W.H. Auden – “The Unknown Citizen” – Exam Based MCQs
1. “The Unknown Citizen” is written by: (UGC NET / SET / PGTRB)
A) T. S. Eliot
B) W. H. Auden
C) Stephen Spender
D) Dylan Thomas
Ans: B) W. H. Auden
2. The poem is best described as a: (SET)
A) Pastoral lyric
B) Romantic ode
C) Epic narrative
D) Satirical elegy/epitaph-like poem
Ans: D) Satirical elegy/epitaph-like poem
3. The poem is written in the form of: (UGC NET)
A) A mock memorial inscription / epitaph
B) A love sonnet
C) A pastoral dialogue
D) A heroic epic invocation
Ans: A) A mock memorial inscription / epitaph
4. The citizen is identified mainly by: (PGTRB)
A) His personal dreams
B) His spiritual experiences
C) A code/number and official records
D) His heroic adventures
Ans: C) A code/number and official records
5. The poem strongly criticizes: (SET)
A) Nature worship
B) Dehumanizing bureaucracy and statistics
C) Medieval chivalry
D) Romantic love
Ans: B) Dehumanizing bureaucracy and statistics
6. The “Unknown Citizen” resembles the idea of: (UGC NET)
A) A romantic hero
B) A tragic king
C) A pastoral shepherd
D) An average man measured by institutions
Ans: D) An average man measured by institutions
7. The poem mentions various agencies to show: (PGTRB)
A) Life reduced to reports, surveys, and files
B) A joyful family festival
C) A mythic quest
D) A pastoral journey
Ans: A) Life reduced to reports, surveys, and files
8. The tone of the poem is mainly: (SET)
A) Highly romantic
B) Purely tragic
C) Ironic and satirical
D) Epic and heroic
Ans: C) Ironic and satirical
9. The poem mocks the idea that a good citizen is one who: (UGC NET)
A) Writes poetry
B) Conforms perfectly to social expectations
C) Lives in the wilderness
D) Avoids all work
Ans: B) Conforms perfectly to social expectations
10. The central irony is that we never know the citizen’s: (PGTRB)
A) Job history
B) Income report
C) Consumer choices
D) Inner feelings and individuality
Ans: D) Inner feelings and individuality
11. The poem can be read as a critique of: (SET)
A) Modern mass society and state control
B) Medieval monasteries
C) Greek mythology
D) Pastoral innocence
Ans: A) Modern mass society and state control
12. The citizen’s identity is presented as: (UGC NET)
A) A heroic legend
B) A love story
C) A file summary of social behavior
D) A religious confession
Ans: C) A file summary of social behavior
13. The poem suggests that “normality” is defined by: (PGTRB)
A) Personal imagination
B) Statistics and surveys
C) Ancient myths
D) Nature and seasons
Ans: B) Statistics and surveys
14. The “Unknown Citizen” is “unknown” mainly because: (SET)
A) He lives on an island
B) He never speaks
C) He is a king in disguise
D) His real self is absent behind official data
Ans: D) His real self is absent behind official data
15. The poem’s language imitates: (UGC NET)
A) Official bureaucratic reports
B) Romantic love letters
C) Mythic prophecy
D) Folk songs
Ans: A) Official bureaucratic reports
16. The poem shows the citizen as “good” because he: (PGTRB)
A) Rejects society
B) Refuses to work
C) Never causes trouble and meets expectations
D) Fights in a heroic war
Ans: C) Never causes trouble and meets expectations
17. The poem highlights modern life’s obsession with: (SET)
A) Magic and myths
B) Measurement, data, and conformity
C) Pastoral peace
D) Chivalric honor
Ans: B) Measurement, data, and conformity
18. The poem implies a “good citizen” is one who: (UGC NET)
A) Is a poet
B) Is completely free from society
C) Lives as a rebel
D) Fits perfectly into the system
Ans: D) Fits perfectly into the system
19. The poem’s satire is directed at a society where: (PGTRB)
A) Individuality is ignored
B) Only artists are praised
C) Nature rules everything
D) Myths dominate daily life
Ans: A) Individuality is ignored
20. The poem ends with the question about whether the citizen was: (SET)
A) Rich or poor
B) Famous or forgotten
C) Happy or free
D) Married or single
Ans: C) Happy or free
21. The final line suggests “happiness” and “freedom” are: (UGC NET)
A) Easily measured by surveys
B) Impossible to measure using statistics
C) Always guaranteed by the state
D) Only mythic ideas
Ans: B) Impossible to measure using statistics
22. The poem is set against a background of: (PGTRB)
A) Pastoral village life
B) Medieval court
C) Ancient Rome
D) Modern industrial/administrative society
Ans: D) Modern industrial/administrative society
23. The citizen is praised for being: (SET)
A) An ideal conformist as per official standards
B) A heroic rebel
C) A visionary prophet
D) A romantic lover
Ans: A) An ideal conformist as per official standards
24. The poem’s key technique is: (UGC NET)
A) Epic invocation
B) Pastoral description
C) Irony through official-sounding praise
D) Mythic prophecy
Ans: C) Irony through official-sounding praise
25. The citizen’s life is measured by: (PGTRB)
A) Dreams and imagination
B) Reports from agencies and institutions
C) Ancient prophecy
D) Nature’s cycles
Ans: B) Reports from agencies and institutions
26. The poem mocks the idea that “no official complaint” means: (SET)
A) A person is happy
B) A person is free
C) A person is creative
