Q.1. Stanza-wise Multiple-Choice Questions
Stanza 1
1. What does the poet call all houses where people
have lived and died?
a) Holy places b) Haunted houses c) Empty homes d)
Temples
Ans: b) Haunted houses
2. What kind of phantoms glide through the open doors?
a) Frightening b) Harmless c) Angry d) Mischievous
Ans: b) Harmless
3. What sound do the phantoms’ feet make?
a) Loud noise b) Light footsteps c) No sound d)
Rustling sound
Ans: c) No sound
4. Where do these phantoms glide?
a) In gardens b) On roofs c) Through open doors d) In
forests
Ans: c) Through open doors
5. What is the main idea of this stanza?
a) Houses echo with human voices b) Ghosts haunt human
homes silently c) Humans fear ghosts d) Houses are empty
Ans: b) Ghosts haunt human homes silently
Stanza 2
1. Where do we meet these phantoms?
a) On the stair and doorway b) In dreams c) In
cemeteries d) In sky
Ans: a) On the stair and doorway
2. What are “impalpable impressions”?
a) Visible marks b) Touchless traces c) Heavy objects
d) Soundless winds
Ans: b) Touchless traces
3. What moves to and fro?
a) Doors b) Curtains c) Ghostly presences d) Humans
Ans: c) Ghostly presences
4. How do these spirits pass?
a) Loudly b) Quietly c) Rapidly d) Fearfully
Ans: b) Quietly
5. What is the tone of this stanza?
a) Horror b) Calm mystery c) Anger d) Joy
Ans: b) Calm mystery
Stanza 3
1. Who are more in number at the table?
a) Hosts b) Guests c) Ghosts d) Servants
Ans: c) Ghosts
2. How are the ghosts described?
a) Noisy b) Dangerous c) Quiet and harmless d)
Invisible monsters
Ans: c) Quiet and harmless
3. What is the hall filled with?
a) Decorations b) Quiet ghosts c) Furniture d) Candles
Ans: b) Quiet ghosts
4. What are ghosts compared to?
a) Paintings on wall b) Animals c) Shadows d) Lights
Ans: a) Paintings on wall
5. What is the mood of the stanza?
a) Peaceful eeriness b) Violent fear c) Joyful reunion
d) Tension
Ans: a) Peaceful eeriness
Stanza 4
1. Who cannot see the forms the poet sees?
a) Stranger at fireside b) Friend c) Host d) Ghost
Ans: a) Stranger at fireside
2. What does the stranger perceive?
a) What is b) What was c) What will be d) Nothing
Ans: a) What is
3. What does the poet perceive?
a) Present only b) Past and present c) Future d)
Illusions
Ans: b) Past and present
4. What does this stanza show?
a) Imagination of poet b) Fear of ghosts c) Real
spirits d) Power of science
Ans: a) Imagination of poet
5. What is invisible to the stranger?
a) Living people b) Spiritual past c) House d) Fire
Ans: b) Spiritual past
Stanza 5
1. What do we not have title-deeds to?
a) Cars b) House or lands c) Money d) Souls
Ans: b) House or lands
2. Who are the owners of earlier dates?
a) Living people b) The dead c) Strangers d) Tenants
Ans: b) The dead
3. What do they stretch from graves?
a) Feet b) Dusty hands c) Shadows d) Papers
Ans: b) Dusty hands
4. What do they hold in mortmain?
a) Their estates b) Their souls c) Their lives d)
Their memories
Ans: a) Their estates
5. What does “mortmain” mean?
a) Living hand b) Dead hand ownership c) Ghost voice
d) Holy light
Ans: b) Dead hand ownership
Stanza 6
1. What floats around this world of sense?
a) Ocean b) Spirit-world c) Air d) Darkness
Ans: b) Spirit-world
2. What does it resemble?
a) Cloud b) Atmosphere c) Dust d) Light
Ans: b) Atmosphere
3. Through what does it waft?
a) Earthly mists and vapours b) Rivers c) Sky d) Winds
Ans: a) Earthly mists and vapours
4. What kind of air does it carry?
a) Hot air b) Ethereal air c) Polluted air d) Cold air
Ans: b) Ethereal air
5. What is the meaning of “ethereal”?
a) Heavy b) Spiritual/light c) Dirty d) Solid
Ans: b) Spiritual/light
Stanza 7
1. What keeps our little lives in balance?
a) Love b) Equipoise c) Conflict d) Joy
Ans: b) Equipoise
2. What are opposite attractions?
a) Desires and fears b) Enjoyment and aspiration c)
Love and hate d) Life and death
Ans: b) Enjoyment and aspiration
3. What does instinct enjoy?
a) Struggle b) Pleasure c) Pain d) Spirit
Ans: b) Pleasure
4. What does noble instinct aspire to?
a) Wealth b) Higher life c) Rest d) Food
Ans: b) Higher life
5. What does this stanza express?
a) Balance between body and soul b) Ghostly fear c)
Death d) Sadness
Ans: a) Balance between body and soul
Stanza 8
1. What causes perturbations and perpetual jar?
a) Joy b) Earthly wants and high aspirations c) Peace
d) Death
Ans: b) Earthly wants and high aspirations
2. What is their source?
a) An unseen star b) The sun c) The moon d) Clouds
Ans: a) An unseen star
3. What does this star represent?
a) Hope b) The spiritual world c) Science d) Darkness
Ans: b) The spiritual world
4. What is “undiscovered planet” symbolic of?
a) Heaven b) Unseen spiritual power c) Earth d) Mars
Ans: b) Unseen spiritual power
5. What is the tone here?
a) Reflective and mystical b) Fearful c) Angry d)
Joyful
Ans: a) Reflective and mystical
Stanza 9
1. What throws a floating bridge of light over the
sea?
a) Sun b) Moon c) Stars d) Clouds
Ans: b) Moon
2. What is the bridge made of?
a) Light b) Wood c) Cloud d) Water
Ans: a) Light
3. What crosses the trembling planks?
a) People b) Fancies c) Ghosts d) Ships
Ans: b) Fancies
4. Where do the fancies go?
a) Realm of mystery and night b) Heaven c) Sea d)
Forest
Ans: a) Realm of mystery and night
5. What is symbolized by this bridge?
a) Link between imagination and unknown b) Path to
heaven c) Death d) Dream
Ans: a) Link between imagination and unknown
Stanza 10
1. What descends from the world of spirits?
a) A bridge of light b) A star c) A moonbeam d) A
ladder
Ans: a) A bridge of light
2. What does it connect?
a) Heaven and earth b) Spirit-world and human world c)
Sea and sky d) Life and death
Ans: b) Spirit-world and human world
3. What kind of floor does it have?
a) Steady b) Unsteady c) Broken d) Smooth
Ans: b) Unsteady
4. What wanders over this bridge?
a) Our thoughts b) Ghosts c) Souls d) Dreams
Ans: a) Our thoughts
5. What lies beneath this bridge?
a) Dark abyss b) Water c) Land d) Light
Ans: a) Dark abyss
Multiple-Choice Questions {Set -2}
1.What does the poet suggest about all houses in the
opening lines?
