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Our Casuarina Tree Question and Answer with Quiz | Semester 3 | Class 12 (WBCHSE)

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Our Casuarina Tree Question and Answer with Quiz

Textual Exercise

Choose the correct answer from the alternatives given :

1. Who is the speaker in the poem?
a) A gardener tending the Casuarina tree
b) A bird singing in the branches of the tree
c) A person reminiscing about childhood memories under the tree
d) A traveler admiring the beauty of the tree

2. What feeling(s) does the speaker associate with the Casuarina tree?
a) Fear and danger
b) Indifference and boredom
c) Comfort, security, and happy
d) Loneliness and isolation memories

3. What is the tone of the poem “Our Casuarina Tree”?
a) Angry and resentful
b) Sarcastic and mocking
c) Bittersweet and nostalgic
d) Playful and lighthearted

Textual Exercise (Answers)

1. Who is the speaker in the poem?
✅ c) A person reminiscing about childhood memories under the tree

The speaker is Toru Dutt herself, who deeply reflects on the tree’s emotional significance tied to her lost siblings and childhood experiences.

2. What feeling(s) does the speaker associate with the Casuarina tree?
✅ c) Comfort, security, and happy memories

The tree represents a sacred space of nostalgia, love, and personal loss—imbued with joy and sorrow from her past.

3. What is the tone of the poem “Our Casuarina Tree”?
✅ c) Bittersweet and nostalgic

The poem blends affectionate memories with grief for departed loved ones. The tone is reverent and elegiac, rich in emotional depth.

MCQs from “Our Casuarina Tree” by Toru Dutt

Stanza 1: Visual Imagery, Metaphor, and Mood

  1. What is the central simile in the opening line of the poem?
    A) The tree is compared to a king
    B) The creeper is compared to a python
    C) The bee is compared to a thief
    D) The tree is compared to a ghost
    ✅ Answer: B

  2. The phrase “winding round and round” is an example of:
    A) Personification
    B) Hyperbole
    C) Repetition
    D) Assonance
    ✅ Answer: C

  3. What effect does the creeper have on the tree?
    A) It weakens the tree
    B) It protects the tree
    C) It strangles other trees but the Casuarina withstands it
    D) It kills the tree slowly
    ✅ Answer: C

  4. What are the “crimson clusters” in the poem?
    A) Fruits
    B) Bees
    C) Birds
    D) Flowers
    ✅ Answer: D

  5. The Casuarina tree is described as:
    A) Frail
    B) Gallant
    C) Sickly
    D) Small
    ✅ Answer: B

  6. Which creatures are associated with the flowers on the boughs?
    A) Cows and dogs
    B) Bees and birds
    C) Ants and frogs
    D) Owls and butterflies
    ✅ Answer: B

  7. What time of day is described in the first stanza?
    A) Morning
    B) Afternoon
    C) Night
    D) Dusk
    ✅ Answer: C

  8. The “one sweet song that seems to have no close” refers to:
    A) A ghost
    B) A bee buzzing
    C) A bird’s song
    D) Wind howling
    ✅ Answer: C

  9. What poetic device is used in “Sung darkling from our tree”?
    A) Simile
    B) Oxymoron
    C) Enjambment
    D) Inversion
    ✅ Answer: D

  10. The mood of the first stanza is best described as:
    A) Melancholic
    B) Mysterious
    C) Joyous and reverent
    D) Angry
    ✅ Answer: C

Stanza 2: Natural Beauty and Domestic Scene

  1. When the poet opens the casement at dawn, what does she see?
    A) A sunrise over the ocean
    B) The Casuarina tree
    C) Her childhood home
    D) A falling star
    ✅ Answer: B

  2. What season is mentioned specifically in the second stanza?
    A) Spring
    B) Summer
    C) Autumn
    D) Winter
    ✅ Answer: D

