Walt Whitman – Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking – Exam Based MCQs
1. Walt Whitman was a major poet of: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) America
B) England
C) Ireland
D) Canada
Ans: A) America
2. Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking is written by: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Emily Dickinson
B) Robert Frost
C) Walt Whitman
D) Ezra Pound
Ans: C) Walt Whitman
3. The poem Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking is included in: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Drum-Taps
B) Leaves of Grass
C) Song of Myself
D) A Passage to India
Ans: B) Leaves of Grass
4. The poem is primarily about the awakening of the: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2022; PGTRB 2023)
A) politician
B) warrior
C) poet
D) scientist
Ans: C) poet
5. The setting of the poem is mainly by the: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2021)
A) mountain
B) seashore
C) forest
D) city street
Ans: B) seashore
6. The central bird figures in the poem are: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2018; PGTRB 2022)
A) sparrows
B) eagles
C) mockingbirds
D) swans
Ans: C) mockingbirds
7. The poem begins with the recollection of the poet’s: (UGC NET 2021; SET 2023; PGTRB 2020)
A) old age
B) childhood
C) war experience
D) school days only
Ans: B) childhood
8. The bird in the poem laments the loss of its: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2023)
A) nest
B) mate
C) food
D) wings
Ans: B) mate
9. The male bird’s song is mainly a cry of: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) victory
B) patriotism
C) sorrow and longing
D) revenge
Ans: C) sorrow and longing
10. The absent female bird symbolizes: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2022; PGTRB 2022)
A) lost love
B) political defeat
C) industrial progress
D) religion only
Ans: A) lost love
11. The poem is strongly associated with the theme of: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2020)
A) commerce
B) death
C) politics
D) satire
Ans: B) death
12. The word whispered finally by the sea to the boy-poet is: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2023; PGTRB 2021)
A) freedom
B) love
C) death
D) hope
Ans: C) death
13. The sea in the poem acts as a: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2022)
A) merchant
B) teacher and symbol
C) judge only
D) comic device
Ans: B) teacher and symbol
14. Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking may best be described as a: (UGC NET 2021; SET 2022; PGTRB 2023)
A) dramatic monologue
B) lyric-narrative poem
C) sonnet
D) mock epic
Ans: B) lyric-narrative poem
15. The poem is notable for its use of: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2020)
A) heroic couplets
B) strict sonnet form
C) free verse
D) blank verse tragedy
Ans: C) free verse
16. Walt Whitman is often called the father of: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2022)
A) English tragedy
B) modern free verse in American poetry
C) metaphysical poetry
D) Augustan prose
Ans: B) modern free verse in American poetry
17. The child in the poem listens to the bird’s song with: (UGC NET 2015; SET 2021; PGTRB 2021)
A) indifference
B) fear only
C) deep sympathy
D) mockery
Ans: C) deep sympathy
18. The boy’s experience in the poem leads to: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2022; PGTRB 2023)
A) military ambition
B) poetic initiation
C) political action
D) religious conversion only
Ans: B) poetic initiation
19. The refrain-like movement of the sea suggests: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2023; PGTRB 2020)
A) mechanical industry
B) eternal rhythm
C) social satire
D) political rebellion
Ans: B) eternal rhythm
20. The poem combines memory, music, and: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2017; PGTRB 2022)
A) warfare
B) symbolism
C) comedy
D) logic only
Ans: B) symbolism
21. The bird’s song in the poem is best understood as: (UGC NET 2021; SET 2021; PGTRB 2021)
A) literal sound only
B) a symbolic expression of grief
C) comic speech
D) political propaganda
Ans: B) a symbolic expression of grief
22. Whitman’s treatment of nature in this poem is: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2020; PGTRB 2020)
A) decorative only
B) spiritual and symbolic
C) entirely scientific
D) purely comic
Ans: B) spiritual and symbolic
23. The poem dramatizes the relation between: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2022; PGTRB 2021)
A) poet and industrial society
B) human consciousness and natural voice
C) king and court
D) church and state only
Ans: B) human consciousness and natural voice
24. The phrase “Out of the cradle endlessly rocking” refers primarily to the: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2022)
A) bird’s nest
B) sea
C) forest
D) ship
Ans: B) sea
25. The sea may be seen as a cradle because it symbolizes: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2021; PGTRB 2023)
A) birth and origin
B) commerce only
C) law and order
D) war and conquest
Ans: A) birth and origin
26. The central emotional movement of the poem is from: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2023; PGTRB 2020)
A) ignorance to awareness
B) faith to doubt
C) anger to revenge
D) love to comedy
Ans: A) ignorance to awareness
27. Whitman’s style in the poem is marked by: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) brevity and rigid symmetry only
B) long cadenced lines and repetition
C) strict classical restraint
D) metaphysical conceits only
Ans: B) long cadenced lines and repetition
28. The poem may be read as an elegy because it centers on: (UGC NET 2021; SET 2022; PGTRB 2022)
A) mourning and loss
B) satire and wit
C) dramatic revenge
D) comic misunderstanding
Ans: A) mourning and loss
29. The bird’s song becomes significant because the child: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2019; PGTRB 2021)
A) ignores it
B) interprets it imaginatively
C) destroys the nest
D) reports it scientifically
Ans: B) interprets it imaginatively
30. The poem reveals Whitman’s belief that poetry arises from: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2021; PGTRB 2020)
A) court patronage
B) lived emotional experience