(a) They are empty after death
(b) They are haunted by memories of the past
(c) They are places of fear
(d) They are owned by spirits
Answer: (b)
2. How are the ghosts described in the poem?
(a) Violent and revengeful
(b) Loud and frightening
(c) Quiet and harmless
(d) Visible and speaking
Answer: (c)
3. What is the attitude of the ghosts towards the
living?
(a) Hostile
(b) Possessive
(c) Indifferent and non-intrusive
(d) Demanding
Answer: (c)
4. The phrase “owners and occupants of earlier
dates” shows that the ghosts are:
(a) legal owners of houses
(b) forgotten strangers
(c) former inhabitants of the houses
(d) passing visitors
Answer: (c)
5. What does “hold in mortmain still their old
estates” suggest?
(a) Physical possession of property
(b) Symbolic and emotional attachment to the past
(c) Legal ownership after death
(d) Conflict with the living
Answer: (b)
6. Longfellow presents his ghosts as:
(a) sinister
(b) inoffensive
(c) menacing
(d) ugly
Answer: (b)
7. Ghosts in the poem move about:
(a) in search of some victim
(b) on some errands
(c) aimlessly
(d) in search of food
Answer: (b)
8. The ghosts visit the houses as:
(a) former owners
(b) harmless spirits
(c) invisible presences
(d) none of the above
Answer: (a)
9. How are the ghosts described in the
illuminated hall?
(a) frightening
(b) aggressive
(c) quiet and inoffensive
(d) mischievous
Answer: (c)
10. “Is thronged with quiet, inoffensive ghosts,”
contains which figure of speech?
(a) simile
(b) antithesis
(c) metaphor
(d) personification
Answer: (d)
11. “As silent as the pictures on the wall” is an
example of:
(a) irony
(b) metaphor
(c) sarcasm
(d) simile
Answer: (d)
12. “We meet them at the doorway, on the stair,”
shows the use of:
(a) simile
(b) antithesis
(c) metaphor
(d) personification
Answer: (d)
13. “Are haunted houses.” Identify the figure of
speech.
(a) simile
(b) anaphora
(c) alliteration
(d) personification
Answer: (c) alliteration
14. “There are more guests at table than the
hosts invited” suggests:
(a) excess hospitality
(b) imagination
(c) presence of ghosts
(d) surprise visitors
Answer: (c)
15. What is said about the guests at the table?
(a) They are noisy
(b) They are uninvited ghosts
(c) They are few
(d) They are visible
Answer: (b)
16. What does the phrase “dusty hands” signify?
(a) forgotten past
(b) present occupants
(c) decay
(d) labour
Answer: (a)
17. “As silent as the pictures on the wall”
emphasises the ghosts’ quality of being:
(a) frightening
(b) decorative
(c) unnoticed and unobtrusive
(d) powerful
Answer: (c)
18. Why can the stranger not see the ghosts?
(a) he is blind
(b) he is a human being
(c) he does not believe in ghosts
(d) he perceives only what is
Answer: (d)
19. The stranger at the fireside symbolises a
person who:
(a) is afraid of ghosts
(b) is unaware of the unseen presence of the past
(c) deliberately ignores spiritual realities
(d) is hostile to imagination
Answer: (b)
20. This contrast between the speaker and the
stranger highlights the poem’s idea that:
(a) ghosts reveal themselves selectively
(b) imagination is superior to reason
(c) reality includes more than what senses perceive
(d) fear shapes human belief
Answer: (c)
21. “Impalpable impression on the air” —
Impalpable means:
(a) indelible
(b) inevitable
(c) intangible
(d) solid
Answer: (c)
22. What impression do the ghosts leave in the
air?
(a) heavy
(b) impalpable and mysterious
(c) warm
(d) terrifying
Answer: (b)
23. What floats around the world of sense?
(a) darkness
(b) spirit-world
(c) mist
(d) sound
Answer: (b)
24. What kind of spirit-world is conceived?
(a) ugly
(b) beautiful
(c) delicate and quiet
(d) sensitive
Answer: (c)
25. “And as the moon from some dark gate of
cloud” is an example of:
(a) simile
(b) antithesis
(c) metaphor
(d) personification
Answer: (a)
26. What does the moon create across the sea?
(a) bridge of darkness
(b) floating bridge of light
(c) path to spirit world
(d) shimmering gate
Answer: (b)
27. What kind of bridge on the sea is imagined?
(a) solid
(b) perpetual
(c) steady
(d) floating
Answer: (d)
28. Why is the “bridge of light” described as
trembling in the poem?
(a) Because it represents the delicate connection between the visible and
invisible worlds
(b) Because the sea is stormy
(c) Because the ghosts disturb it
(d) Because the bridge is physically weak
Answer: (a)
29. What does the “bridge of light” symbolise?
(a) connection between physical and spiritual worlds
(b) eternal life
(c) journey of soul
(d) knowledge
Answer: (a)
30. In the poem, what does the “undiscovered
planet in our sky” represent?
(a) A physical planet in the universe
(b) The hidden spirit-world that surrounds human life
(c) Unseen forces influencing human desires and aspirations
(d) The destiny that governs human fate
Answer: (c)
31. What keeps human lives in balance?
(a) religion
(b) opposite attractions and desires
(c) values
(d) fate
Answer: (b)
32. “Our little lives are kept in equipoise”
refers to conflict between:
(a) love and hate
(b) joy and sorrow
(c) instinct and aspiration
(d) life and death
Answer: (c)
33. What creates “perturbations” in life?
(a) disasters
(b) earthly wants and high aspirations
(c) ghosts
(d) conflicts
Answer: (b)
34. The “perpetual jar” refers to:
(a) constant inner disturbance caused by desire and ambition
(b) the physical human body as a vessel
(c) the immortal soul
(d) a container holding human wishes
Answer: (a)
35. Which idea in the poem goes against common
belief?
