task.
d) She lost a competition.
Answer: b) Her life ended quickly. - The final stanza’s contrast between Nature’s grand plans and Lucy’s sudden death creates:
a) A sense of triumph
b) Tragic irony
c) Comic relief
d) Romantic idealism
Answer: b) Tragic irony
- What is the implied age of Lucy when Nature takes her?
a) Newborn
b) Three years old
c) Teenager
d) Adult
Answer: b) Three years old - What kind of education does Nature provide Lucy?
a) Formal schooling
b) Moral and aesthetic development through natural influence
c) Practical skills
d) Scientific knowledge
Answer: b) Moral and aesthetic development through natural influence - The phrase “in sun and shower” in the first line suggests:
a) Alternating good and bad times
b) Growth under all weather conditions
c) A life lived outdoors
d) Rapid growth
Answer: b) Growth under all weather conditions - The poem’s shift in the final stanza from Nature’s voice to the speaker’s voice signifies:
a) A change in narrative perspective and the return to human grief
b) Nature’s abandonment of Lucy
c) The end of the poem’s theme
d) A sudden revelation about Nature
Answer: a) A change in narrative perspective and the return to human grief - What is Lucy’s ultimate fate in the poem?
a) She becomes a great poet.
b) She merges entirely with nature in death.
c) She leaves the dell.
d) She lives a long and happy life.
Answer: b) She merges entirely with nature in death. - The poem explores the Romantic idea of:
a) The supremacy of human civilization
b) The corrupting influence of nature
c) The formative and spiritual power of nature
d) The insignificance of individual lives
Answer: c) The formative and spiritual power of nature - How does the speaker feel about Lucy’s death in the final stanza?
a) Relieved
b) Indifferent
c) Profoundly saddened and left with only memories
d) Angry at Nature
Answer: c) Profoundly saddened and left with only memories - The use of past tense in the last stanza (“The work was done,” “She died”) highlights the theme of:
a) Future possibilities
b) Unchangeable reality and loss
c) Ongoing development
d) Endless cycles
Answer: b) Unchangeable reality and loss - The “memory of what has been, / And never more will be” emphasizes the speaker’s:
a) Hope for the future
b) Acceptance of a continuous cycle
c) Sense of irreversible loss
d) Desire to forget
Answer: c) Sense of irreversible loss - What is the emotional impact of the sudden ending after Nature’s detailed plan?
a) It creates a sense of peaceful resolution.
b) It delivers a sharp, poignant shock.
c) It makes the poem feel incomplete.
d) It generates humor.
Answer: b) It delivers a sharp, poignant shock.