Paul Laurence Dunbar – The Sparrow – Exam Based MCQs
1. “The Sparrow” is written by: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Langston Hughes
B) Claude McKay
C) Paul Laurence Dunbar
D) Countee Cullen
Ans: C) Paul Laurence Dunbar
2. “The Sparrow” appears in Dunbar’s collection: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Lyrics of Lowly Life
B) Harlem Shadows
C) Copper Sun
D) Cane
Ans: A) Lyrics of Lowly Life
3. Lyrics of Lowly Life was published in: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) 1903
B) 1925
C) 1885
D) 1896
Ans: D) 1896
4. The opening line of the poem is: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) “So birds of peace and hope and love”
B) “Beside my window flutters down”
C) “A little bird, with plumage brown,”
D) “But I work on, nor heed its lay,”
Ans: C) “A little bird, with plumage brown,”
5. “The Sparrow” is a poem of: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) 16 lines
B) 14 lines
C) 24 lines
D) 32 lines
Ans: A) 16 lines
6. The poem is divided into: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Two octaves
B) Four quatrains
C) One long stanza
D) Three sestets
Ans: A) Two octaves
7. The little bird in the first stanza comes to: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) Steal grain
B) Build a nest
C) Call the speaker’s attention with its song
D) Escape from a hunter
Ans: C) Call the speaker’s attention with its song
8. The bird taps on the speaker’s: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Door
B) Roof
C) Table
D) Window-pane
Ans: D) Window-pane
9. The speaker’s immediate response to the bird is: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Delight and welcome
B) Indifference / neglect
C) Fear
D) Anger
Ans: B) Indifference / neglect
10. Because the speaker ignores it, the sparrow eventually: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) Dies
B) Sings louder
C) Builds a nest
D) Flies away
Ans: D) Flies away
11. In the second stanza, the birds symbolize: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Anger and revenge
B) Peace, hope, and love
C) Death and destruction
D) Wealth and fame
Ans: B) Peace, hope, and love
12. The phrase “fluttering earthward from above” suggests gifts that come from: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Commerce
B) Politics
C) Nature / higher grace
D) Machinery
Ans: C) Nature / higher grace
13. The “window-sills” in the second stanza symbolically represent: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) Mere architecture only
B) The point of entry into human life
C) A courtroom barrier
D) A school bench
Ans: B) The point of entry into human life
14. The line “And ease our load of earthly ills” suggests that these symbolic birds bring: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) More suffering
B) Political reform
C) Financial gain
D) Comfort and relief
Ans: D) Comfort and relief
15. The main reason humans miss these gifts, according to the poem, is that they are: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Too engaged in traffic’s rush and din
B) Too religious
C) Too joyful
D) Too isolated in the countryside
Ans: A) Too engaged in traffic’s rush and din
16. “The Sparrow” is mainly a poem about: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Hunting birds
B) Missed spiritual and emotional opportunities
C) Rural farming methods
D) Political protest only
Ans: B) Missed spiritual and emotional opportunities
17. The speaker realizes the loss of the sparrow: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Before it comes
B) Only after it is gone
C) When it first chirps
D) Never
Ans: B) Only after it is gone
18. The poem’s tone is best described as: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) Comic and mocking
B) Violent and angry
C) Gentle, reflective, and regretful
D) Purely celebratory
Ans: C) Gentle, reflective, and regretful
19. The sparrow in the poem most clearly functions as a: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Literal hunting target
B) Symbol
C) Historical character
D) Political agent
Ans: B) Symbol
20. The poem most strongly suggests that modern life can: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) Deepen sensitivity always
B) Make people more attentive
C) Encourage spiritual awareness
D) Deaden the heart and senses
Ans: D) Deaden the heart and senses
21. The poem contrasts the sparrow’s song with: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Traffic’s rush and din
B) Silent forests
C) Church bells
D) A soldier’s cry
Ans: A) Traffic’s rush and din
22. The phrase “deadened heart and sense” implies: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Physical illness only
B) Emotional and spiritual numbness
C) Joyful excitement
D) Political awareness
Ans: B) Emotional and spiritual numbness
23. “The Sparrow” is best categorized as: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) A reflective lyric
B) A dramatic monologue
C) An epic fragment
D) A mock epic
Ans: A) A reflective lyric
24. The structure of the poem works mainly through: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) A personal incident followed by its moral/spiritual application
B) A love story followed by tragedy
C) A battle description followed by victory
D) A dialogue between two speakers
Ans: A) A personal incident followed by its moral/spiritual application
25. The poem’s first stanza focuses on: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) A concrete bird incident
B) Political commentary
C) Dunbar’s biography
D) Religious doctrine only
Ans: A) A concrete bird incident
26. The second stanza broadens the meaning into: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) A historical narrative
B) A universal moral reflection
C) A comic anecdote
D) A war report
