The Waste Land MCQs

The Waste Land MCQs

The Waste Land MCQs

1. From which classical work does the epigraph of The Waste Land come?

A. Virgil’s Aeneid
B. Ovid’s Metamorphoses
C. Petronius’ Satyricon
D. Dante’s Inferno

C. Petronius’ Satyricon

2. In Petronius’ Satyricon, what does the Sibyl wish for?

A. Eternal youth
B. Riches and power
C. To die
D. To be queen

C. To die

3. What does the Sibyl symbolize in Eliot’s use of the epigraph?

A. Immortality with endless joy
B. Endless life without renewal or meaning
C. The triumph of Christian faith
D. Fertility in spring

B. Endless life without renewal or meaning

4. Why did Eliot dedicate The Waste Land “to Ezra Pound, il miglior fabbro”?

A. Pound created the title
B. Pound edited and shaped the draft
C. Pound financed its publication
D. Pound translated it into Italian

B. Pound edited and shaped the draft

5. Where does the phrase il miglior fabbro originally appear?

A. Dante’s Purgatorio
B. Homer’s Iliad
C. Virgil’s Georgics
D. Shakespeare’s Hamlet

A. Dante’s Purgatorio

6. In Dante’s Purgatorio, who is called “il miglior fabbro”?

A. Petrarch
B. Arnaut Daniel
C. Boccaccio
D. Guido Cavalcanti

B. Arnaut Daniel

7. How many sections does The Waste Land have?

A. Three
B. Four
C. Five
D. Six

C. Five

8. Which section of The Waste Land is titled “The Burial of the Dead”?

A. First
B. Second
C. Third
D. Fifth

A. First

9. What is the title of the fifth and final section of The Waste Land?

A. What the Thunder Said
B. The Fire Sermon
C. Death by Water
D. A Game of Chess

A. What the Thunder Said

10. Which short section of The Waste Land features Phlebas the Phoenician?

A. The Fire Sermon
B. Death by Water
C. A Game of Chess
D. The Burial of the Dead

B. Death by Water

11. Which blind prophet from Greek mythology appears in the poem?

A. Tiresias
B. Oedipus
C. Cassandra
D. Orpheus

A. Tiresias

12. Which mythical figure associated with fertility myths underlies the poem?

A. The Fisher King
B. Theseus
C. Persephone
D. Heracles

A. The Fisher King

13. The line “April is the cruellest month” is an inversion of which earlier poet’s view?

A. Wordsworth
B. Chaucer
C. Milton
D. Shelley

B. Chaucer

14. The line “O O O O that Shakespeherian Rag” echoes a song from which Elizabethan dramatist?

A. Marlowe
B. Shakespeare
C. Ben Jonson
D. Middleton

B. Shakespeare

15. Which Eastern text is quoted in the poem’s closing lines?

A. The Upanishads
B. The Quran
C. The Tao Te Ching
D. The Bible

A. The Upanishads

16. What is a central theme of The Waste Land?

A. Industrial progress
B. Cultural fragmentation and spiritual barrenness
C. Celebration of Victorian values
D. Praise of the English countryside

B. Cultural fragmentation and spiritual barrenness

17. Which recurring motif symbolizes destruction and renewal?

A. Fire
B. Water
C. Air
D. Earth

B. Water

18. What does the repeated Sanskrit word “Shantih” mean?

A. Truth
B. Peace
C. Life
D. Silence

B. Peace

19. What literary technique is most dominant in the poem?

A. Allegory
B. Pastoral
C. Allusion and collage
D. Epic simile

C. Allusion and collage

20. Which war heavily influenced the poem’s imagery?

A. Napoleonic Wars
B. Crimean War
C. World War I
D. World War II

C. World War I

21. In the famous opening line of the poem, which month is paradoxically declared to be the cruellest?

A. March
B. May
C. April
D. October

C. April

22. According to the speaker, what specific flower does April breed out of the dead land?

A. Snowdrops
B. Lilacs
C. Daffodils
D. Roses

B. Lilacs

23. What two abstract human faculties are described as being mixed and stirred by the arrival of Spring?

A. Pain and pleasure
B. Memory and desire
C. Hope and fear
D. Life and death

B. Memory and desire

24. In contrast to the cruelty of Spring, what element of Winter is said to have kept the inhabitants warm?

A. Forgetful snow
B. Dried tubers
C. Heavy blankets
D. Hot coffee

A. Forgetful snow

25. The speaker recalls a past summer experience. Over which specific German lake did this surprising summer shower occur?

