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Worksheets

In Memoriam

Total questions: 45

Worksheet time: 23mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What emotion dominates the opening line “Dark house, by which once more I stand”?

a)

Grief

b)

Joy

c)

Anger

d)

Relief

2.

The phrase “long unlovely street” evokes which atmosphere?

a)

A rich neighborhood

b)

Desolation and bleakness

c)

Celebration

d)

Busy city life

3.

The “hand that can be clasp’d no more” refers to:

a)

A broken handshake

b)

Tennyson’s mother

c)

Hallam’s absence through death

d)

A symbolic marriage

4.

The repeated references to doors emphasize:

a)

Locked houses in Victorian England

b)

A threshold separating life from death

c)

Expensive architecture

d)

Poverty

5.

The phrase “like a guilty thing I creep” suggests the speaker feels:

a)

Sleepy

b)

Confused

c)

Proud

d)

Ashamed and emotionally troubled

6.

What sound pattern appears in “Here in the long unlovely street”?

a)

Onomatopoeia

b)

Assonance

c)

Alliteration

d)

Internal rhyme

7.

Why might the street seem “ghastly” to the speaker?

a)

It is haunted

b)

It is foggy

c)

The street is crowded

d)

His grief makes everything appear bleak

8.

“Blank day” most directly symbolizes:

a)

A day with no school

b)

A day of celebration

c)

Emptiness or emotional numbness

d)

A holiday

9.

The semicolon in line one of stanza three shows:

a)

A new stanza is coming

b)

Tennyson’s anger

c)

A natural pause

d)

His conflicted and divided feelings

10.

The image of “drizzling rain” strengthens the poem’s:

a)

Humor

b)

Romance

c)

Melancholy tone

d)

Satire

11.

In the poem, Hallam’s absence makes familiar places feel:

a)

More lively

b)

Irrelevant

c)

Empty and drained of beauty

d)

Exciting

12.

The word “ghastly” most closely means:

a)

Cheerful

b)

Horrifying or ghostlike

c)

Busy

d)

Strange

13.

The speaker’s return to the house shows:

a)

His desire to move in

b)

His inability to let go of the past

c)

His anger toward Hallam

d)

His need for sleep

14.

The spondee stress in “Dark house” highlights:

a)

The building’s size

b)

The heaviness of death

c)

Brightness and hope

d)

A cheerful mood

15.

Tennyson’s “creeping” in the morning shows:

a)

He is spying

b)

He is injured

c)

He is cold

d)

His emotional fragility

16.

Which best describes the structure of this section?

a)

Free verse with no rhyme

b)

Quatrains following the ABBA rhyme scheme

c)

Rhyming couplets

d)

Blank verse

17.

The plosive sounds in “breaks the blank day” mimic:

a)

Whispering

b)

Harsh emotional awakening

c)

A lullaby

d)

A quiet breeze

18.

Tennyson’s grief makes him visit the house:

a)

At noon

b)

At earliest morning

c)

At midnight

d)

Never

19.

The phrase “noise of life begins again” means:

a)

People are partying

b)

The poet is bored

c)

Animals are loud

d)

Life continues despite his mourning

20.

Why does Tennyson compare himself to a “guilty thing”?

a)

He committed a crime

b)

He feels survivor’s guilt

c)

He envies Hallam

d)

He dislikes the house

21.

In the poem, the speaker’s heartbeat once:

a)

“Beat so quickly” in anticipation of seeing Hallam

b)

Stopped entirely

c)

Mirrored thunder

d)

Followed a musical rhythm

22.

Which theme is strongly present in this section?

a)

The danger of war

b)

The importance of wealth

c)

Mourning and emotional paralysis

d)

Romantic love

23.

“He is not here; but far away” implies:

a)

Hallam moved overseas

b)

He is on holiday

c)

The physical and spiritual distance created by death

d)

A temporary journey

24.

What effect do the commas in stanza one create?

a)

They speed up the reading

b)

They emphasize excitement

c)

They slow the rhythm, conveying a heavy heart

d)

They introduce humor

25.

The indentation pattern in the poem may symbolize:

a)

Wealth

b)

Good handwriting

c)

Emotional distance or separation

d)

Musical rhythm

26.

The mention of “earliest morning” symbolizes:

a)

A new job

b)

A funeral

c)

A possible new beginning, though painful

d)

A joyful moment

27.

The repetition of grief-related imagery highlights:

a)

A political message

b)

A dream sequence

c)

Tennyson’s inability to escape sorrow

d)

A change of season

28.

What does the “drizzling rain” contrast with?

a)

Sunshine

b)

The vibrancy that used to fill Tennyson’s life

c)

Thunderstorms

d)

A rainbow

29.

The mood of the poem can best be described as:

a)

Bright and hopeful

b)

Sarcastic

c)

Violent

d)

Somber and reflective

30.

The final effect of the stanza suggests Tennyson is:

a)

Fully healed

b)

Beginning, however slowly, to move toward acceptance

c)

Ready to forget Hallam

d)

Overjoyed

31.

“In Memoriam” was written to mourn the death of:

a)

Arthur Henry Hallam

b)

Lionel Tennyson

c)

Queen Victoria

d)

Robert Browning

32.

How many sections does *In Memoriam* contain?

a)

25

b)

7

c)

133

d)

50

33.

Section 7 focuses on Tennyson visiting:

a)

Hallam’s grave

b)

His childhood home

c)

A church

d)

The house where Hallam once lived

34.

“Dark house” is a metaphor for:

a)

Loneliness

b)

Poverty

c)

Death / the tomb

d)

A cold winter evening

35.

The harsh rhyme “street/beat” reflects:

a)

Excitement

b)

Joy

c)

Tennyson’s pain and grief

d)

Sudden hope

36.

The word “Doors,” emphasized by two commas, symbolizes:

a)

Escape

b)

Childhood memories

c)

A boundary between life and death

d)

Religious failure

37.

Why does the speaker say he “cannot sleep”?

a)

The room is noisy

b)

He feels guilt

c)

It is daytime

d)

He is waiting for visitors

38.

The “unclasped hand” symbolizes:

a)

Reconciliation

b)

A future reunion

c)

Permanent separation from Hallam

d)

Anger toward friends

39.

The mention of “morning” contains wordplay on:

a)

Marriage

b)

Harvesting

c)

Mourning

d)

Music

40.

How does Tennyson describe the street?

a)

Bright and colorful

b)

Busy and cheerful

c)

Long and unlovely

d)

Filled with flowers

41.

The phrase “like a guilty thing I creep” suggests:

a)

He has committed a crime

b)

He wants to surprise someone

c)

He is physically weak

d)

He feels ashamed or troubled by guilt

42.

In the third stanza, “blank day” can mean:

a)

A day of celebration

b)

A holiday

c)

Emptiness or a new beginning

d)

A missed opportunity

43.

The semicolon in “He is not here; but far away” shows:

a)

A grammatical error

b)

A pause for suspense

c)

A change in speaker

d)

Tennyson’s complex, conflicting emotions

44.

Why is half the stanza indented?

a)

For visual decoration

b)

To separate past and present tense

c)

To symbolize emotional distance from Hallam

d)

Because of printing limitations

45.

“The noise of life begins again” suggests:

a)

A party is happening

b)

The poet is bored

c)

People are arguing

d)

The world continues despite his grief