(a) presence of ghosts
(b) ghosts are harmless
(c) ghosts cannot be seen
(d) ghosts are everywhere
Answer: (b)
36. The atmosphere of the poem “Haunted Houses”
is:
(a) melancholic
(b) eerie
(c) peaceful
(d) unsettling
Answer: (c)
37. The poet’s tone in the poem is:
(a) frightened
(b) reflective and philosophical
(c) angry
(d) joyful
Answer: (b)
38. What is the central theme of the poem
“Haunted Houses”?
(a) fear of ghosts
(b) persistence of memory and the past
(c) good versus evil
(d) beauty of nature
Answer: (b)
39. What is the central idea of the
poem Haunted Houses?
(a) Fear of ghosts
(b) Conflict between past and present
(c) Silent coexistence of the past with the present
(d) Supernatural punishment
Answer: (c)
Stanza-wise One Mark Questions
Stanza 1
1. What kind of houses are called haunted?
Ans: Houses where men have lived and died.
2. Who glide through open doors?
Ans: Harmless phantoms.
3. What sound do their feet make?
Ans: No sound at all.
4. Where do the phantoms move?
Ans: Upon the floors of houses.
5. What is the mood of this stanza?
Ans: Calm and mysterious.
Stanza 2
1. Where do we meet the spirits?
Ans: At the doorway and on the stair.
2. What do they leave on the air?
Ans: Impalpable impressions.
3. What does “to and fro” suggest?
Ans: Constant ghostly movement.
4. How do they move?
Ans: Silently and invisibly.
5. What idea is conveyed?
Ans: Ghosts still move around us.
Stanza 3
1. Who are more than invited guests?
Ans: Quiet, inoffensive ghosts.
2. Where do they gather?
Ans: In the illuminated hall.
3. What are ghosts compared to?
Ans: Pictures on the wall.
4. How are they described?
Ans: Silent and harmless.
5. What feeling does the stanza create?
Ans: Peaceful presence of spirits.
Stanza 4
1. Who sits at the poet’s fireside?
Ans: A stranger.
2. What can the stranger not see?
Ans: The forms the poet sees.
3. What does the stranger perceive?
Ans: Only the present reality.
4. What does the poet perceive?
Ans: The visible past and present.
5. What contrast is shown?
Ans: Between material and spiritual vision.
Stanza 5
1. What do we lack title-deeds to?
Ans: Houses and lands.
2. Who owned them before us?
Ans: The dead of earlier times.
3. From where do they stretch their hands?
Ans: From forgotten graves.
4. What do they hold in mortmain?
Ans: Their old estates.
5. What does “mortmain” mean?
Ans: Ownership held by the dead.
Stanza 6
1. What surrounds this world of sense?
Ans: The spirit-world.
2. To what is it compared?
Ans: An atmosphere.
3. Through what does it waft?
Ans: Earthly mists and vapours.
4. What kind of air does it carry?
Ans: Ethereal air.
5. What does the stanza imply?
Ans: Spirits are everywhere around us.
Stanza 7
1. What keeps our lives balanced?
Ans: Equipoise of desires.
2. What does one instinct do?
Ans: Enjoys earthly pleasure.
3. What does the noble instinct do?
Ans: Aspires to higher life.
4. What are these instincts?
Ans: Opposite attractions.
5. What is the theme here?
Ans: Balance of body and soul.
Stanza 8
1. What causes perpetual jar?
Ans: Earthly wants and aspirations.
2. What is its hidden source?
Ans: An unseen star.
3. What does the unseen star represent?
Ans: Spiritual influence.
4. What is the undiscovered planet?
Ans: Symbol of hidden spirit-world.
5. What tone does the stanza have?
Ans: Reflective and mystical.
Stanza 9
1. What throws a bridge of light?
Ans: The moon.
2. Where is it thrown?
Ans: Over the sea.
3. What crosses its trembling planks?
Ans: Our fancies.
4. Where do they move?
Ans: Into the realm of mystery and night.
5. What does the bridge symbolize?
Ans: Link between imagination and mystery.
Stanza 10
1. What descends from the spirit-world?
Ans: A bridge of light.
2. What does it connect?
Ans: The spirit-world and human world.
3. What kind of floor does it have?
Ans: Unsteady and bending.
4. What wanders across it?
Ans: Human thoughts.
5. What lies beneath it?
Ans: The dark abyss.
Stanza-wise Extract-based 1 mark questions
Stanza 1
Extract 1: “All houses wherein men have
lived and died Are haunted houses.”
Q 1. Who wrote
these lines?
Ans. H. W. Longfellow.
Q 2. What does
‘haunted houses’ mean?
Ans. Houses filled with memories or spirits of the dead.
Q 3. What idea is
introduced here?
Ans. That every home has unseen presences of the departed.
Q 4. What tone is
set?
Ans. Mystical and reflective.
Q 5. What does
‘wherein men have lived and died’ suggest?
Ans. It shows human life’s cycle leaving traces behind.
Q 6. How does the
line appeal to the reader?
Ans. It arouses curiosity about the unseen world.
Extract 2: “Through the open doors The
harmless phantoms on their errands glide.”
Q 1. What are
harmless phantoms?
Ans. Spirits or memories that do no harm.
Q 2. What does
‘on their errands glide’ mean?
Ans. They move about silently as if performing duties.
Q 3. What mood is
created?
Ans. Serene and ghostly.
Q 4. What poetic
device is used in ‘harmless phantoms’?
Ans. Personification.
Q 5. What does
the line imply about death?
Ans. That death’s presence continues softly in daily spaces.
Q 6. How do the
phantoms behave?
Ans. They glide quietly through the open doors.
Stanza 2
Extract 1: “We meet them at the doorway,
on the stair.”
Q 1. Who are
‘them’?
Ans. The unseen spirits of the dead.
Q 2. Where are
they found?
Ans. At the doorway and on the stair.
Q 3. What feeling
do they create?
Ans. A faint sense of unseen companionship.
Q 4. What is the
tone?
Ans. Mysterious yet calm.
Q 5. How does the
poet imagine human spaces?
