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Reading Assessment VI. ROMANTIC LITERATURE
DIRECTIONSCarefully read the following passage. Use context clues to help define any words with which you are unfamiliar. Pay close attention to the use of figurative language, argument, and tone. Then, on a separate sheet of paper, answer the questions that follow.
from “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” by Mary Wollstonecraft
| I once knew a weak woman of fashion, who was more than commonly proud of her delicacy and sensibility. She thought a distinguishing taste and puny appetite the height of all human perfection, and acted accordingly. I have seen this weak sophisticated being neglect all the duties of life, yet recline with self-complacency on a sofa, and boast of her want of appetite as a proof of delicacy that extended to, or, perhaps, arose from, her exquisite sensibility; for it is difficult to render intelligible such ridiculous jargon. … Women are everywhere in this deplorable state; for, in order to preserve their innocence, as ignorance is courteously termed, truth is hidden from them, and they are made to assume an artificial character before their faculties have acquired any strength. Taught from their infancy that beauty is woman’s scepter, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adore its prison. Men have various employments and pursuits which engage their attention, and give a character to the opening mind; but women, confined to one, and having their thoughts constantly directed to the most insignificant part of themselves, seldom extend their views beyond the triumph of the hour. … This argument branches into various ramifications. Birth, riches, and every extrinsic advantage that exalt a man above his fellows, without any mental exertion, sink him in reality below them. In proportion to his weakness, he is played upon by designing men, till the bloated monster has lost all traces of humanity. … Educated in slavish dependence, and enervated by luxury and sloth, where shall we find men who will stand forth to assert the rights of man, or claim the privilege of moral beings, who should have but one road to excellence? Slavery to monarchs and ministers, which the world will be long in freeing itself from, and whose deadly grasp stops the progress of the human mind, is not yet abolished. Let not men then in the pride of power, use the same arguments that tyrannic kings and venal ministers have used, and fallaciously assert that woman ought to be subjected because she has always been so. … [I]f women be educated for dependence, that is, to act according to the will of another fallible being, and submit, right or wrong, to power, where are we to stop? Are they to be considered as vicegerents allowed to reign over a small domain, and answerable for their conduct to a higher tribunal, liable to error? It will not be difficult to prove that such delegates will act like men subjected by fear, and make their children and servants endure their tyrannical oppression. As they submit without reason, they will, having no fixed rules to square their conduct by, be kind, or cruel, just as the whim of the moment directs; and we ought not to wonder if sometimes, galled by their heavy yoke, they take a malignant pleasure in resting it on weaker shoulders. … For man and woman, truth, if I understand the meaning of the word, must be the same; yet the fanciful female character, so prettily drawn by poets and novelists, demanding the sacrifice of truth and sincerity, virtue becomes a relative idea, having no other foundation than utility, and of that utility men pretend arbitrarily to judge, shaping it to their own convenience. |
COMPREHENSION
Directions Answer these questions about the excerpt from “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” by Mary Wollstonecraft
1.From the context, what do you conclude that the word want in line 5 means?
A need
B lack
C plan
D desire
2.Which of the following best describes the tone of the phrase as ignorance is courteously termed, in line 9?
A sad
B sympathetic
C ironic
D bitter
3.Which type of figurative language is Wollstonecraft using in the phrase beauty is woman’s scepter in line 11?
A simile
Bpersonification
C metaphor
D metaphysical conceit
4.What does Wollstonecraft claim “seeks to adore its prison” in line 12?
A the ignorant woman’s mind
B a beautiful woman’s scepter
C a gilt cage
D an artificial character
5.According to Wollstonecraft in lines 14–16, what is the effect of women’s having only one employment?
A They direct their thoughts to insignificant things.
B They open their minds and develop character.
C They develop insignificant character traits.
D They seldom extend their views past the present.
6.According to Wollstonecraft, what sinks a man below his fellows?
A advantage without mental exertion
B riches and every advantage
C the ramifications of argument
D weakness
7.From the context, what do you conclude that the word enervated, in line 21, means?
A strengthened
B frightened
C excited
D weakened
8.To whom does the word delegates, in line 33, refer?
A husbands
B women
C kings
D tyrants
9.Which of the following is the main idea of the paragraph that begins on line 33?
A Men and women are naturally tyrannical.
B Tyranny is unavoidable in the household.
C Women are not capable of tyrannical behavior.
D The effects of tyranny are never isolated.
10.From the context, what do you conclude that the word drawn, in line 40, means?
A created
B closed
C drained
D confused
11.On the basis of this passage, with which of the following statements do you think Wollstonecraft would be most likely to agree?
A Equality between the sexes is impossible.
B Truth is based on utility.
C Arbitrary power cannot be justified.
DInnocence is the most desirable condition.
12.On the basis of this passage, what do you think the overall tone of this essay is?
A ironic
B authoritative
C humorous
D sarcastic
13.From your reading of this selection, what do you think the author’s main purpose was?
A to persuade
B to instruct
C to inform
D to entertain
14.What is the main idea of this passage?
A Men and women must be treated differently.
B There is no such thing as truth.
C Inequality and tyranny are needless evils.
D Women are more adept than men.