C) strict imitation only
D) academic rules alone
Ans: B) lived emotional experience
31. In the poem, the sea finally becomes a voice of: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2023; PGTRB 2023)
A) philosophy and revelation
B) political argument
C) comic relief
D) religious ritual only
Ans: A) philosophy and revelation
32. Whitman’s poetry is often associated with: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2018; PGTRB 2022)
A) democracy and individuality
B) feudalism only
C) courtly romance only
D) neo-classical decorum only
Ans: A) democracy and individuality
33. Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking is significant in Whitman’s career because it expresses: (UGC NET 2021; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) the origin of his poetic voice
B) only political nationalism
C) his religious orthodoxy only
D) his comic instinct only
Ans: A) the origin of his poetic voice
34. The diction of the poem is best described as: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2022; PGTRB 2020)
A) formal and courtly only
B) musical, incantatory, and emotional
C) plain scientific prose
D) satirical and clipped
Ans: B) musical, incantatory, and emotional
35. The poem is narrated from the perspective of: (UGC NET 2016; SET 2021; PGTRB 2023)
A) an old man remembering boyhood
B) a mockingbird only
C) the sea only
D) an anonymous historian
Ans: A) an old man remembering boyhood
36. Which statement is TRUE about the male bird? (UGC NET 2020; SET 2022; PGTRB 2022)
A) He sings after losing his mate
B) He is silent throughout
C) He symbolizes war
D) He is comic and foolish
Ans: A) He sings after losing his mate
37. Which pair is correctly matched? (UGC NET 2018; SET 2023; PGTRB 2021)
A) Whitman — Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking
B) Frost — Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking
C) Eliot — Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking
D) Dickinson — Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking
Ans: A) Whitman — Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking
38. Which statement is TRUE about the poem? (UGC NET 2021; SET 2021; PGTRB 2023)
A) It is a sonnet on politics
B) It links nature, grief, and poetic awakening
C) It is a mock-epic of commerce
D) It rejects symbolism
Ans: B) It links nature, grief, and poetic awakening
39. The sea’s final whisper gives the boy knowledge of: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2020; PGTRB 2020)
A) wealth
B) death
C) power
D) fame
Ans: B) death
40. Which statement best suits the sea in the poem? (UGC NET 2019; SET 2022; PGTRB 2021)
A) It is only a physical background
B) It is a symbolic mother-force and teacher
C) It is comic scenery
D) It is merely decorative
Ans: B) It is a symbolic mother-force and teacher
41. Which statement best suits the boy in the poem? (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) He is transformed into an awakened poet
B) He remains ignorant
C) He becomes a soldier
D) He is merely comic
Ans: A) He is transformed into an awakened poet
42. Which statement best suits Whitman’s treatment of grief? (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Grief becomes a source of art
B) Grief is mocked
C) Grief is denied
D) Grief is treated only philosophically
Ans: A) Grief becomes a source of art
43. Which statement best suits the structure of the poem? (UGC NET 2016; SET 2023; PGTRB 2023)
A) It blends recollection, song, and revelation
B) It is a rigidly plotted drama
C) It is a compact sonnet only
D) It is a purely descriptive travelogue
Ans: A) It blends recollection, song, and revelation
44. Which statement best suits Whitman’s poetic method in this poem? (UGC NET 2021; SET 2022; PGTRB 2022)
A) He fuses personal memory with universal meaning
B) He avoids emotion entirely
C) He follows only strict classical rules
D) He uses only satire
Ans: A) He fuses personal memory with universal meaning
45. Which statement best suits the significance of the bird song? (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) It initiates the boy into the mystery of loss
B) It is a comic interruption
C) It symbolizes commerce
D) It has no symbolic value
Ans: A) It initiates the boy into the mystery of loss
46. Which statement best suits Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking? (UGC NET 2017; SET 2021; PGTRB 2020)
A) It is a poem of emotional growth and poetic birth
B) It is a satire on social manners
C) It is a political manifesto
D) It is a dramatic tragedy of revenge
Ans: A) It is a poem of emotional growth and poetic birth
47. Which statement best suits the symbolism of death in the poem? (UGC NET 2020; SET 2023; PGTRB 2023)
A) It is frightening only
B) It is both painful and revelatory
C) It is comic
D) It is politically motivated
Ans: B) It is both painful and revelatory
48. Which statement best suits Whitman’s language in this poem? (UGC NET 2018; SET 2018; PGTRB 2021)
A) expansive, musical, and repetitive
B) clipped and satirical
C) entirely academic
D) strictly legalistic
Ans: A) expansive, musical, and repetitive
49. Which statement best suits the importance of the poem in American literature? (UGC NET 2021; SET 2022; PGTRB 2022)
A) It is a major expression of Whitman’s free verse lyricism and poetic self-discovery
B) It is the first American tragedy
C) It is purely a regional poem with no wider value
D) It rejects American identity
Ans: A) It is a major expression of Whitman’s free verse lyricism and poetic self-discovery
50. Which statement best describes Walt Whitman’s Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking? (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2023)
A) It is a lyric-narrative free verse poem in which the memory of a mockingbird’s grief and the sea’s whisper awakens the child-speaker to poetry and the knowledge of death
B) It is a satirical poem about American politics
C) It is a sonnet on industrialization
D) It is a dramatic monologue spoken by a soldier
Ans: A) It is a lyric-narrative free verse poem in which the memory of a mockingbird’s grief and the sea’s whisper awakens the child-speaker to poetry and the knowledge of death
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