A. The Thames
B. The Starnbergersee
C. Lake Leman
D. The Mediterranean Sea

B. The Starnbergersee

26. After stopping for a coffee in the colonnade, to which public garden did the speakers go for a walk?

A. The Hofgarten
B. London Bridge
C. The Metropole
D. The Hyacinth garden

A. The Hofgarten

27. The character speaking the German phrase “Bin gar keine Russin…” claims to be originally from where?

A. Russia
B. Germany
C. Lithuania
D. Poland

C. Lithuania

28. What is the name of the woman who recounts the memory of the childhood sled ride with her archduke cousin?

A. Belladonna
B. Lil
C. Marie
D. Sibyl

C. Marie

29. According to Marie’s recollection of her childhood, where does she state that one feels a sense of freedom?

A. In the Hofgarten
B. In Lithuania
C. In the mountains
D. In the south in winter

C. In the mountains

30. The poem uses a biblical prophetic voice to address a figure as “Son of man.” To whom is this solemn address most likely directed?

A. T. S. Eliot
B. The reader
C. Stetson
D. The Sibyl

B. The reader

31. The speaker tells the ‘Son of man’ that he knows only “A heap of broken images” where what climate condition prevails?

A. The wind blows cold
B. The sun beats
C. The rain falls hard
D. The fog settles

B. The sun beats

32. In this desolate landscape, what does the dead tree fail to provide?

A. Fruit
B. Flowers
C. Shelter
D. Wood

C. Shelter

33. In the land of dry stone and no water, what sound is conspicuously absent?

A. The sound of the cricket
B. The sound of the wind
C. The sound of water
D. The sound of thunder

C. The sound of water

34. The speaker invites the ‘Son of man’ to find shadow and shelter under what specific object?

A. Under the black rock
B. Under the dry stone
C. Under the red rock
D. Under the dead tree

C. Under the red rock

35. The speaker promises to show the ‘Son of man’ something different from his shadow, a famous phrase which is:

A. Fear in the desert
B. Fear in a broken image
C. Fear in a handful of dust
D. Fear under the red rock

C. Fear in a handful of dust

36. The German quotation from Wagner’s opera, “Frisch weht der Wind…”, asks about the location of whom?

A. The Sibyl
B. Mein Irisch Kind (My Irish child)
C. Marie
D. The drowned sailor

B. Mein Irisch Kind (My Irish child)

37. In the subsequent memory of a failed romantic encounter, who is the unnamed speaker known as?

A. Belladonna
B. Marie
C. The hyacinth girl
D. Madame Sosostris

C. The hyacinth girl

38. After returning late from the Hyacinth garden, the speaker describes himself as being in what existential state?

A. Tired but content
B. Neither living nor dead, knowing nothing
C. Frightened, holding on tight
D. Full of memory and desire

B. Neither living nor dead, knowing nothing

39. The desolate German phrase “Oed’ und leer das Meer” is a quotation related to which classical story adapted into an opera?

A. Tristan und Isolde
B. The Odyssey
C. The Aeneid
D. The Tempest

A. Tristan und Isolde

40. The clairvoyant, Madame Sosostris, is described as being the wisest woman in what part of the world?

A. Asia
B. America
C. Europe
D. London

C. Europe

41. What specific tool did Madame Sosostris possess for her clairvoyant readings?

A. A crystal ball
B. A wicked pack of cards
C. Tea leaves
D. A magic mirror

B. A wicked pack of cards

42. Which card does Madame Sosostris first identify as belonging to the person whose fortune she is telling?

A. Belladonna
B. The Hanged Man
C. The one-eyed merchant
D. The drowned Phoenician Sailor

D. The drowned Phoenician Sailor

43. Which specific phrase, a quote from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, is used to describe the sailor’s transformation?

