Exam Based Questions, Thomas Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

Exam Based Questions, Thomas Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

Thomas Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

1. The central theme of Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2020)

A) The transience of life and inevitability of death

B) The triumph of the monarchy

C) The glory of war

D) The joy of nature

Ans: A) The transience of life and inevitability of death

2. Thomas Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard was completed in: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2021)

A) 1750

B) 1740

C) 1760

D) 1730

Ans: A) 1750

3. The poem was first published in: (PGTRB 2020, UGC NET 2020)

A) 1751

B) 1749

C) 1765

D) 1770

Ans: A) 1751

4. The poem opens with the image of: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2021)

A) Evening in a churchyard

B) Morning in a garden

C) A battle in progress

D) A celebration in a town

Ans: A) Evening in a churchyard

5. The line "The curfew tolls the knell of parting day" suggests: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2020)

A) The end of life

B) The start of a war

C) A wedding ceremony

D) A festival

Ans: A) The end of life

6. The poem is primarily written in: (PGTRB 2021, UGC NET 2021)

A) Heroic quatrains

B) Blank verse

C) Rhymed couplets

D) Terza rima

Ans: A) Heroic quatrains

7. Heroic quatrains consist of: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2019)

A) Four lines with ABAB rhyme scheme

B) Six lines with AABBCC rhyme scheme

C) Three lines with ABA rhyme scheme

D) Four lines with AAAA rhyme scheme

Ans: A) Four lines with ABAB rhyme scheme

8. The villagers described in the poem are: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2020)

A) Simple, humble, and unknown

B) Famous and wealthy

C) Warriors and conquerors

D) Poets and philosophers

Ans: A) Simple, humble, and unknown

9. The graves in the churchyard symbolize: (PGTRB 2020, UGC NET 2020)

A) The equality of all people in death

B) Social hierarchy

C) The victory of kings

D) The cruelty of fate

Ans: A) The equality of all people in death

10. Gray’s elegy belongs to the tradition of: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2021)

A) Graveyard poetry

B) Epic poetry

C) Satirical poetry

D) Dramatic monologue

Ans: A) Graveyard poetry

11. Graveyard poetry typically focuses on: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2019)

A) Meditation on mortality

B) Celebration of heroes

C) Scientific discovery

D) Courtly love

Ans: A) Meditation on mortality

12. The poem reflects: (PGTRB 2021, UGC NET 2021)

A) Pre-Romantic sensibility

B) Pure Neoclassicism

C) Modernism

D) Realism

Ans: A) Pre-Romantic sensibility

13. Thomas Gray was a: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2020)

A) Scholar and poet

B) Farmer and preacher

C) Soldier and politician

D) Scientist and explorer

Ans: A) Scholar and poet

14. The phrase "mute inglorious Milton" refers to: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2021)

A) Talented people who lived and died in obscurity

B) Milton’s silence during wars

C) Poets who write in secret

D) Religious leaders

Ans: A) Talented people who lived and died in obscurity

15. The "paths of glory" lead to: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2019)

A) The grave

B) Eternal fame

C) Heaven

D) The battlefield

Ans: A) The grave

16. Gray’s elegy emphasizes: (PGTRB 2020, UGC NET 2020)

A) The universality of death

B) Political revolution

C) Scientific advancement

D) The rise of industrialization

Ans: A) The universality of death

17. The narrator imagines his own: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2021)

A) Epitaph

B) Marriage

C) Journey to foreign lands

D) Victory in war

Ans: A) Epitaph

18. The "hoary-headed swain" in the poem is: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2020)

A) An old farmer

B) A priest

C) A soldier

D) A king

Ans: A) An old farmer

19. The elegy reflects concerns of: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2021)

A) Human mortality and social equality

B) Scientific progress

C) Royal succession

D) Economic policies

Ans: A) Human mortality and social equality

20. The tone of the poem is: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2020)

A) Reflective and somber

B) Joyful and celebratory

C) Humorous

D) Aggressive

Ans: A) Reflective and somber

21. The "boast of heraldry" refers to: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2019)

A) Social status and lineage

B) Military strength

C) Artistic talent

D) Religious devotion

Ans: A) Social status and lineage

22. Gray’s elegy criticizes: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2020)

A) The emptiness of worldly fame

B) The practice of scientific inquiry

C) Religious superstition

D) Romantic love

Ans: A) The emptiness of worldly fame