D) A person is perfect and fulfilled
Ans: D) A person is perfect and fulfilled
27. The poem suggests that society values people for being: (UGC NET)
A) Useful and obedient
B) Wild and rebellious
C) Mystical and prophetic
D) Completely isolated
Ans: A) Useful and obedient
28. The “Unknown Citizen” can be compared to a: (PGTRB)
A) Romantic hero
B) Mythic god
C) Statistical case study
D) Medieval knight
Ans: C) Statistical case study
29. The poem is a strong example of: (SET)
A) Romantic idealism
B) Social satire
C) Pastoral nostalgia
D) Medieval allegory
Ans: B) Social satire
30. The title echoes the tradition of: (UGC NET)
A) Renaissance love sonnets
B) Greek epics
C) Medieval romances
D) “Unknown Soldier” memorials
Ans: D) “Unknown Soldier” memorials
31. The poem presents a world where: (PGTRB)
A) People are reduced to numbers and compliance
B) Poets are worshipped as kings
C) Nature is untouched
D) Myths govern the state
Ans: A) People are reduced to numbers and compliance
32. The poem’s narrator most resembles: (SET)
A) A romantic lover
B) A tragic hero
C) An official voice/statistical recorder
D) A folklore storyteller
Ans: C) An official voice/statistical recorder
33. The poem criticizes a system that assumes: (UGC NET)
A) People are unique spiritual beings
B) No complaint means no problem
C) Art is essential for life
D) Nature must be protected
Ans: B) No complaint means no problem
34. The citizen’s “freedom” is judged by: (PGTRB)
A) His secret thoughts
B) His poetry
C) His rebellion
D) Whether he caused trouble (records say he didn’t)
Ans: D) Whether he caused trouble (records say he didn’t)
35. The poem suggests consumer life is important because it notes: (SET)
A) He bought products like a normal consumer
B) He lived as a monk
C) He rejected all modern goods
D) He lived without society
Ans: A) He bought products like a normal consumer
36. The poem’s main target is the: (UGC NET)
A) Medieval church
B) Romantic imagination
C) Modern bureaucratic state and mass society
D) Ancient epic tradition
Ans: C) Modern bureaucratic state and mass society
37. The poem’s irony comes from praising a life that is: (PGTRB)
A) Heroic and adventurous
B) Empty of individuality
C) Filled with myth and wonder
D) Completely pastoral
Ans: B) Empty of individuality
38. The poem supports the view that official records can: (SET)
A) Capture the soul completely
B) Explain true happiness
C) Prove inner freedom
D) Miss the most important human truths
Ans: D) Miss the most important human truths
39. The citizen’s “normal” life becomes a symbol of: (UGC NET)
A) Loss of identity in modern society
B) Romantic heroism
C) Ancient myth
D) Pastoral paradise
Ans: A) Loss of identity in modern society
40. The poem’s “Unknown Citizen” is an example of: (PGTRB)
A) A tragic king
B) A romantic lover
C) A type / representative of modern man
D) A supernatural being
Ans: C) A type / representative of modern man
41. The poem’s social criticism is expressed through: (SET)
A) Romantic lament
B) Epic praise
C) Mythic prophecy
D) Dry bureaucratic diction
Ans: D) Dry bureaucratic diction
42. Which theme is MOST central? (UGC NET)
A) Nature worship
B) Dehumanization by institutions
C) Medieval romance
D) Mythic heroism
Ans: B) Dehumanization by institutions
43. The poem’s “unknown” status is ironic because: (PGTRB)
A) The system knows only facts, not the person
B) No one ever met him
C) He lived in ancient times
D) He was a mythic king
Ans: A) The system knows only facts, not the person
44. The poem suggests that a society obsessed with data will: (SET)
A) Celebrate individuality
B) Reject conformity
C) Ignore inner life and emotions
D) End bureaucracy forever
Ans: C) Ignore inner life and emotions
45. The poem is often linked with criticism of: (UGC NET)
A) Elizabethan comedy
B) Totalitarian / authoritarian mentality
C) Medieval theology
D) Romantic imagination
Ans: B) Totalitarian / authoritarian mentality
46. The poem’s satire is strengthened by the use of: (PGTRB)
A) Love imagery
B) Fairy-tale creatures
C) Pastoral scenes
D) Official “praise” that hides criticism
Ans: D) Official “praise” that hides criticism
47. The citizen’s “education” and “health” are treated as: (SET)
A) Items for government records
B) Private spiritual mysteries
C) Mythic quests
D) Romantic sufferings
Ans: A) Items for government records
48. The poem implies true human value lies in: (UGC NET)
A) Obedience only
B) Consumption patterns
C) Individual inner life and freedom
D) Statistical conformity
Ans: C) Individual inner life and freedom
49. The poem is “modern” because it shows: (PGTRB)
A) Medieval crusades
B) Greek gods
C) Romantic love letters
D) People categorized by institutions and consumerism
Ans: D) People categorized by institutions and consumerism
50. Which statement is TRUE about “The Unknown Citizen”? (UGC NET)
A) It is a romantic love poem
B) It uses irony to criticize a system that reduces humans to statistics
C) It is a pastoral celebration of village life
D) It is a medieval epic of knights
Ans: B) It uses irony to criticize a system that reduces humans to statistics
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