A. He passed the stages of his age and youth.
B. Those are pearls that were his eyes.
C. Fear death by water.
D. He who was living is now dead.

B. Those are pearls that were his eyes.

44. Who in the Tarot reading is identified as “The Lady of the Rocks, The lady of situations”?

A. Marie
B. Mrs. Equitone
C. Belladonna
D. Lil

C. Belladonna

45. Besides the sailor and Belladonna, which other figures from the cards are named by Madame Sosostris?

A. The Hanged Man and The Tower
B. The man with three staves and the Wheel
C. The one-eyed merchant and The Fool
D. The Hanged Man and the Blank Card

B. The man with three staves and the Wheel

46. Which important card from the Tarot pack does Madame Sosostris explicitly state she is unable to find?

A. The Wheel
B. The Hanged Man
C. The one-eyed merchant
D. The drowned Phoenician Sailor

B. The Hanged Man

47. Based on the card reading, what specific and ominous warning does Madame Sosostris give?

A. Beware of the Hyacinth girl
B. Fear death by water
C. Avoid the Hofgarten
D. Stay away from London Bridge

B. Fear death by water

48. In her vision, what does Madame Sosostris see large crowds of people doing?

A. Walking round in a ring
B. Flowing up and down a hill
C. Stumbling in cracked earth
D. Waiting for the rain to fall

A. Walking round in a ring

49. To which one of her clients does Madame Sosostris offer to bring the horoscope herself?

A. Lil
B. Mrs. Porter
C. Mrs. Equitone
D. Belladonna

C. Mrs. Equitone

50. What two-word descriptive name is given to the modern urban setting that appears after the fortune telling?

A. Unreal City
B. Falling Towers
C. Withered Stumps
D. London Town

A. Unreal City

51. The ‘Unreal City’ is described as being under what kind of dismal weather condition?

A. A heavy shower of rain
B. A suffocating heat wave
C. The brown fog of a winter dawn
D. A deathly frosty silence

C. The brown fog of a winter dawn

52. In this Unreal City, where did the narrator observe a crowd flowing over?

A. King William Street
B. Cannon Street Hotel
C. London Bridge
D. Greenwich reach

C. London Bridge

53. The line “I had not thought death had undone so many” alludes to a scene in which famous literary work?

A. The Bible’s Book of Revelation
B. Dante’s Inferno
C. Virgil’s Aeneid
D. Homer’s Odyssey

B. Dante’s Inferno

54. Up the hill and down which specific London street did the crowd flow?

A. Queen Victoria Street
B. King William Street
C. The Strand
D. Lower Thames Street

B. King William Street

55. Which city church is described as keeping the hours “With a dead sound on the final stroke of nine”?

A. Magnus Martyr
B. Saint Mary Woolnoth
C. The empty chapel
D. Saint Michael’s

B. Saint Mary Woolnoth

56. Whom did the speaker single out from the crowd and address on the street?

A. Albert
B. Mr. Eugenides
C. Stetson
D. Sweeney

C. Stetson

57. The speaker claims that he and Stetson were together during a battle at which ancient naval location?

A. Thebes
B. Mylae
C. Carthage
D. Jerusalem

B. Mylae

58. What famous French phrase, addressing the reader directly, concludes the first section of the poem?

A. Oed’ und leer das Meer.
B. άποθανεîν θέλω
C. hypocrite lecteur!—mon semblable,—mon frère!
D. Et O ces voix d’enfants

C. hypocrite lecteur!—mon semblable,—mon frère!

59. In the opulent room described in “A Game of Chess,” what object is compared to “a burnished throne”?

A. The marble fireplace
B. The Chair she sat in
C. The polished glass mirror
D. The ornate table

B. The Chair she sat in

60. In the same opulent room, what specific type of multi-branched candelabra is mentioned?

A. Three-branched
B. Five-branched