Ans. Filled with invisible movements.
Q 6. What does
the line suggest about perception?
Ans. That the living often sense unseen beings.
Extract 2: “Impalpable impressions on the
air, A sense of something moving to and fro.”
Q 1. What does
‘impalpable’ mean?
Ans. Something that cannot be touched or grasped.
Q 2. What
impression do the spirits leave?
Ans. A subtle, airy presence felt by the sensitive mind.
Q 3. What does
‘moving to and fro’ convey?
Ans. Continuous, silent activity of unseen beings.
Q 4. What
atmosphere is created?
Ans. Ghostly yet peaceful.
Q 5. How does the
poet describe the invisible world?
Ans. As full of faint, intangible motion.
Q 6. What idea
about life and death emerges?
Ans. That the two coexist invisibly around us.
Stanza 3
Extract 1: “There are more guests at
table, than the hosts Invited.”
Q 1. What does
the poet mean?
Ans. That unseen spirits share meals silently with the living.
Q 2. What tone is
used?
Ans. Mildly humorous yet mysterious.
Q 3. What does
‘guests’ symbolize?
Ans. The invisible souls present in the home.
Q 4. How does
this affect the reader?
Ans. It evokes wonder about unseen company.
Q 5. What poetic
device appears in ‘hosts invited’?
Ans. Irony.
Q 6. What is the
central idea?
Ans. The unseen dead are ever present in human life.
Extract 2: “The illuminated hall Is
thronged with quiet, inoffensive ghosts.”
Q 1. What does
‘illuminated hall’ signify?
Ans. The bright household full of living energy.
Q 2. What fills
it besides people?
Ans. Quiet, harmless spirits.
Q 3. What mood is
evoked?
Ans. A calm, mysterious coexistence of life and spirit.
Q 4. What
comparison is made later?
Ans. Ghosts are as silent as pictures on the wall.
Q 5. What theme
emerges?
Ans. The thin boundary between life and death.
Q 6. How are
ghosts portrayed?
Ans. As peaceful presences, not frightening ones.
Stanza 4
Extract 1: “The stranger at my fireside
cannot see The forms I see.”
Q 1. Who is the
stranger?
Ans. An ordinary person without spiritual sensitivity.
Q 2. What can’t
he see?
Ans. The unseen spirits the poet perceives.
Q 3. What is the
contrast here?
Ans. Between physical and spiritual perception.
Q 4. What does
‘fireside’ symbolize?
Ans. The warmth of life shared between visible and invisible
worlds.
Q 5. What tone
dominates?
Ans. Thoughtful and introspective.
Q 6. What theme
appears?
Ans. Different people perceive reality differently.
Extract 2: “He but perceives what is;
while unto me All that has been is visible and clear.”
Q 1. What does
the poet claim?
Ans. That he senses both the present and the lingering past.
Q 2. What
difference is shown?
Ans. The stranger sees the physical; the poet sees the spiritual
too.
Q 3. What does
‘all that has been’ mean?
Ans. The past lives and memories tied to the place.
Q 4. What quality
of the poet is revealed?
Ans. His heightened awareness of unseen realities.
Q 5. What poetic
contrast is used?
Ans. Between reality and memory.
Q 6. What insight
is offered?
Ans. The sensitive mind perceives the coexistence of life and
death.
Stanza 5
Extract 1: “We have no title-deeds to
house or lands.”
Q 1. What does
‘title-deeds’ mean?
Ans. Legal proof of ownership.
Q 2. What does
the poet suggest?
Ans. That true ownership belongs to none; all is temporary.
Q 3. What tone is
used?
Ans. Philosophical.
Q 4. What truth
is implied?
Ans. Earthly possessions are fleeting.
Q 5. What idea
follows?
Ans. The dead still hold their homes spiritually.
Q 6. What theme
arises?
Ans. Human impermanence and continuity of the past.
Extract 2: “From graves forgotten stretch
their dusty hands, And hold in mortmain still their old estates.”
Q 1. What image
is used?
Ans. The dead stretching dusty hands from graves.
Q 2. What does
‘mortmain’ mean?
Ans. Ownership retained by the dead.
Q 3. What does it
symbolize?
Ans. The lasting grip of the past on the present.
Q 4. What tone
prevails?
Ans. Meditative and solemn.
Q 5. What message
emerges?
Ans. The dead’s presence endures beyond burial.
Q 6. What effect
does it create?
Ans. A haunting image of memory’s persistence.
Stanza 6
Extract 1: “The spirit-world around this
world of sense Floats like an atmosphere.”
Q 1. What two
worlds are mentioned?
Ans. The spirit-world and the sensory world.
Q 2. How are they
related?
Ans. The spirit-world envelops the material world.
Q 3. What
comparison is used?
Ans. Like air surrounding earth.
Q 4. What feeling
is evoked?
Ans. A sense of invisible presence everywhere.
Q 5. What is
‘world of sense’?
Ans. The physical world known by touch and sight.
Q 6. What truth
is implied?
Ans. The unseen world coexists with the seen.
Extract 2: “Wafts through these earthly
mists and vapours dense A vital breath of more ethereal air.”
Q 1. What is
wafting through?
Ans. The living breath of the spirit-world.
Q 2. What does
‘ethereal’ mean?
Ans. Light, heavenly, or spiritual.
Q 3. What
contrast is made?
Ans. Between dense earthly vapours and pure spiritual air.
Q 4. What tone
dominates?
Ans. Serene and mystical.
Q 5. What imagery
is used?
Ans. Air and mist to show the blending of worlds.
Q 6. What is the
central meaning?
Ans. Spirit constantly influences mortal life.
Stanza 7
Extract 1: “Our little lives are kept in
equipoise By opposite attractions and desires.”
Q 1. What does
‘equipoise’ mean?
Ans. Balance.
Q 2. What are the
opposing forces?
Ans. Worldly desires and spiritual aspirations.
Q 3. What idea is
expressed?
Ans. Life stays balanced through conflict.
Q 4. What tone is
used?
Ans. Thoughtful and moral.
Q 5. What lesson
is implied?
Ans. Struggle maintains harmony.
Q 6. How does it
connect to earlier ideas?
Ans. It shows human life’s link between body and soul.
Extract 2: “The struggle of the instinct
that enjoys, And the more noble instinct that aspires.”
Q 1. What two
instincts are mentioned?
