S.T. Coleridge – Dejection: An Ode – Exam Based MCQs
1. Dejection: An Ode is written by: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) William Wordsworth
B) John Keats
C) Samuel Taylor Coleridge
D) P. B. Shelley
Ans: C) Samuel Taylor Coleridge
2. The poem was first published in the newspaper: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) The Morning Post
B) The Times
C) The Spectator
D) The Guardian
Ans: A) The Morning Post
3. The Morning Post publication date of the poem is: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) 1798
B) 1815
C) 1805
D) October 4, 1802
Ans: D) October 4, 1802
4. The poem in its earliest long “letter” form was addressed to: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Dorothy Wordsworth
B) Sara Hutchinson (Asra)
C) Mary Shelley
D) Felicia Hemans
Ans: B) Sara Hutchinson (Asra)
5. The poem is commonly categorized as a: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Ballad
B) Sonnet
C) Ode (irregular/Pindaric type)
D) Epic
Ans: C) Ode (irregular/Pindaric type)
6. The epigraph at the beginning is taken from: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) “The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence”
B) “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”
C) “Kubla Khan”
D) “Christabel”
Ans: A) “The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence”
7. The poem is best known for exploring the poet’s inability to feel joy despite seeing beauty—often linked to a crisis of: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Patriotism
B) Grammar
C) Commerce
D) Imagination and inner life
Ans: D) Imagination and inner life
8. “Dejection” in the poem is presented primarily as: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) A temporary cold fever
B) A deep spiritual/psychological numbness
C) A heroic excitement
D) A comic mood
Ans: B) A deep spiritual/psychological numbness
9. The speaker describes his state as “a grief without a pang” meaning: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) Violent anger
B) Pure happiness
C) Dull, numb sorrow without sharp pain
D) A fear of storms only
Ans: C) Dull, numb sorrow without sharp pain
10. The poem contrasts outward nature’s beauty with the speaker’s: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Inner barrenness / lack of response
B) Political leadership
C) Military power
D) Comic wit
Ans: A) Inner barrenness / lack of response
11. The poem is written in: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Strict heroic couplets only
B) Spenserian stanza only
C) Blank verse only
D) Irregular iambic lines with varying lengths
Ans: D) Irregular iambic lines with varying lengths
12. The poem as commonly printed is often described as having: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) 14 sonnets
B) Eight sections/stanzas
C) Two acts
D) Five cantos
Ans: B) Eight sections/stanzas
13. A recurring image early in the poem signals a coming storm: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) The new moon with the old moon in her arms
B) A desert mirage
C) A burning city
D) A falling crown
Ans: A) The new moon with the old moon in her arms
14. The poem is often studied under: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Restoration drama
B) Victorian realism
C) British Romanticism
D) Medieval allegory
Ans: C) British Romanticism
15. A key idea in the poem is that joy is: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Only in money
B) Only in politics
C) Only in nature’s colours
D) Generated from within the human mind
Ans: D) Generated from within the human mind
16. The statement “We receive but what we give” implies: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Nature creates feelings without us
B) Perception depends on what the mind contributes
C) Education removes imagination
D) Poetry is only about rhyme
Ans: B) Perception depends on what the mind contributes
17. The poem was written in the year: (SET 2019; PGTRB 2020; UGC NET 2021)
A) 1802
B) 1791
C) 1819
D) 1832
Ans: A) 1802
18. The poem later appeared in Coleridge’s volume: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Lyrical Ballads
B) Songs of Innocence
C) Sibylline Leaves
D) The Prelude
Ans: C) Sibylline Leaves
19. The poem’s opening “weather-wise” reference connects mood to: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Economics
B) Astronomy only
C) Cooking recipes
D) Storm imagery as emotional symbol
Ans: D) Storm imagery as emotional symbol
20. In *Dejection: An Ode*, the speaker complains that he can “see” nature but cannot: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Walk in nature
B) Feel its joy inwardly
C) Describe the sky
D) Predict the weather
Ans: B) Feel its joy inwardly
21. The poem’s personal background is closely linked to Coleridge’s love for: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Sara Hutchinson
B) Jane Austen
C) Elizabeth Barrett
D) Mary Wollstonecraft
Ans: A) Sara Hutchinson
22. The poem belongs to a set sometimes called the “Asra” poems because of the name Coleridge used for: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Wordsworth
B) Dorothy Wordsworth
C) Sara Hutchinson
D) Byron
Ans: C) Sara Hutchinson
23. Which best describes the poem’s main conflict? (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Man vs. monster
B) Nation vs. nation
C) Artist vs. audience
D) Mind’s inner deadness vs. nature’s outer beauty
Ans: D) Mind’s inner deadness vs. nature’s outer beauty
24. The poem finally offers a blessing/prayer mainly for: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) A king
B) The “Lady” addressed in the poem
C) The storm cloud
D) A sailor crew
Ans: B) The “Lady” addressed in the poem
25. The poem is often called “autobiographical” because it: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) Reflects Coleridge’s personal emotional crisis
B) Reports a historical war
C) Is a travel guide
D) Is a scientific diary
Ans: A) Reflects Coleridge’s personal emotional crisis
26. A major Romantic idea in the poem is that “imagination” is essential for: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Building empires
B) Writing legal codes
C) Transforming perception into joy/meaning
D) Measuring rainfall
Ans: C) Transforming perception into joy/meaning
27. In the poem, the coming storm functions mainly as a symbol of: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Festival celebration