C. Sevenbranched
D. Twelve-branched

C. Sevenbranched

61. What mythological winged boy is described as peeping out from the decorative standards?

A. Venus
B. Cupid
C. Cupidon
D. Philomel

C. Cupidon

62. In a rich profusion, what items were poured from satin cases onto the table?

A. Flowers
B. Jewels
C. Perfumes
D. Coffee beans

B. Jewels

63. Stirred by the air from the window, what ascended in a way that was described as troubled and confused?

A. The woman’s long hair
B. Her strange synthetic perfumes
C. The flames of the candles
D. The smoke from the fire

B. Her strange synthetic perfumes

64. The patterned ceiling into which the candle smoke was flung is referred to by what Latin term?

A. Candelabra
B. Laquearia
C. Marbled room
D. Sylvan scene

B. Laquearia

65. What material, described as being fed with copper, burned with green and orange flames in the fireplace?

A. Coloured stone
B. Dried tubers
C. Huge sea-wood
D. A burnished throne

C. Huge sea-wood

66. In the sad light above the antique mantel, what kind of carvéd sea creature appeared to swim?

A. A swan
B. A rat
C. A dolphin
D. A mermaid

C. A dolphin

67. The carving above the mantel displayed the “change of Philomel,” a mythological figure who was violated by whom?

A. The one-eyed merchant
B. The barbarous king
C. The young man carbuncular
D. Tiresias

B. The barbarous king

68. Despite the violation she suffered, how is the quality of Philomel’s voice as a nightingale described?

A. Fragile and soft
B. Inviolable
C. Loud and complaining
D. Withered and broken

B. Inviolable

69. What sound does the nightingale make that is said to cry “to dirty ears”?

A. Tereu
B. Twit twit twit
C. Jug Jug
D. Weialala leia

C. Jug Jug

70. During the tense dialogue, what is the specific complaint the woman in the room repeatedly makes?

A. That her jewels have gone missing
B. That her nerves are bad tonight
C. That there has been a lack of rain
D. That she hears footsteps on the stair

B. That her nerves are bad tonight

71. In response to the woman’s nervous complaints, where does the man state that he thinks they are?

A. A sylvan scene
B. King William Street
C. Rats’ alley
D. The Hofgarten

C. Rats’ alley

72. The woman asks about “that noise,” which the speaker then identifies as being what?

A. Footsteps on the stair
B. A rattle of dry bones
C. A whistling sound
D. The wind under the door

D. The wind under the door

73. When the woman repeatedly asks if he remembers “Nothing,” what famous line from The Tempest does the man recall?

A. Hurry up please its time
B. Those are pearls that were his eyes.
C. What shall I do now?
D. Speak to me.

B. Those are pearls that were his eyes.

74. The interjection “O O O O that Shakespeherian Rag” is a description of what form of popular entertainment?

A. A piece of music
B. A type of perfume
C. A style of clothing
D. A type of dance

A. A piece of music

75. Amidst the tense conversation, what activity does the woman suggest they will do tomorrow?

A. Walk the street
B. Play a game of chess
C. Go to the Hyacinth garden
D. See Mrs. Equitone

B. Play a game of chess

76. While waiting for a knock upon the door, what physical action are the couple in the scene performing?

A. Pressing lidless eyes
B. Drinking coffee
C. Smoothing their hair
D. Reading a book

A. Pressing lidless eyes

77. In the subsequent dramatic monologue set in a pub, who is Lil’s husband that has just been demobilized?

A. Bill
B. George
C. Albert
D. Stetson

C. Albert

78. The repeating phrase “HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME” is a common call associated with the closing of what type of location?