Ans. Pleasure-seeking and aspiring.
Q 2. What is the
poet’s preference?
Ans. The noble instinct that aspires.
Q 3. What does
this contrast symbolize?
Ans. The dual nature of man.
Q 4. What tone is
shown?
Ans. Moral and reflective.
Q 5. How does it
fit the poem’s theme?
Ans. It unites spiritual and earthly conflicts.
Q 6. What message
emerges?
Ans. True life is balance between desire and aspiration.
Stanza 8
Extract 1: “These perturbations, this
perpetual jar Of earthly wants and aspirations high.”
Q 1. What are
perturbations?
Ans. Restless disturbances of human nature.
Q 2. What causes
them?
Ans. Conflicts between material and spiritual needs.
Q 3. What tone
appears?
Ans. Analytical and philosophical.
Q 4. What poetic
device is used?
Ans. Alliteration in ‘perpetual jar’.
Q 5. What theme
continues?
Ans. Tension between heaven and earth.
Q 6. What feeling
arises?
Ans. A sense of constant inner conflict.
Extract 2: “Come from the influence of an unseen
star, An undiscovered planet in our sky.”
Q 1. What does the unseen star symbolize?
Ans. The hidden spiritual forces guiding man.
Q 2. What does the poet compare it to?
Ans. An invisible planet affecting earthly life.
Q 3. What tone is used?
Ans. Mystical and cosmic.
Q 4. What idea is conveyed?
Ans. Unseen powers control human emotions.
Q 5. How does it relate to the poem?
Ans. It extends the theme of invisible influence.
Q 6. What image stands out?
Ans. An undiscovered planet symbolizing mystery.
Stanza 9
Extract 1: “And as the moon from some dark gate of
cloud Throws o’er the sea a floating bridge of light.”
Q 1. What image is used?
Ans. The moon casting a light bridge on the sea.
Q 2. What does it symbolize?
Ans. Connection between known and unknown worlds.
Q 3. What poetic device appears?
Ans. Simile.
Q 4. What mood is evoked?
Ans. Mystical beauty.
Q 5. What does the ‘dark gate of cloud’ mean?
Ans. The boundary between darkness and light.
Q 6. What is the poet’s purpose?
Ans. To prepare for the idea of a link between worlds.
Extract 2: “Across whose trembling planks our
fancies crowd Into the realm of mystery and night.”
Q 1. What are ‘trembling planks’?
Ans. Unstable paths of imagination.
Q 2. What do ‘our fancies’ mean?
Ans. Human thoughts and imaginations.
Q 3. What is the ‘realm of mystery and night’?
Ans. The unknown spiritual world.
Q 4. What tone dominates?
Ans. Imaginative and mysterious.
Q 5. What idea is expressed?
Ans. Through imagination, we reach the unseen.
Q 6. What image strengthens the theme?
Ans. The shaky bridge connecting two worlds.
Stanza 10
Extract 1: “So from the world of spirits there
descends A bridge of light, connecting it with this.”
Q 1. What descends from the spirit world?
Ans. A bridge of light.
Q 2. What does it connect?
Ans. The spiritual and the earthly worlds.
Q 3. What does the bridge symbolize?
Ans. The link between life and death.
Q 4. What tone is present?
Ans. Mystical and hopeful.
Q 5. What imagery is used?
Ans. Bridge and light imagery.
Q 6. What is the main message?
Ans. Spirit and matter are eternally connected.
Extract 2: “O’er whose unsteady floor, that sways
and bends, Wander our thoughts above the dark abyss.”
Q 1. What is the unsteady floor?
Ans. The fragile bridge of thought.
Q 2. What does ‘dark abyss’ mean?
Ans. The mysterious unknown beyond life.
Q 3. What do ‘our thoughts’ do?
Ans. They wander between the seen and unseen.
Q 4. What tone is conveyed?
Ans. Meditative and mysterious.
Q 5. What emotion arises?
Ans. Awe at the vast mystery of existence.
Q 6. How does the poem end?
Ans. With the vision of human thought linking the mortal to the
immortal.
Each of the following questions carries 2
marks.
Q 1. How does Longfellow describe haunted
houses?
Ans. Longfellow says all houses where men have lived
and died are haunted because spirits of the past silently move through them.
These harmless phantoms glide noiselessly across the floors, symbolizing that
human life leaves behind a gentle, lingering presence even after death.
Q 2. What feeling do the opening lines
create?
Ans. The opening lines create a calm, mysterious
atmosphere. The image of silent ghosts moving quietly through familiar places
suggests continuity between life and death, evoking awe and peace rather than
fear.
Q 3. What does the poet mean by
‘impalpable impressions on the air’?
Ans. He means that the spirits are intangible but
their presence can be felt like faint vibrations. Though unseen, they move
along stairs and passages, creating an invisible sense of life that connects
the living world with the spiritual realm.
Q 4. How is the movement of the spirits described?
Ans. The movement of the spirits is described as subtle
and airy. The spirits glide to and fro like the soft breezes, showing that
life’s essence continues to flow invisibly within familiar human spaces.
Q 5. What does the poet mean by ‘more
guests at the table than the hosts invited’?
Ans. The poet humorously suggests that unseen spirits
also share the company of the living. The ghosts sit quietly like the pictures
on the walls, symbolizing memory’s silent participation in everyday life.
Q 6. How does the poet present the ghosts
here?
Ans. According
to the poet, the ghosts are peaceful and harmless. They are gentle
reminders of those who once lived, showing that death doesn’t end presence but
transforms it into silent companionship.
Q 7. What difference does the poet show
between himself and the stranger?
Ans. The poet says that the stranger sees only the
physical world, while he perceives the spiritual dimension. To him, all that
has been remains visible, revealing his deeper sensitivity to memory and unseen
life.
Q 8. What does the poet suggest about
perception?
Ans. The poet suggests that true vision includes both
visible reality and invisible memory. Only a spiritual and sensitive mind can
sense the presence of the departed.
Q 9. What does Longfellow mean by ‘We have
no title-deeds to house or lands’?
Ans. Longfellow means that ownership of property is
temporary. The dead still spiritually hold their former homes, symbolizing that
human possession is transient [temporary] while memory endures.
Q 10. How do the dead ‘hold in mortmain
their old estates’?
Ans. The poet
imagines the dead extending their dusty hands from the forgotten graves,
still clinging symbolically to their lands, reminding us that the past
continues to influence the present.