  3. The gray baboon’s posture is described as:
    A) Sleeping
    B) Eating
    C) Statue-like
    D) Wild
    ✅ Answer: C

  4. The “puny offspring” of the baboon do what?
    A) Sleep
    B) Fight
    C) Leap and play
    D) Cry
    ✅ Answer: C

  5. Which bird is mentioned in the stanza?
    A) Crow
    B) Cuckoo (kokila)
    C) Parrot
    D) Owl
    ✅ Answer: B

  6. What activity occurs in the distance?
    A) Birds migrate
    B) Children play
    C) Cows move to pastures
    D) Boats sail
    ✅ Answer: C

  7. What reflects on the “broad tank”?
    A) The sun
    B) The moon
    C) The tree’s shadow
    D) Stars
    ✅ Answer: C

  8. What grows like “snow enmassed” on the tank?
    A) Cotton
    B) Water-lilies
    C) Foam
    D) Grass
    ✅ Answer: B

  9. The tone of this stanza is best described as:
    A) Violent
    B) Nostalgic and peaceful
    C) Angry and discontent
    D) Gloomy
    ✅ Answer: B

  10. The word “hoar” in “hoar tree” likely means:
    A) Blackened
    B) Frost-covered or aged
    C) Shadowy
    D) Slender
    ✅ Answer: B

Stanza 3: Emotional Connection and Memory

  1. Why is the tree dear to the poet?
    A) It gave fruit
    B) It was the tallest
    C) She played under it with loved ones
    D) It saved her from danger
    ✅ Answer: C

  2. What kind of emotion is primarily conveyed in this stanza?
    A) Humor
    B) Longing and sorrow
    C) Excitement
    D) Confusion
    ✅ Answer: B

  3. What do the hot tears symbolize?
    A) Anger
    B) Joy
    C) Deep grief and loss
    D) Physical pain
    ✅ Answer: C

  4. “Dirge-like murmur” refers to:
    A) Laughter
    B) Funeral music from the tree
    C) Angry birds
    D) The rustle of leaves
    ✅ Answer: B

  5. The sound is compared to:
    A) A river
    B) A marching drum
    C) Sea breaking on a beach
    D) Thunder
    ✅ Answer: C

  6. What does the poet mean by “that haply to the unknown land may reach”?
    A) The tree sings to heaven
    B) The wind travels across countries
    C) The poet is lost
    D) The sound travels underground
    ✅ Answer: A

  7. What poetic device is “Blent with your images”?
    A) Personification
    B) Archaic diction
    C) Simile
    D) Pun
    ✅ Answer: B

  8. The stanza evokes what literary theme?
    A) Ambition
    B) War
    C) Memory and immortality
    D) Science
    ✅ Answer: C

  9. What makes the tree’s “eerie speech”?
    A) The poet’s imagination
    B) Birds
    C) The rustling creeper
    D) Spirits
    ✅ Answer: A

  10. Which line indicates the tree is metaphorically mourning?
    A) “A gray baboon sits statue-like”
    B) “That haply to the unknown land may reach”
    C) “It is the tree’s lament, an eerie speech”
    D) “No other tree could live”
    ✅ Answer: C

Stanza 4: Memory, Sound, and Spiritual Imagery

  1. In “Unknown, yet well-known to the eye of faith,” the poet refers to:
    A) The ocean
    B) The afterlife
    C) A foreign tree
    D) A friend
    ✅ Answer: B

  2. The phrase “eye of faith” is best interpreted as:
    A) Literal vision
    B) Belief in invisible realities
    C) Ignorance
    D) Imagination
    ✅ Answer: B

  3. What mythical creature is referenced in “water-wraith”?
    A) Dragon
    B) Sea ghost or spirit
    C) Centaur
    D) Mermaid
    ✅ Answer: B

  4. “When slumbered in his cave the water-wraith” indicates:
    A) The poet’s fear
    B) A ghost attacking sailors
    C) Peaceful nature
    D) The death of the poet’s friend
    ✅ Answer: C

