Adonais MCQs & Summary

Summary:

Adonais is an elegy written by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1821 to mourn the death of John Keats, who died at the young age of 25. The poem follows the tradition of classical pastoral elegies and is inspired by the works of Bion and Moschus.

Shelley personifies nature as mourning Keats’ death, and he expresses deep sorrow over the loss of such a young and talented poet. He blames Keats’ harsh critics, particularly those in the literary world, for contributing to his death. However, as the poem progresses, Shelley shifts from mourning to a more transcendental view. He suggests that Keats is not truly dead but has become one with the eternal spirit of nature and art.

The poem ultimately conveys the idea that while human life is fleeting, art and poetry are immortal. Shelley concludes with an uplifting message that Keats now exists beyond the limitations of the physical world, and he finds solace in the idea that death is not an end but a transformation into something eternal.

MCQs:

1. Who wrote Adonais?
   a) John Keats
   b) Percy Bysshe Shelley
   c) Lord Byron
   d) William Wordsworth
   Answer: b) Percy Bysshe Shelley
2. Adonais is an elegy written in memory of which poet?
   a) William Wordsworth
   b) Lord Byron
   c) John Keats
   d) Samuel Taylor Coleridge
   Answer: c) John Keats
3. What poetic form is Adonais written in?
   a) Sonnet
   b) Blank verse
   c) Spenserian stanza
   d) Pastoral elegy
   Answer: d) Pastoral elegy

   

4. Which classical poet’s work influenced Adonais?
   a) Homer
   b) Virgil
   c) Milton
   d) Bion and Moschus
   Answer: d) Bion and Moschus
5. What is the primary theme of Adonais?
   a) The beauty of nature
   b) The transience of life and the immortality of art
   c) Political revolution
   d) The power of love
   Answer: b) The transience of life and the immortality of art
6. What does Shelley compare Keats to in Adonais?
   a) A fallen angel
   b) A fading star
   c) A dying swan
   d) A withering flower
   Answer: b) A fading star
7. What does Shelley blame for Keats’ death?
   a) A fatal illness
   b) Harsh literary criticism
   c) A broken heart
   d) Poverty and suffering
   Answer: b) Harsh literary criticism
8. What is the tone of Adonais towards the end of the poem?
   a) Melancholic and hopeless
   b) Angry and rebellious
   c) Uplifting and transcendent
   d) Satirical and humorous
   Answer: c) Uplifting and transcendent
9. What does Shelley suggest happens to Keats after death?
   a) He becomes one with the eternal spirit of nature
   b) He is forgotten by the world
   c) He haunts his critics
   d) He reincarnates as another poet
   Answer: a) He becomes one with the eternal spirit of nature
10. How does Adonais reflect Shelley’s own beliefs?
    a) It promotes Christian ideals
    b) It expresses skepticism toward the afterlife
    c) It embraces pantheism and the eternal nature of the soul
    d) It condemns all forms of poetry
    Answer: c) It embraces pantheism and the eternal nature of the soul