Q 11. How does the poet describe the
spirit-world’s relation to the material world?
Ans. The poet compares the spirit-world to an
atmosphere that floats around the physical world. This shows that the unseen
realm constantly surrounds and influences earthly existence like the invisible
air sustaining life.
Q 12. What is meant by ‘vital breath of
more ethereal air’?
Ans. The phrase ‘vital breath of more ethereal air’ means
the divine or spiritual force that passes through worldly mist, purifying and
enlivening human life with a higher essence.
Q 13. What does the poet mean by ‘Our
little lives are kept in equipoise’?
Ans. According to the poet human life stays balanced
through the pull of opposite desires—worldly enjoyment and spiritual
aspiration. These contrasting forces maintain harmony within existence.
Q 14. How does Longfellow contrast two
instincts?
Ans. Longfellow contrasts the instinct that enjoys
with the one that aspires, suggesting that both are necessary for growth but
the nobler aspiration should guide human life.
Q 15. What are the ‘perturbations’ and
‘perpetual jar’ mentioned?
Ans. The phrase ‘perturbations’ and ‘perpetual jar’
refers to inner conflicts caused by human desires and higher aims. The poet
views these struggles as signs of spiritual influence from an unseen celestial
power.
Q 16. What does the ‘unseen star’
symbolize?
Ans. The phrase ‘unseen star’ symbolizes
mysterious spiritual forces or divine influences shaping human thought and
emotion from beyond the visible universe.
Q 17. Explain the image of the ‘floating
bridge of light’.
Ans. The moon’s reflection across the sea becomes a
bridge of light symbolizing a connection between the physical and the spiritual
worlds. Through imagination, man crosses from the reality into mystery.
Q 18. What role does imagination play
here?
Ans. Imagination allows human thoughts to travel
beyond the visible world, building a luminous path into the unknown realm of
spirits and eternity.
Q 19. What is the ‘bridge of light’ that
connects the two worlds?
Ans. The phrase ‘bridge of light’ is a symbolic link
between life and the spirit-world, showing that communication exists between
mortal and immortal realms through thought and faith.
Q 20. What happens on the ‘unsteady floor’
of that bridge?
Ans. The poet says human thoughts wander uncertainly
between life and death, suggesting our constant yearning to understand the
mysterious connection between existence and eternity.
Each of the following questions carries 3
marks. {Set - 1}
Question 1. How does Longfellow redefine the
concept of a "haunted house" and what characterizes the movements of
the phantoms within it?
Answer: Longfellow suggests every house where people have lived and
died is inherently haunted by its past inhabitants. Unlike typical horror
tropes, these phantoms are "harmless" and move silently on
"errands," suggesting a peaceful, natural continuation of their
domestic lives rather than a malevolent presence.
Question 2. In what way does the poet describe the physical
encounter between the living and the spirits in the second stanza?
Answer: The poet describes spirits as "impalpable
impressions" that the living encounter in transitional spaces like
doorways and stairs. They are not solid figures but a sensory "sense of
something moving," existing as a subtle, atmospheric layer that coexists
with the physical world without direct interference.
Question 3. Contrast the "invited" guests with the
"ghosts" present in the illuminated hall as described in the third
stanza.
Answer: While the hosts invite a specific number of living guests,
the hall is actually "thronged" with a greater number of quiet,
inoffensive ghosts. These spirits are compared to "pictures on the
wall," emphasizing their stillness, silence, and the way they blend into
the background of the home's history.
Question 4. How does the speaker’s perception of the house
differ from that of the "stranger at the fireside"?
Answer: The stranger only perceives the physical reality or
"what is," being deaf and blind to the spiritual presence. In
contrast, the speaker sees the "forms" and hears the
"sounds" of the past, as his deep connection to the home makes the
history of "all that has been" visible and clear.
Question 5. Explain the legal metaphor used in the fifth stanza
regarding the ownership of land and houses.
Answer: The poet asserts that the living hold no true
"title-deeds" because the original owners—the "occupants of
earlier dates"—still maintain a claim. Using the legal term
"mortmain" (dead hand), he suggests that the dead exert an eternal,
unalienable influence over their estates from beyond the grave.
Question 6. How does Longfellow use the metaphor of the
"atmosphere" to describe the relationship between the spirit world
and the physical world?
Answer: The spirit world is depicted as a "vital breath"
that floats around the world of sense like an atmosphere. It permeates the
"earthly mists and vapours," suggesting that the spiritual realm is
not a distant place but a refined, "ethereal" layer of reality that
constantly surrounds and sustains the living.
Question 7. According to the seventh stanza, what two
"instincts" keep human lives in a state of "equipoise"?
Answer: Human lives are balanced by the "struggle"
between two opposing forces: the "instinct that enjoys," which
represents earthly pleasures and physical desires, and the "noble instinct
that aspires," which represents spiritual growth and higher intellectual
or moral ambitions.
Question 8. What celestial explanation does the poet provide for
the internal conflicts and "perturbations" experienced by humans?
Answer: The poet attributes the "perpetual jar" between
earthly wants and high aspirations to the influence of an "unseen
star" or an "undiscovered planet." This suggests that human
restlessness and spiritual longing are governed by cosmic, invisible forces
beyond our immediate understanding.
Question 9. Analyse the imagery of the "bridge of
light" in the ninth stanza and what it represents for human
"fancies."
Answer: The moon casting a "floating bridge of light"
across the sea serves as a metaphor for the human imagination. This bridge
allows our "fancies" to cross over the "trembling planks"
of reality into the "realm of mystery and night," illustrating how
beauty and nature facilitate our mental transition into the unknown.
Question 10. How does the final stanza conclude the poem’s
exploration of the connection between the world of spirits and the world of the
living?
Answer: The poet concludes that a "bridge of light" descends
from the spirit world to connect with the physical world. Though this floor is
"unsteady" and "sways," it provides a path for our thoughts
to wander safely above the "dark abyss," symbolizing the fragile but
essential link between life and the afterlife.
Each of the following questions carries 3
marks. {Set - 2}
1. Why does the poet
say that all the houses where people have lived and died are haunted houses?
Answer: The poet suggests that all the houses where people
have lived and died carry the invisible presence of their memories and spirits.