Ans: B) A universal moral reflection
27. The poem’s message is closest to: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Notice small blessings before they pass
B) Ignore nature and work harder
C) Avoid birds in the city
D) Fame is more important than peace
Ans: A) Notice small blessings before they pass
28. The sparrow’s plumage is described as: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Brown
B) Golden
C) White
D) Blue
Ans: A) Brown
29. The bird “hops along” mainly to: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) Escape danger
B) Call the speaker’s notice to its song
C) Find food on the floor
D) Build a nest
Ans: B) Call the speaker’s notice to its song
30. The speaker “works on” because he is: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Too busy to notice grace
B) Afraid of birds
C) Angry with the sparrow
D) Sleeping
Ans: A) Too busy to notice grace
31. The birds of peace, hope, and love come from: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) “above”
B) the market
C) the sea
D) the forest alone
Ans: A) “above”
32. The poem’s chief contrast is between: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) Song and silence only
B) Nature’s gentle call and human busyness
C) Rich and poor only
D) City and village government
Ans: B) Nature’s gentle call and human busyness
33. Dunbar’s “The Sparrow” may also be read as a poem about: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Receptivity to grace
B) Military heroism
C) Industrial invention
D) Comic satire only
Ans: A) Receptivity to grace
34. The poem is NOT mainly about: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Hope
B) Peace
C) Love
D) War strategy
Ans: D) War strategy
35. Which statement is TRUE about “The Sparrow”? (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) It has two stanzas and turns from literal bird to symbolic meaning
B) It is a long epic poem
C) It is written in dialect
D) It is a dramatic play
Ans: A) It has two stanzas and turns from literal bird to symbolic meaning
36. The poem’s best short label is: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Reflective moral lyric
B) Mock epic
C) Historical narrative
D) Dramatic monologue
Ans: A) Reflective moral lyric
37. The poem invites readers to cultivate: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Attention and openness
B) Suspicion of nature
C) Political ambition
D) Fear of silence
Ans: A) Attention and openness
38. The poem’s emotional effect comes mainly from: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) Regret after neglect
B) Violent conflict
C) Loud celebration
D) Political satire
Ans: A) Regret after neglect
39. The speaker’s neglect in the first stanza mirrors human neglect of: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) peace, hope, and love in the second stanza
B) politics and law
C) food and shelter
D) school and work
Ans: A) peace, hope, and love in the second stanza
40. The poem’s moral is best expressed as: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Small moments of grace should not be ignored
B) Work matters more than all else
C) Birds cannot teach humans
D) Love always returns
Ans: A) Small moments of grace should not be ignored
41. Dunbar’s “The Sparrow” is especially suitable for discussing: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) symbolism and moral reflection
B) medieval warfare
C) epic invocation
D) scientific rationalism only
Ans: A) symbolism and moral reflection
42. The poem’s language is best described as: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) simple and direct
B) highly obscure
C) purely dialectal
D) legalistic
Ans: A) simple and direct
43. The poem’s broader spiritual implication is that blessings: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) often go unnoticed until too late
B) must be earned by wealth
C) come only through institutions
D) are always obvious
Ans: A) often go unnoticed until too late
44. “The Sparrow” most strongly opposes: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) inattentive, hurried living
B) country life
C) love itself
D) birdsong
Ans: A) inattentive, hurried living
45. The speaker’s loss is primarily: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) spiritual and emotional
B) financial
C) political
D) military
Ans: A) spiritual and emotional
46. The poem suggests that beauty and grace are: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) fleeting if neglected
B) always permanent and waiting
C) available only to the rich
D) irrelevant to work
Ans: A) fleeting if neglected
47. The sparrow’s song can be interpreted as a: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) call to awareness
B) threat
C) political speech
D) legal warning
Ans: A) call to awareness
48. Paul Laurence Dunbar is historically important as: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) one of the first African American poets to gain national recognition
B) a medieval poet
C) a playwright only
D) a Victorian novelist
Ans: A) one of the first African American poets to gain national recognition
49. The best short critical description of “The Sparrow” is: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) a short lyric about a bird that becomes a lesson about neglected grace
B) a war ballad
C) a comic monologue
D) an epic fragment
Ans: A) a short lyric about a bird that becomes a lesson about neglected grace
50. The overall message of “The Sparrow” is that: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) life’s gifts must be received with attention before they disappear
B) work should always come first
C) birds should be ignored
D) love is impossible in modern life
Ans: A) life’s gifts must be received with attention before they disappear
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