23. The poem’s setting is: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2021)

A) A country churchyard at twilight

B) A royal court

C) A battlefield

D) A bustling city

Ans: A) A country churchyard at twilight

24. Gray’s elegy was written after the death of: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2019)

A) His close friend Richard West

B) His father

C) His mother

D) His mentor

Ans: A) His close friend Richard West

25. The elegy ends with: (PGTRB 2021, UGC NET 2021)

A) An epitaph for the poet himself

B) A political statement

C) A marriage celebration

D) A call to arms

Ans: A) An epitaph for the poet himself

26. The poem influenced: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2020)

A) Romantic poets

B) Modernist poets

C) Victorian novelists

D) Gothic writers

Ans: A) Romantic poets

27. The poet calls death the: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2021)

A) Great equalizer

B) Ultimate punishment

C) Beginning of a new life

D) Road to glory

Ans: A) Great equalizer

28. "Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife" refers to: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2020)

A) The peaceful isolation of rural life

B) A war in Europe

C) Religious ceremonies

D) Business conflicts

Ans: A) The peaceful isolation of rural life

29. The poem’s mood is best described as: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2021)

A) Meditative melancholy

B) Comic relief

C) Fierce anger

D) Revolutionary zeal

Ans: A) Meditative melancholy

30. Gray’s elegy was admired by: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2019)

A) Samuel Johnson

B) Alexander Pope

C) John Milton

D) Jonathan Swift

Ans: A) Samuel Johnson

31. The poem describes rustic people as: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2020)

A) Innocent and humble

B) Dangerous and violent

C) Rich and powerful

D) Cunning and deceitful

Ans: A) Innocent and humble

32. The "cool sequestered vale of life" refers to: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2021)

A) A simple and quiet life

B) A prison

C) A palace garden

D) A battlefield

Ans: A) A simple and quiet life

33. Gray’s elegy represents the: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2021)

A) Shift from Neoclassicism to Romanticism

B) Height of Renaissance literature

C) Birth of Gothic fiction

D) Start of Modernism

Ans: A) Shift from Neoclassicism to Romanticism

34. The poem emphasizes the: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2020)

A) Dignity of common life

B) Glory of kings

C) Evils of technology

D) Futility of love

Ans: A) Dignity of common life

35. Thomas Gray was part of the: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2021)

A) Graveyard school of poetry

B) Metaphysical poets

C) Cavalier poets

D) Imagists

Ans: A) Graveyard school of poetry

36. The poem is considered: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2020)

A) A masterpiece of English lyric poetry

B) A political satire

C) A scientific treatise

D) A religious sermon

Ans: A) A masterpiece of English lyric poetry

37. The structure of the poem includes: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2021)

A) Elegiac stanzas

B) Blank verse passages

C) Prose interludes

D) Dramatic dialogue

Ans: A) Elegiac stanzas

38. The "youth to fortune and to fame unknown" symbolizes: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2020)

A) Those who die without recognition

B) Soldiers in battle

C) Philosophers in exile

D) Monarchs in disguise

Ans: A) Those who die without recognition

39. The poet suggests that ambition and grandeur: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2021)

A) Are meaningless in the face of death

B) Should be pursued at all costs

C) Lead to heavenly reward

D) Are reserved for the elite

Ans: A) Are meaningless in the face of death

40. The elegy’s reflection on life and death is considered: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2019)

A) Universal and timeless

B) Outdated and irrelevant

C) Romantic fantasy

D) Purely historical

Ans: A) Universal and timeless

41. The poem’s lasting popularity is due to its: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2021)

A) Deep emotional resonance and lyrical beauty

B) Complex scientific language

C) Use of mythological references

D) Political propaganda

Ans: A) Deep emotional resonance and lyrical beauty

42. The poem influenced the title of: (UGC NET 2020, PGTRB 2020)

A) Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd

B) Dickens’ Hard Times

C) Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

D) Brontë’s Jane Eyre

Ans: A) Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd

43. The poem captures the: (UGC NET 2021, PGTRB 2021)

A) Universal human experience of life and death

B) Industrial revolution

C) Political reforms of the 18th century

D) Colonial expansion of Britain

Ans: A) Universal human experience of life and death