Adam’s Curse Quizzes

Adam's Curse Quiz

1 Which of the following best describes the poem's tone?

Aggressive

Gleeful

Aloof

Regretful
2 What does "thereupon" mean?

Therefore

On top of

Supposedly

Right after
3 What is the poem's central allusion?

The parables of Jesus

The Book of Genesis

Paradise Lost

Irish folklore
4 How is the addressee's friend characterized?

As fiery and opinionated

As sluggish and weary

As beautiful and kind

As clever and critical
5 What does the word "precedents" mean?

Prior examples

Underlying principles

Comforting narratives

People in charge of institutions
6 What is the poem's stanzaic arrangement?

It consists of a single forty-line stanza

It consists of a longer, 27-line stanza, a sestet, and a quatrain

It consists of two fourteen-line sonnets in a row

It consists of twenty couplets
7 The poem's addressee is probably based on whom?

Georgiana Hyde-Lees

Maud Gonne

Augusta Gregory

W.B. Yeats
8 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?

ABABCDCD

It does not follow a consistent rhyme scheme

ABBACDDCEFFE

AABBCCDD
9 Which of the following appears to be true of the speaker?

The speaker is a poet

The speaker is a banker

The speaker is a soldier

The speaker is a mother
10 What is the poem's meter?

Iambic hexameter

Dactylic trimeter

Trochaic pentameter

Iambic pentameter
11 Which of the following does the speaker want?

To return to prelapsarian paradise

To be recognized as a hardworking poet and lover

To become a banker or schoolteacher

To love the addressee in a lofty, effortful way
12 In which poetry collection did this first appear?

In the Seven Woods

The Winding Stair

The Tower

The Wanderings of Oisin
13 What does the word "pauper" mean?

A person who works in a kitchen

A very old person

A poor person

A poet
14 What does the word "idler" mean?

A lazy person

An artist

A member of the clergy

A sick person
15 When was this poem published?

1900

1903

1921

1914
16 When does the work take place?

Christmas afternoon

The middle of the night

A summer evening

Early spring
17 What does the word "high," as used in this poem, mean?

Intoxicated

Physically far from the ground

Wealthy

Elevated
18 Which of the following, according to the poem, is not taught in schools?

The art of following norms of feminine beauty

The art of understanding nature

The art of writing poetry

The art of reading the Bible
19 The line "I had a thought for no one’s but your ears" contains which device?

Personification

Understatement

Synecdoche

Metonymy
20 What does Yeats compare the fading daylight to?

Drops of water from a fountain

Coins in a pocket

A dream that has been forgotten

The embers of a fire
21 Which character does not speak out loud in this poem?

The speaker

The friend

The addressee

All of the above—the characters sit in silent reflection
22 The speaker compares poetry to which of the following?

Hunting

Farming

Sewing

Childbearing
23 Which of the following is true of the poem?

It expresses skepticism about biblical stories

It is a sonnet

It switches speakers several times

It is written in the second person
24 Which of the following is not described as a casualty or victim of Adam's curse?

Childhood

Poetry

Love

Physical beauty
25 What does the moon symbolize?

The light and redemption found in dark times

The speaker's cynicism about love

The omnipresence of the divine

The eternal beauty of nature

Adam’s Curse Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Adam’s Curse is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Ask Your Own Question

Study Guide for Adam’s Curse

Adam's Curse study guide contains a biography of William Butler Yeats, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Read the Study Guide for Adam’s Curse…