  5. Which countries does the poet mention in this stanza?
    A) India and China
    B) France and Italy
    C) Greece and Egypt
    D) Germany and Norway
    ✅ Answer: B

  6. What natural setting enhances the memory of the tree abroad?
    A) Foggy mountains
    B) Classic seashores
    C) Desert sands
    D) Vast rivers
    ✅ Answer: B

  7. What time of day is suggested by “beneath the moon”?
    A) Afternoon
    B) Dawn
    C) Night
    D) Noon
    ✅ Answer: C

  8. What is the effect of “earth lay trancèd in a dreamless swoon”?
    A) It evokes chaos
    B) It describes rest and stillness
    C) It shows violent storms
    D) It introduces death
    ✅ Answer: B

  9. “Mine inner vision rose a form sublime” refers to:
    A) A divine being
    B) A monument
    C) The Casuarina tree
    D) The ghost of the poet
    ✅ Answer: C

  10. What does “sublime” imply in this context?
    A) Beautiful but frightening
    B) Of great emotional or spiritual value
    C) Vague and unclear
    D) Small and humble
    ✅ Answer: B

  11. “As in my happy prime” refers to the poet’s:
    A) Teenage years
    B) Old age
    C) Childhood or youth
    D) Career
    ✅ Answer: C

  12. The tone of this stanza is:
    A) Satirical
    B) Reflective and nostalgic
    C) Bored and indifferent
    D) Joyful and celebratory
    ✅ Answer: B

  13. Which literary device is prominent in “Unknown, yet well-known to the eye of faith”?
    A) Hyperbole
    B) Irony
    C) Paradox
    D) Alliteration
    ✅ Answer: C

  14. What connection is made between the poet’s homeland and foreign lands?
    A) They are described as opposites
    B) Both evoke memories of the tree
    C) They are indistinguishable
    D) The poet prefers foreign lands
    ✅ Answer: B

  15. The recurring image of the tree is described as a:
    A) Dream
    B) Hallucination
    C) Vision
    D) Prophecy
    ✅ Answer: C

Stanza 5: Immortality and Literary Allusion

  1. What does “I fain would consecrate a lay” mean?
    A) I want to dedicate a poem
    B) I will cut the tree
    C) I will build a temple
    D) I will sing a song to nature
    ✅ Answer: A

  2. Who are described as “those / Who now in blessed sleep, for aye, repose”?
    A) The poet’s children
    B) The poet’s friends and family who have passed away
    C) Wild animals
    D) Unknown travelers
    ✅ Answer: B

  3. “Dearer than life to me, alas! were they!” expresses:
    A) Anger
    B) Resentment
    C) Grief and affection
    D) Regret about leaving
    ✅ Answer: C

  4. The phrase “Mayst thou be numbered…with deathless trees” implies:
    A) The poet hopes the tree will never be cut
    B) The tree will be planted abroad
    C) The poet wants it immortalized in poetry
    D) The tree will grow forever
    ✅ Answer: C

  5. Where are the “deathless trees” located, according to the poem?
    A) Himalayas
    B) Paris
    C) Borrowdale
    D) Eden
    ✅ Answer: C

  6. What does the poet say lingered under the branches of trees in Borrowdale?
    A) Birds
    B) Time and Death
    C) Animals
    D) Gods
    ✅ Answer: B

  7. What is the origin of the reference to “Fear, trembling Hope, and Death”?
    A) Shakespeare
    B) Milton
    C) Wordsworth
    D) Shelley
    ✅ Answer: C

  8. “Time the shadow” is a metaphor for:
    A) Hope
    B) The future
    C) Death’s companion and decay
    D) Love
    ✅ Answer: C