B) Political revolution
C) Agricultural success
D) Inner turbulence and emotional darkness
Ans: D) Inner turbulence and emotional darkness
28. The poem’s best-known philosophical claim is that nature’s beauty alone cannot heal if the mind lacks: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Money
B) Joy/imaginative power
C) Education
D) Travel
Ans: B) Joy/imaginative power
29. The poem’s general form is described as “irregular” because it uses: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Lines of varying length and mixed rhyme patterns
B) Only 14 lines
C) Only one rhyme sound
D) No punctuation
Ans: A) Lines of varying length and mixed rhyme patterns
30. The poem is often read as a companion/contrast to Wordsworth’s interest in childhood vision found in: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Tintern Abbey
B) The Prelude (Book I only)
C) Ode: Intimations of Immortality
D) An Essay on Man
Ans: C) Ode: Intimations of Immortality
31. Which statement is TRUE? (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) It is a Renaissance sonnet
B) It is an epic about a war
C) It is a comedy play
D) It is a Romantic ode focused on dejection and imagination
Ans: D) It is a Romantic ode focused on dejection and imagination
32. The poem’s opening is calm, but the speaker expects disturbance from: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Earthquake
B) Winds/storm
C) War drums
D) Bells
Ans: B) Winds/storm
33. The poem’s title word “Dejection” most closely means: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) Deep depression / loss of spirit
B) Loud laughter
C) A patriotic feeling
D) Religious conversion
Ans: A) Deep depression / loss of spirit
34. The poem suggests that the mind “gives” meaning to nature—this is closest to a Romantic emphasis on: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Pure rational logic only
B) Political institutions
C) Subjective imagination/creative perception
D) Scientific experiments
Ans: C) Subjective imagination/creative perception
35. The poem’s speaking voice is best described as: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) A king issuing orders
B) A soldier reporting
C) A comic narrator
D) A personal, reflective lyric “I”
Ans: D) A personal, reflective lyric “I”
36. The poem’s famous idea “We receive but what we give” is about: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Banking
B) The mind’s role in perception and joy
C) Farming
D) Trade taxes
Ans: B) The mind’s role in perception and joy
37. The poem is sometimes described as a “crisis poem” because it centers on: (UGC NET 2020; SET 2021; PGTRB 2022)
A) Breakdown of creative power and emotional vitality
B) A shipwreck adventure
C) A courtroom trial
D) A royal marriage
Ans: A) Breakdown of creative power and emotional vitality
38. The poem’s best overall mood is: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Pure comic
B) Epic heroic
C) Satirical angry
D) Melancholic, meditative, and self-analytical
Ans: D) Melancholic, meditative, and self-analytical
39. The poem’s key Romantic theme is that emotion and imagination are essential to: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Writing laws
B) Building factories
C) True communion with nature
D) Collecting taxes
Ans: C) True communion with nature
40. In the poem, the speaker’s problem is NOT that nature is ugly, but that he cannot: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Look at the sky
B) Respond inwardly with joy
C) Predict clouds
D) Sleep at night
Ans: B) Respond inwardly with joy
41. Which feature is strongly present in the poem? (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Nature imagery used as psychological symbolism
B) A detective mystery plot
C) A royal genealogy list
D) A scientific lab report
Ans: A) Nature imagery used as psychological symbolism
42. The poem’s concluding wish is that the “Lady” may experience: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Political fame
B) Military victory
C) Wealth and crowns
D) Joy, peace, and restorative feelings
Ans: D) Joy, peace, and restorative feelings
43. The poem belongs to the period usually called: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) Augustan Age
B) Romantic Age
C) Metaphysical Age
D) Victorian Age
Ans: B) Romantic Age
44. The poem is important in Coleridge’s career because it reveals: (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) His love for politics
B) His training as a lawyer
C) His theory that joy springs from within, not from objects
D) His plan to write an epic
Ans: C) His theory that joy springs from within, not from objects
45. The poem is often described as having around: (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) 139 lines (in the published ode form)
B) 14 lines
C) 50 lines
D) 500 lines
Ans: A) 139 lines (in the published ode form)
46. The poem’s method of self-analysis and argument is closest to a: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Farce
B) Detective story
C) Gothic romance
D) Meditative lyric
Ans: D) Meditative lyric
47. The poem is sometimes called “Dejection: An Ode” because it transforms personal feeling into: (UGC NET 2018; SET 2019; PGTRB 2020)
A) A business report
B) A public poetic form (ode) from private crisis
C) A courtroom confession
D) A newspaper advertisement
Ans: B) A public poetic form (ode) from private crisis
48. Which is NOT a major concern of the poem? (UGC NET 2017; SET 2018; PGTRB 2019)
A) Colonial conquest and empire-building
B) Emotional numbness
C) Imagination and joy
D) Nature imagery as symbol
Ans: A) Colonial conquest and empire-building
49. The poem’s opening calm night is contrasted with the expectation that the night will not go “unroused” by: (UGC NET 2019; SET 2020; PGTRB 2021)
A) Birds only
B) Thunder drums
C) Winds and storm
D) War horses
Ans: C) Winds and storm
50. Which statement is correct about the poem’s publication history? (SET 2020; PGTRB 2021; UGC NET 2022)
A) First published in 1798 in Lyrical Ballads
B) First published in 1817 only
C) First published in 1850 after Coleridge’s death
D) Published in 1802 in the Morning Post and later in Sibylline Leaves (1817)
Ans: D) Published in 1802 in the Morning Post and later in Sibylline Leaves (1817)
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