These “phantoms” are harmless and they move silently through the open doors and
rooms. They represent the lingering influence of the past lives. Thus, a house
is metaphorically haunted not by the frightening ghosts, but by the quiet
memories and unseen traces of those who once lived there.
2. How does the poet
describe the movement and presence of the unseen spirits in the house?
Answer: The poet describes the spirits as moving silently
through the house, appearing at doorways, on stairs, and along passages. They
leave only faint impressions in the air and cannot be physically touched or
clearly seen. Their movement is gentle and mysterious, creating a subtle sense
that something invisible is moving to and fro within the house, reminding us of
the unseen presence of the past.
3. What does the poet
mean by saying that there are more guests at the table than the hosts invited?
Answer: The poet uses this image to suggest that the spirits
of the past are present among the living. Though only a few living people may
gather at the table, the hall is metaphorically filled with the silent and
harmless ghosts. These unseen guests represent the memories of those who once
lived there. Like the pictures on the wall, they quietly witness the present
life of the house.
4. Why can the stranger
at the poet’s fireside not see what the poet sees?
Answer: The stranger perceives only the visible present
reality, while the poet is more sensitive to the memories and impressions of
the past. The poet can imagine the presence of those who once lived in the
house, hearing echoes of their voices and seeing their forms in his mind. This
difference shows that imagination and memory allow one to perceive the
invisible history surrounding everyday life.
5. What idea about
ownership of houses and lands does the poet express in this stanza?
Answer: The poet suggests that human ownership of property is
temporary and uncertain. Though people possess houses and lands through legal
documents, earlier occupants who have died still symbolically hold their
estates. Their forgotten graves remind us that many lived there before. Thus,
the poet emphasizes that true ownership is an illusion, as every place has a
long history of previous inhabitants.
6. How does the poet
describe the relationship between the spirit-world and the physical world?
Answer: The poet compares the spirit-world to an atmosphere
surrounding the world of the senses. It floats invisibly around us and
influences our lives like a subtle breath of purer air. Though unseen, it
constantly mingles with the material world. This comparison suggests that the
spiritual dimension is closely connected with human existence and quietly
influences our thoughts and feelings.
7. What does the poet
mean by saying that our lives are kept in equilibrium by opposite desires?
Answer: The poet explains that human life is balanced between
two opposing instincts. One instinct seeks immediate enjoyment and material
pleasures, while the other aspires for higher ideals and nobler goals. These
opposite attractions create a constant inner struggle within the individuals.
This tension keeps life in balance and drives the human beings to grow morally
and spiritually.
8. What does the poet
mean by the “perpetual jar” of earthly wants and high aspirations?
Answer: The “perpetual jar” refers to the constant conflict
between material desires and spiritual aspirations. Humans want worldly
comforts and pleasures, yet they also feel a strong urge to reach higher moral
and spiritual ideals. This clash creates restlessness and disturbance in life.
The poet suggests that this struggle may come from the mysterious influence of the
unseen forces in the universe.
9. How does the poet
use the image of the moon and the sea to describe human imagination?
Answer: The poet compares moonlight falling on the sea to a
floating bridge of light. This bridge symbolizes the path created by
imagination. Just as people might imagine crossing the shimmering bridge across
the water, human thoughts travel beyond the visible world into the mysterious
realms. The image shows how imagination allows the mind to explore the unknown
and mysterious aspects of existence.
10. What does the
“bridge of light” between the spirit-world and the human world symbolize?
Answer: The bridge of light represents the connection between
the physical world and the spiritual world. Though this bridge is unsteady and
invisible, human thoughts and imaginations can cross it. Through reflection and
imagination, people can feel the presence of deeper mysteries beyond the
material world. Thus, the poet suggests that the human mind links the known
world with the unknown spiritual realm.
Each of the following questions carries 3
marks. {Set - 3}
Question 1. How does Longfellow introduce
the idea of haunted houses and what mood does he create?
Answer. Longfellow begins
by declaring that all houses where people have lived and died are haunted. The
harmless phantoms glide silently through open doors, creating a calm, mystical
mood. He suggests that memories and spirits remain gently present, giving a peaceful
sense of life continuing beyond death.
Question 2. How does the poet depict the
unseen presence of spirits in the second stanza?
Answer. The poet
describes the spirits moving along the doorways and stairs, leaving impalpable
impressions on the air. Though invisible, they are sensed as moving to and fro.
This evokes the feeling that human dwellings retain invisible life, merging the
physical and spiritual worlds in quiet coexistence.
Question 3. How does the poet portray
ghosts at the dinner table and what is his intention?
Answer. The poet says
there are more guests at the table than invited, as quiet, inoffensive ghosts
fill the illuminated hall. These spirits are silent like pictures on the wall,
symbolizing memory’s enduring presence. Longfellow’s intention is to make death
familiar, not fearful, showing peaceful communion between worlds.
Question 4. What contrast does the poet
draw between the stranger and himself?
Answer. According to the
poet, the stranger sees only what exists physically, but the poet perceives
what has been—spirits and memories unseen by ordinary eyes. This difference
reveals the poet’s deeper sensitivity to the past and spiritual presence,
suggesting that imagination and awareness expand vision beyond material limits.
Question
5. What truth about ownership and mortality does the poet reveal?
Answer. The poet reveals
that humans have no permanent claim to houses or lands because the dead still
hold them “in mortmain.” The image of dusty hands reaching from forgotten
graves emphasizes that worldly possession is temporary, while spiritual
connection and memory continue to bind the living to the past.
Question
6. How does Longfellow compare the spirit-world with the material world?
Answer. Longfellow says that
the spirit-world floats around the world of sense like an atmosphere. This
invisible, purer air wafts through earthly mists, showing the constant
influence of spiritual forces on mortal life. The metaphor expresses unity
between seen and unseen realities sustaining existence together.
Question 7. What balance does the poet
describe in human life?
Answer. The poet says
life is kept in equilibrium by opposite pulls—the instinct that enjoys and the
instinct that aspires. These forces maintain harmony between the body and the soul.
The stanza expresses moral philosophy that human progress depends on balancing
earthly pleasures with spiritual ambitions.
Question
8. What is the meaning of the unseen star or undiscovered planet?
Answer. The unseen star
or undiscovered planet symbolizes the hidden spiritual influences that control
human emotions and aspirations. The poet suggests that our inner restlessness
and moral struggles originate from mysterious, divine forces beyond our
perception, blending science and spirituality to explain unseen causes of human
behaviour.