  9. The poet acknowledges her verse may be:
    A) Weak
    B) Perfect
    C) Immortal
    D) Musical
    ✅ Answer: A

  10. What is the final hope expressed in the poem?
    A) The tree bears fruit
    B) Love saves the tree from being forgotten
    C) The tree will grow beyond borders
    D) The poet’s name will be famous
    ✅ Answer: B

  11. Which emotion dominates the final stanza?
    A) Fear
    B) Melancholy
    C) Devotion and longing
    D) Rebellion
    ✅ Answer: C

  12. “Oblivion’s curse” symbolizes:
    A) A mythological threat
    B) The natural decay of trees
    C) Being forgotten over time
    D) A divine punishment
    ✅ Answer: C

  13. “Though weak the verse” suggests the poet’s:
    A) Pride in her poem
    B) Humility and doubt
    C) Criticism of others
    D) Anger toward critics
    ✅ Answer: B

  14. The final tone of the poem is best described as:
    A) Despairing
    B) Hopeful in remembrance
    C) Vengeful
    D) Apathetic
    ✅ Answer: B

  15. The last two lines affirm the poet’s belief in:
    A) Reincarnation
    B) Power of memory and love to immortalize
    C) The scientific study of trees
    D) Climate change
    ✅ Answer: B

Literary Devices & Figures of Speech

  1. The line “Like a huge Python, winding round and round” is an example of:
    A) Metaphor
    B) Personification
    C) Simile
    D) Irony
    ✅ Answer: C

  2. The creeper that “climbs” and “embraces” is an example of:
    A) Metaphor
    B) Onomatopoeia
    C) Personification
    D) Hyperbole
    ✅ Answer: C

  3. “The water-lilies spring, like snow enmassed” contains which figure of speech?
    A) Simile
    B) Metaphor
    C) Apostrophe
    D) Irony
    ✅ Answer: A

  4. The phrase “dirge-like murmur” employs which poetic technique?
    A) Metonymy
    B) Paradox
    C) Imagery and auditory symbolism
    D) Allegory
    ✅ Answer: C

  5. “A creeper climbs, in whose embraces bound / No other tree could live” uses:
    A) Allusion
    B) Irony
    C) Hyperbole
    D) Oxymoron
    ✅ Answer: C

  6. What poetic device is used in “Mine inner vision rose a form sublime”?
    A) Pun
    B) Alliteration
    C) Internal rhyme
    D) Imagery
    ✅ Answer: D

  7. What figure of speech is “Time the shadow”?
    A) Simile
    B) Metaphor
    C) Euphemism
    D) Personification
    ✅ Answer: B

  8. What rhetorical device is found in “Ah, I have heard that wail far, far away”?
    A) Metonymy
    B) Anadiplosis
    C) Exclamation and repetition
    D) Zeugma
    ✅ Answer: C

  9. The line “And the waves gently kissed the classic shore” contains:
    A) Paradox
    B) Alliteration and personification
    C) Hyperbole and metaphor
    D) Antithesis
    ✅ Answer: B

  10. The phrase “beneath the moon” contributes to the poem’s:
    A) Temporal irony
    B) Historical realism
    C) Lyrical atmosphere
    D) Sarcasm
    ✅ Answer: C

Sound, Structure, and Rhythm

  1. What is the rhyme scheme of the first stanza?
    A) ABBAACCDEED
    B) ABABCCDDEE
    C) ABBACCDEED
    D) AABBCCDDEE
    ✅ Answer: C

  2. Which meter does the poem predominantly follow?
    A) Dactylic hexameter
    B) Iambic pentameter
    C) Trochaic tetrameter
    D) Anapestic trimeter
    ✅ Answer: B

  3. What poetic structure does “Our Casuarina Tree” follow?
    A) A series of sonnets
    B) A dramatic monologue
    C) A lyric elegy in free verse
    D) A structured ode in five stanzas
    ✅ Answer: D

  4. What is the main function of enjambment in the poem?
    A) Add ambiguity
    B) Emphasize lack of control
    C) Maintain a flowing, natural rhythm
    D) Compress the message
    ✅ Answer: C

