E.E. Cummings’ poem The Cambridge Ladies, Exam based questions

E.E. Cummings'

The Cambridge Ladies

1. Who are the “Cambridge ladies” in the poem? (NET, PGTRB, SET, CUET)

a) Women of Harvard University

b) Religious, conformist, and materialistic upper-class women

c) Radical poets and thinkers

d) University professors’ wives

Answer: b) Religious, conformist, and materialistic upper-class women

2. What does the phrase “furnished souls” suggest in the poem? (TNPSC, NET, UPSC)

a) Their souls are well-decorated with love

b) Their souls are empty but filled with artificial values and conventions

c) Their souls are enlightened with philosophy

d) Their souls are artistic and creative

Answer: b) Their souls are empty but filled with artificial values and conventions

3. Which literary device is most prominent in the title “The Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls”? (NET, CUET, SET)

a) Metaphor

b) Personification

c) Irony

d) Hyperbole

Answer: c) Irony

4. What do the “Cambridge ladies” value most, according to the poem? (PGTRB, TNPSC, NET)

a) Freedom and individuality

b) Conventional religion, materialism, and gossip

c) Love for nature

d) Poetry and fine arts

Answer: b) Conventional religion, materialism, and gossip

5. Which bird is mentioned as a contrast to the artificial lives of the Cambridge ladies? (CUET, NET, PGTRB)

a) Lark

b) Nightingale

c) Moon

d) Spring bird (especially in nature’s freshness)

Answer: b) Nightingale

6. What is the tone of Cummings in “The Cambridge Ladies”? (NET, UPSC, TNPSC)

a) Romantic and admiring

b) Satirical and mocking

c) Sympathetic and gentle

d) Neutral and objective

Answer: b) Satirical and mocking

7. What does the poem criticize most strongly? (UPSC, CUET, NET)

a) Academic learning

b) Hypocrisy and superficiality of upper-class women

c) Political corruption

d) Poverty and inequality

Answer: b) Hypocrisy and superficiality of upper-class women

8. Which stylistic feature of Cummings is evident in this poem? (SET, NET, PGTRB)

a) Strict adherence to sonnet form

b) Unconventional capitalization and punctuation

c) Rhymed heroic couplets

d) Epic narrative style

Answer: b) Unconventional capitalization and punctuation