Question
9. Explain the symbolic imagery of the moon’s bridge of light.
Answer. The moon casting
a bridge of light over the sea symbolizes a luminous path between life and the
spirit-world. Human imagination crosses this trembling bridge into mystery and
night, representing the mind’s power to connect with the unseen realms through
wonder and reflection.
Question 10. How does Longfellow conclude
the poem’s theme of connection between the worlds?
Answer. Longfellow ends the
poem with a “bridge of light” descending from the spirit-world, linking it to
the earthly one. Human thoughts wander upon its unsteady floor above the dark
abyss, symbolizing the fragile but eternal link between the mortal life and the
immortal realm of the soul.
Each of the following questions carries 4
marks.
1. Explain the poet’s idea that houses are
“haunted” by the past.
Answer: The poet suggests that every house where people have lived and
died retains the invisible presence of their memories. These are not
frightening ghosts but harmless spirits symbolising the past lives connected
with the place. Their silent movement through doors and rooms represents the
lingering influence of former occupants. Thus, a house becomes “haunted”
because it preserves emotional and historical memories, reminding us that
present life is always surrounded and shaped by the experiences of earlier generations.
2. How does the poet present the
relationship between the living and the dead in the poem?
Answer: The poet presents the living and the dead as existing side by
side in the same world. Though the dead are invisible, they quietly share the
spaces of the living. They move through halls, passages, and rooms without
causing harm. The living continue their daily life, often unaware of this
presence. The poet suggests that the past and present are closely connected,
and that the lives of earlier people still influence and accompany the lives of
those who live now.
3. Describe the imagery used by the poet
to portray the invisible presence of spirits.
Answer: The poet uses delicate and subtle imagery to suggest the
presence of spirits. He describes them as silent phantoms gliding through open
doors and making no sound upon the floors. They appear like faint impressions
in the air and quiet guests in an illuminated hall. The ghosts are compared to
pictures hanging on the wall, calm and harmless. Through such images, the poet
creates a mysterious yet peaceful atmosphere that conveys the unseen but gentle
presence of the past.
4. What philosophical idea about human
ownership of property is expressed in the poem?
Answer: The poet expresses the idea that human ownership of property is
temporary and uncertain. Though people possess houses and lands through legal
documents, many others lived there before them. The earlier occupants, now
forgotten in their graves, still symbolically hold their old estates. This
thought reminds us that earthly possessions do not truly belong to anyone
forever. The poem therefore presents a philosophical reflection that human
ownership is only temporary in the long flow of history.
5. Explain the poet’s concept of the
spirit-world surrounding the physical world.
Answer: The poet imagines the spirit-world as surrounding the physical
world like an invisible atmosphere. Just as air exists everywhere around us,
the spiritual realm quietly floats around the world of our senses. It
influences human life in subtle ways, like a breath of purer and more ethereal
air, passing through earthly mist. Though we cannot see it directly, the
spirit-world is always present, suggesting that human existence is connected
with a deeper and more mysterious reality.
6. How does the poem describe the inner
conflict in human life?
Answer: The poem describes human life as a balance between opposite
desires and instincts. One instinct seeks pleasure, comfort, and enjoyment in
worldly things. The other instinct urges people to rise above material concerns
and strive for noble ideals and spiritual growth. These two forces pull the
human mind in different directions. Their constant struggle creates tension in
life, but it also keeps human existence balanced and meaningful by encouraging
both enjoyment and aspiration.
7. What is meant by the phrase “perpetual
jar of earthly wants and aspirations high”?
Answer: The phrase refers to the constant clash between human desires
for worldly comforts and the longing for higher ideals. Earthly wants include
material needs, pleasures, and ambitions of daily life. Aspirations high
represent the desire for moral excellence, spiritual growth, and noble
achievements. These two tendencies often conflict with each other, creating
unrest in the human mind. The poet calls this conflict a “perpetual jar,”
meaning an ongoing disturbance that shapes human thought and behaviour.
8. Explain the symbolism of the unseen
star or undiscovered planet.
Answer: The unseen star or undiscovered planet symbolises a mysterious
spiritual influence guiding human life. Though invisible and unknown, it
affects human thoughts, emotions, and aspirations. The poet suggests that
unseen cosmic forces may be responsible for the inner struggles between worldly
desires and higher ideals. This symbol emphasises the idea that human life is
connected with a larger and hidden universe whose powers quietly influence the
moral and spiritual development of individuals.
9. How does the poet use nature imagery
(moon, sea, light) to express mystery?
Answer: The poet uses the image of the moon shining through clouds and
casting a bridge of light upon the sea. This beautiful natural scene suggests a
pathway leading into unknown regions. The trembling light on the water
symbolises the uncertain journey of human imagination into the world of
mystery. By using elements like moonlight, sea, and floating light, the poet
creates a sense of wonder and suggests that nature itself reveals glimpses of
deeper spiritual realities.
10. What is the significance of the
“bridge of light” in the poem?
Answer: The bridge of light symbolises the connection between the
physical world and the spiritual world. Just as moonlight seems to create a
shining path across the sea, the poet imagines a similar bridge linking the
human world with the realm of spirits. Through imagination and thought, people
can cross this bridge and explore deeper mysteries of existence. The image
emphasises that human consciousness forms a link between visible reality and
the unseen spiritual dimension.
11. How does the poet combine spiritual
philosophy with everyday life?
Answer: The poet blends spiritual ideas with ordinary experiences of
daily life. He begins with familiar scenes of houses, rooms, staircases, and
family gatherings. From these simple images he gradually introduces deeper
reflections about memory, spirits, and unseen worlds. By connecting common
human experiences with philosophical ideas about life, death, and the
spirit-world, the poet shows that spiritual truths are not distant but are closely
woven into the ordinary life of every human being.
12. Discuss the central theme of the poem.
Answer: The central theme of the poem is the invisible connection
between the present world and the world of the past and spirit. The poet
suggests that human life is surrounded by memories of earlier generations and
influenced by unseen spiritual forces. Houses symbolise the continuity of life
across time. The poem also reflects on human aspirations and struggles. Through
these ideas, the poet emphasises the mysterious unity between past, present,
and the spiritual universe.
Courtesy: Different AI sources
Compiled and edited by Dr. Shankar D
Mishra, Sr. Lecturer in English
WhatsApp No. 8249297412