  5. The poet uses frequent pauses (caesura) for:
    A) Emphasis and emotion
    B) Humor
    C) Technical clarity
    D) Hiding rhymes
    ✅ Answer: A

  6. Which stanza introduces the philosophical and metaphysical dimension of the tree?
    A) First
    B) Second
    C) Third
    D) Fourth
    ✅ Answer: D

  7. The repetition of the “s” sound in “sung darkling from our tree” is an example of:
    A) Onomatopoeia
    B) Sibilance
    C) Metonymy
    D) Zeugma
    ✅ Answer: B

  8. Why is sound imagery so prominent in the poem?
    A) To heighten musicality
    B) To contrast with visual images
    C) To evoke memory and emotion
    D) To simulate birdsong
    ✅ Answer: C

  9. The line “That haply to the unknown land may reach” is an example of:
    A) Apostrophe
    B) Biblical allusion
    C) Religious metaphor and personification
    D) Dramatic irony
    ✅ Answer: C

  10. The recurrence of sounds and images from the tree across foreign lands symbolizes:
    A) The spread of Indian culture
    B) The universality of nature
    C) The persistence of personal memory
    D) Global environmental unity
    ✅ Answer: C

Biographical Influence and Symbolism

  1. Where was Toru Dutt from?
    A) Sri Lanka
    B) Bengal, India
    C) Mauritius
    D) Punjab
    ✅ Answer: B

  2. Which family members of Toru Dutt were writers?
    A) Her father
    B) Her sister
    C) Both father and sister
    D) None
    ✅ Answer: C

  3. Who are the “sweet companions” mentioned in the poem?
    A) Friends from childhood
    B) Cousins
    C) Her deceased siblings
    D) Her classmates
    ✅ Answer: C

  4. Which emotion best represents Toru Dutt’s connection with the tree?
    A) Jealousy
    B) Gratitude
    C) Reverence and grief
    D) Contempt
    ✅ Answer: C

  5. The Casuarina tree is a metaphor for:
    A) Colonial rule
    B) Memory and immortality
    C) Power and danger
    D) Faith
    ✅ Answer: B

  6. Why is the poem considered an elegy?
    A) It celebrates life
    B) It praises a king
    C) It mourns lost loved ones
    D) It denounces nature
    ✅ Answer: C

  7. Which major theme is NOT part of the poem?
    A) Colonial oppression
    B) Memory
    C) Loss and death
    D) Nature’s immortality
    ✅ Answer: A

  8. The final stanza reflects a desire for:
    A) Material wealth
    B) Spiritual elevation
    C) Immortalizing loved ones and the tree through poetry
    D) Leaving India
    ✅ Answer: C

  9. Why is the tree associated with sacredness or consecration?
    A) It was worshiped by villagers
    B) The poet compares it to sacred trees of literature
    C) It has healing powers
    D) It was planted by saints
    ✅ Answer: B

  10. The tree stands for the poet’s:
    A) Political resistance
    B) Hope for rebirth
    C) Anchor of memory, love, and heritage
    D) Religious calling
    ✅ Answer: C

Symbolism & Thematic Depth

  1. The Casuarina tree symbolizes:
    A) Political struggle
    B) National pride
    C) Eternal memory and emotional attachment
    D) Physical strength alone
    ✅ Answer: C

  2. The “creeper” tightly coiled around the tree represents:
    A) A parasitic relationship
    B) Bondage and suffering
    C) Strong emotional ties, both nourishing and binding
    D) A divine force
    ✅ Answer: C

  3. The poet’s frequent reference to sound (birdsong, murmur, wail) reinforces:
    A) The harmony of nature
    B) Noise pollution
    C) Emotional memories and the enduring presence of the tree
    D) Scientific accuracy
    ✅ Answer: C