DIRECTIONSCarefully read the following passages. Use context clues to help define any words with which you are unfamiliar. Pay close attention to the use of figurative language, argument, and tone. Then, on a separate sheet of paper, answer the questions that follow.
from “The Prelude, Book VI” by William Wordsworth
| . . . The brook and road Were fellow-travellers in this gloomy Pass, And with them did we journey several hours At a slow step. The immeasurable height Of woods decaying, never to be decayed, The stationary blasts of water-falls, And every where along the hollow rent Winds thwarting winds, bewildered and forlorn, The torrents shooting from the clear blue sky, The rocks that muttered close upon our ears, Black drizzling crags that spake by the way-side As if a voice were in them, the sick sight And giddy prospect of the raving stream, The unfettered clouds and region of the heavens, Tumult and peace, the darkness and the light Were all like workings of one mind, the features Of the same face, blossoms upon one tree, Characters of the great Apocalypse, The types and symbols of Eternity, Of first and last, and midst, and without end. |
from “Hymn to Intellectual1 Beauty” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
| The awful shadow of some unseen Power Floats though unseen amongst us,—visiting This various world with as inconstant wing As summer winds that creep from flower to flower.— Like moonbeams that behind some piny mountain shower, It visits with inconstant glance Each human heart and countenance; Like hues and harmonies of evening,— Like clouds in starlight widely spread,— Like memory of music fled,— Like aught that for its grace may be Dear, and yet dearer for its mystery. Spirit of beauty, that dost consecrate With thine own hues all thou dost shine upon Of human thought or form,—where art thou gone? Why dost thou pass away and leave our state, This dim vast vale of tears, vacant and desolate? Ask why the sunlight not forever Weaves rainbows o’er yon mountain river, Why aught should fail and fade that once is shewn, Why fear and dream and death and birth Cast on the daylight of this earth Such gloom,—why man has such a scope For love and hate, despondency and hope? |
COMPREHENSION
Directions Answer these questions about the excerpt from “The Prelude.”
1.The contradictory image of “woods decaying, never to be decayed” in line 5 suggests
Aharmony and discord
Bperfection and imperfection
Cchange and permanence
Dsolitude and companionship
2.In lines 6–8, assonance and consonance help to convey the sounds of
Awater and wind
Bbirds and people
Chooves and people’s feet
Dechoes and whispers in the pass
3.Which phrase in the poem presents an image of freedom?
A“stationary blasts” (line 6)
B“giddy prospect” (line 13)
C“unfettered clouds” (line 14)
D“blossoms upon one tree” (line 17)
4.Which phrase presents an image of conflicting forces?
A“gloomy Pass” (line 2)
B“immeasurable height” (line 4)
C“Winds thwarting winds” (line 8)
D“torrents shooting” (line 9)
5.Wordsworth’s use of personification and onomatopoeia in lines 10–11 helps to
Acreate a humorous image
Bconvey a sense of harmony
Cemphasize that nature is alive
Dillustrate the beauty of nature
6.A characteristic of romanticism that is evident in lines 4–15 is the poet’s use of
Asupernatural experiences to explain human feelings
Bdescriptions of common people and their daily lives
Cnatural phenomena to find solutions to society’s problems
Dimages that exalt the creative and destructive forces of nature
7.The similes in lines 16–20 express the belief that
Aall of nature’s variety stems from a single, timeless source
Bnature is like the mind of a dangerous criminal
Cancient texts reveal the true meaning of the laws of nature
Dthe course of friendship is similar to a journey through the mountains
Directions Answer these questions about the excerpt from “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty.”
8.Which image in the first stanza is a metaphor for the “intellectual beauty” of the title?
A“The awful shadow”
B“This various world”
C“summer winds”
D“piny mountain”
9.Reread lines 1–4. Which quality is Shelley attributing to intellectual beauty in the simile “with as inconstant wing / As summer winds that creep from flower to flower”?
Agentleness
Bordinariness
Cunpredictability
Dcheerfulness
10.In line 8, the simile that compares the shadow to “hues and harmonies of evening” appeals to the senses of
Asight and touch
Btaste and smell
Chearing and taste
Dsight and hearing
11.The alliteration in “Like memory of music fled” (line 10) mimics the quality of
Aspeed, as when someone runs away
Bloss, as when life changes over time
Ca musical note, as when someone hums
Dirony, as when something is appreciated only after it is gone
12.In the first stanza, the poet has created images and similes that describe
Aan idealized summer day in a “various world”
Bthe nature of the “shadow of some unseen Power”
Cthe troubles that he will suffer in his “human heart”
Dhow people respond to the “grace” and “mystery” of life
13.Which type of figurative language is used in lines 13–15 when the speaker mournfully questions the “Spirit of Beauty”?
Asimile
Bmetaphor
Capostrophe
Dpersonification
14.The alliteration in “This dim vast vale of tears, vacant and desolate” (line 17) helps convey an image of
Aa meaningless world
Boverwhelming emptiness
Ca severe rainstorm
Dthe darkness of winter
15.“Hymn to Intellectual Beauty” is characteristic of romantic poetry because Shelley
Awrites about subjective experiences of the individual
Bstresses reason and common sense
Cconveys a witty and refined view of his world
Dcomments on human interactions with institutions
Directions Answer this question about both poems.
16.Which statement describes a characteristic of Romanticism that is exhibited in both poems?
AThe poets recount emotional responses to life in clear, simple language.
BAll forces of nature are connected to the poets’ religious beliefs.
CThe celebration of love above all other emotions is central to the poem.
DBoth poets draw extensively on nature and their imaginations to convey their ideas.
WRITTEN RESPONSE
Short ResponseWrite three or four sentences to answer this question.
17.In lines 1–2 of “The Prelude,” the speaker calls the brook and the road “fellow travellers.” What does this metaphor suggest about the speaker’s relationship to nature?
Extended ResponseWrite two or three paragraphs to answer this question.
18.What is the main idea that Wordsworth conveys in this stanza excerpted from “The Prelude”? Cite words and phrases from the poem to support your answer.