  4. The shadow of the tree cast over the tank suggests:
    A) The vastness of human power
    B) Protection and spiritual presence
    C) Pollution of water
    D) Total darkness
    ✅ Answer: B

  5. The baboon family in the tree suggests:
    A) Threats to the tree
    B) A microcosm of playful life and domestic joy
    C) Danger from wildlife
    D) Fear of extinction
    ✅ Answer: B

  6. The image of “snow enmassed” in water-lilies reflects:
    A) Coldness and decay
    B) A dreamlike, peaceful beauty
    C) Loss and barrenness
    D) Disconnection from nature
    ✅ Answer: B

  7. Why is the Casuarina tree “not dear…because of its magnificence”?
    A) The poet dislikes grandeur
    B) It’s actually quite plain
    C) Emotional associations and memories matter more than beauty
    D) The tree is decaying
    ✅ Answer: C

  8. “Till the hot tears blind mine eyes” signals:
    A) Physical pain
    B) Anger
    C) Overwhelming emotional grief linked to memory
    D) Dislike of sunlight
    ✅ Answer: C

  9. The tree’s imagined “lament” or “wail” gives the tree:
    A) Heroic status
    B) Political power
    C) A human-like, spiritual voice
    D) A destructive presence
    ✅ Answer: C

  10. The poem uses the natural to mirror the:
    A) Industrial
    B) Physical world
    C) Emotional and metaphysical world
    D) Celestial realm
    ✅ Answer: C

Literary Allusions & Intertextual References

  1. Who is the Romantic poet referenced in the final stanza?
    A) Coleridge
    B) Shelley
    C) Wordsworth
    D) Byron
    ✅ Answer: C

  2. The reference “Fear, trembling Hope, and Death the skeleton, and Time the shadow” echoes which work?
    A) Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
    B) The Prelude
    C) Wordsworth’s poem “Yew-Trees”
    D) Milton’s Paradise Lost
    ✅ Answer: C

  3. Borrowdale, mentioned in the poem, is located in:
    A) France
    B) Italy
    C) England’s Lake District
    D) Germany’s Black Forest
    ✅ Answer: C

  4. Why does Dutt reference European trees and landscapes?
    A) To compare their majesty
    B) To challenge colonial superiority
    C) To show memory transcends geography
    D) To criticize foreign customs
    ✅ Answer: C

  5. The “classic shore” of France and Italy alludes to:
    A) Tourist spots
    B) Sites of ancient literary glory and culture
    C) War zones
    D) India’s colonizers
    ✅ Answer: B

  6. The term “water-wraith” is derived from:
    A) Indian folklore
    B) Romantic Gothic literature
    C) Greek drama
    D) Norse mythology
    ✅ Answer: B

  7. “Trancèd in a dreamless swoon” is most similar to which Romantic theme?
    A) Rebellion
    B) Industrialization
    C) Stillness of nature mirroring spiritual stasis
    D) War and trauma
    ✅ Answer: C

  8. The creeper’s embrace reflects the Romantic motif of:
    A) Overgrowth
    B) Symbiosis in nature and emotional excess
    C) Violence
    D) Power struggles
    ✅ Answer: B

  9. Which literary device is used when the tree is described as a singer or speaker?
    A) Metonymy
    B) Apostrophe
    C) Personification
    D) Allegory
    ✅ Answer: C

  10. “Mayst thou be numbered… with deathless trees” implies the tree should:
    A) Be given historical status
    B) Be cut down and preserved
    C) Be included in literary immortality like sacred trees of literature
    D) Be planted abroad
    ✅ Answer: C

Philosophical Interpretation & Elegiac Features

  1. The poem is most aligned with which kind of poem?
    A) Sonnet sequence
    B) Dramatic monologue
    C) Lyrical elegy
    D) Narrative epic
    ✅ Answer: C

  2. What does “blessed sleep” metaphorically represent?
    A) Peace
    B) Death
    C) Rest from work
    D) Meditation
    ✅ Answer: B

  3. “For aye” in “blessed sleep, for aye” means:
    A) At night
    B) For a moment
    C) Forever
    D) For everyone
    ✅ Answer: C

  4. The speaker’s longing is primarily for:
    A) Her lost country
    B) Physical beauty
    C) Her deceased loved ones
    D) Fame
    ✅ Answer: C

  5. What gives the tree “immortality” in the poet’s view?
    A) Its age
    B) Its symbolic importance and poetic consecration
    C) Its size
    D) Its location
    ✅ Answer: B

  6. “Though weak the verse” shows the poet’s:
    A) Sarcasm
    B) Self-pity
    C) Modesty about the power of poetry
    D) Arrogance
    ✅ Answer: C

  7. The poem suggests that love can:
    A) Change the past
    B) Defy time and death by preserving memory
    C) Hurt deeply
    D) Cure illness
    ✅ Answer: B

  8. “Oblivion’s curse” refers to the fear of:
    A) Punishment after death
    B) Colonial erasure
    C) Being forgotten or erased from memory
    D) Natural decay
    ✅ Answer: C

  9. Toru Dutt’s poetry is often seen as a blend of:
    A) Mythology and satire
    B) Western literary tradition and Indian sentiment
    C) History and prophecy
    D) Realism and modernism
    ✅ Answer: B

  10. The enduring message of Our Casuarina Tree is:
    A) Nature is stronger than man
    B) Memory, love, and poetry can transcend death
    C) Family trees are important
    D) European nature is superior
    ✅ Answer: B

Title Significance & Thematic Wrap-Up

  1. The title “Our Casuarina Tree” emphasizes:
    A) Ownership and communal bond with nature
    B) Global ecology
    C) Scientific classification
    D) The growth of exotic trees
    ✅ Answer: A

  2. The possessive “Our” in the title implies:
    A) A general ownership by the world
    B) The poet’s deep emotional and personal connection
    C) A colonial claim
    D) The government planted the tree
    ✅ Answer: B

  3. The Casuarina tree is primarily a symbol of:
    A) Political defiance
    B) Spiritual enlightenment
    C) Memory and love transcending death
    D) Knowledge and learning
    ✅ Answer: C

  4. Which phrase best encapsulates the central theme of the poem?
    A) “Fear, trembling Hope, and Death the skeleton”
    B) “Mayst thou be numbered…with deathless trees”
    C) “The water-lilies spring, like snow enmassed”
    D) “The gray baboon sits statue-like”
    ✅ Answer: B

  5. Which of the following is NOT a major theme of the poem?
    A) Loss
    B) Nature
    C) Colonial power
    D) Memory
    ✅ Answer: C

  6. How does the poem portray nature?
    A) As cruel and indifferent
    B) As divine and eternal
    C) As chaotic
    D) As static and dull
    ✅ Answer: B

  7. Which line most strongly emphasizes personal grief?
    A) “And Time the shadow”
    B) “Till the hot tears blind mine eyes!”
    C) “The waves gently kissed the classic shore”
    D) “A creeper climbs”
    ✅ Answer: B

  8. The overarching tone of the poem is:
    A) Satirical
    B) Celebratory
    C) Elegiac and reverent
    D) Didactic
    ✅ Answer: C

  9. The tree is “consecrated” in the poem by:
    A) Religious ritual
    B) Poetic dedication and memory
    C) Mythological figures
    D) Indian customs
    ✅ Answer: B

  10. Which emotion is consistent throughout all five stanzas?
    A) Indifference
    B) Nostalgia
    C) Anger
    D) Envy
    ✅ Answer: B

Tone, Mood, and Stylistic Techniques

  1. The word “lament” suggests:
    A) Celebration
    B) Rational debate
    C) Sorrowful mourning
    D) Singing loudly
    ✅ Answer: C

  2. The poem’s mood moves from:
    A) Grief to joy
    B) Light to dark
    C) Wonder to reverence
    D) Calm to chaotic
    ✅ Answer: C

  3. Which line best reflects Romantic influence?
    A) “Watching the sunrise”
    B) “Like a huge Python”
    C) “When earth lay trancèd in a dreamless swoon”
    D) “Puny offspring leap about and play”
    ✅ Answer: C

  4. Dutt’s tone toward her lost companions is best described as:
    A) Regretful
    B) Loving and mournful
    C) Detached
    D) Sarcastic
    ✅ Answer: B

  5. The sound devices (like repetition and alliteration) serve to:
    A) Fill space in the poem
    B) Mimic natural rhythm and reinforce emotion
    C) Challenge the reader
    D) Confuse tone
    ✅ Answer: B

Exam-Style Conceptual Analysis

  1. Which is the best summary of the poem?
    A) A narrative of the seasons
    B) A meditation on beauty
    C) A lyrical tribute to a tree intertwined with memory, love, and loss
    D) A scientific analysis of a tree
    ✅ Answer: C

  2. “A lay” refers to:
    A) A bench under the tree
    B) A prayer
    C) A poem or song of tribute
    D) A burial site
    ✅ Answer: C

  3. The phrase “deathless trees” evokes:
    A) Environmental conservation
    B) Literary immortality
    C) Trees that don’t age
    D) Actual mythological forests
    ✅ Answer: B

  4. The tree’s immortality is ensured through:
    A) Scientific study
    B) Memory and poetic tribute
    C) Physical strength
    D) Legal protection
    ✅ Answer: B

  5. The final plea “May Love defend thee from Oblivion’s curse” implies:
    A) Legal protection
    B) Only love and memory can resist forgetting
    C) The tree must be buried
    D) The poet wants revenge
    ✅ Answer: B

Objective Revision Questions

  1. The poem belongs to which genre?
    A) Ode
    B) Epic
    C) Dramatic monologue
    D) Ballad
    ✅ Answer: A

  2. The poet’s worldview reflects a combination of:
    A) Western Romanticism and personal Indian context
    B) Marxist critique and satire
    C) Historical biography
    D) Religious dogma
    ✅ Answer: A

  3. The line “Thy form, O Tree, as in my happy prime” refers to:
    A) A future vision
    B) Childhood memory
    C) An old myth
    D) An imaginary place
    ✅ Answer: B

  4. The poet studied in:
    A) England and France
    B) Italy
    C) America
    D) Australia
    ✅ Answer: A

  5. Which of the following best describes Toru Dutt’s writing style in this poem?
    A) Minimalist and abstract
    B) Discursive and philosophical
    C) Lyrical, emotional, and rich in imagery
    D) Harsh and realistic
    ✅ Answer: C

  6. Why is the poem considered postcolonial in its context?
    A) It critiques British rule
    B) It blends Eastern and Western literary traditions through a colonial lens
    C) It talks about foreign kings
    D) It avoids any colonial reference
    ✅ Answer: B

  7. What best defines the tree’s dual role in the poem?
    A) Creature and destroyer
    B) Monument and metaphysical anchor
    C) Stranger and enemy
    D) Muse and ruler
    ✅ Answer: B

  8. In the poem, the past is portrayed as:
    A) Confusing
    B) Regretful
    C) Emotionally rich and haunting
    D) Forgotten
    ✅ Answer: C

  9. The phrase “Mine inner vision rose a form sublime” suggests:
    A) Madness
    B) Emotional hallucination
    C) Spiritual memory visualization
    D) Literal ghost-seeing
    ✅ Answer: C

  10. The poem closes with a hope that:
    A) The tree will be planted worldwide
    B) Love will keep memory alive despite the poem’s humble strength
    C) The poet will live forever
    D) Nature will reclaim the land
    ✅ Answer: B

Quiz

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Our Casuarina Tree Quiz 1
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