A. A church
B. A railway station
C. A pub or bar
D. A bank

C. A pub or bar

79. For what specific purpose did Albert give Lil money, which the speaker insists she needed?

A. A new set of clothes
B. A closed car for transport
C. A new set of teeth
D. Pills for an abortion

C. A new set of teeth

80. For how many years had Lil’s husband, Albert, been away serving in the army?

A. One year
B. Three years
C. Four years
D. Five years

C. Four years

81. The speaker advises Lil that if she doesn’t give Albert “a good time,” what will he likely do?

A. He will find other women who will.
B. He will go back to the army.
C. He will spend all his money.
D. He will leave London Bridge.

A. He will find other women who will.

82. Despite looking “so antique,” how old was Lil, according to the speaker of the monologue?

A. Twenty-one
B. Thirty-one
C. Forty
D. Fifty-one

B. Thirty-one

83. What reason did Lil give for her antique appearance and poor health?

A. The constant brown fog
B. The pills she took for her abortion
C. A severe lack of sleep
D. The cold winter blast

B. The pills she took for her abortion

84. What kind of hot meat did Lil and Albert have for their Sunday dinner?

A. A hot turkey
B. A hot gammon
C. Fish and chips
D. A tin of canned food

B. A hot gammon

85. The opening lines of “The Fire Sermon” lament that the river’s tent is broken and the nymphs have departed from which river?

A. The Nile
B. The Mississippi
C. Sweet Thames
D. The Leman

C. Sweet Thames

86. The phrase “Sweet Thames, run softly, till I end my song” is a direct quote from which famous English poet?

A. Shakespeare
B. Chaucer
C. Spenser
D. Milton

C. Spenser

87. What specific discarded items are listed as the “testimony of summer nights” left by the river?

A. Empty bottles, sandwich papers, and silk handkerchiefs
B. Logs and spars, oil and tar
C. Staves and wheels from old carts
D. Dried tubers and withered roots

A. Empty bottles, sandwich papers, and silk handkerchiefs

88. The friends of the departed nymphs are described as the loitering heirs of whom?

A. City directors themselves
B. The heirs of City directors
C. The local fishmen
D. The foreign sailors

B. The heirs of City directors

89. Alluding to the Babylonian exile, the speaker recalls sitting down and weeping by the waters of which lake?

A. Starnbergersee
B. River Thames
C. Leman (Lake Geneva)
D. The Mediterranean

C. Leman (Lake Geneva)

90. In a moment of fear, what sound does the speaker hear at his back in a cold blast?

A. The chirping of a cricket
B. The rattle of the bones
C. The sound of distant thunder
D. The music from a gramophone

B. The rattle of the bones

91. While the speaker is fishing, what creature crept softly through the vegetation?

A. A dog
B. A snake
C. A rat
D. A mole

C. A rat

92. The speaker, fishing in the dull canal, muses upon the wreck of his brother and the death of whom?

A. His mother
B. His father, the king
C. His sister, Philomel
D. His son, Phlebas

B. His father, the king

93. The arrival of “Sweeney to Mrs. Porter” in the spring is preceded by what bleak image?

A. Dry grass singing on the ground
B. White bodies naked on the low damp ground
C. Empty cisterns and exhausted wells
D. The image of falling towers

B. White bodies naked on the low damp ground

94. According to the song lyric, in what specific substance do Mrs. Porter and her daughter wash their feet?

A. River water
B. Soda water
C. Oil and tar
D. Coffee

B. Soda water

95. The French phrase “Et O ces voix d’enfants, chantant dans la coupole!” has what English meaning?

A. Oh, those eyes of children, staring at the dome!
B. And O those voices of children, singing in the dome!
C. But O the sadness of the children, crying in the street!
D. And O the dreams of children, playing in the garden!

B. And O those voices of children, singing in the dome!

96. The fragmented sequence of sounds “Twit twit twit / Jug jug jug” alludes to the myth of which transformed figure?

A. Belladonna
B. The Sibyl
C. Philomel
D. Elizabeth

C. Philomel

97. Mr. Eugenides, the unshaven Smyrna merchant, is described as carrying what specific dried fruit in his pocket?

A. Raisins
B. Figs
C. Currants
D. Dates

C. Currants

98. The French used by Mr. Eugenides to invite the speaker to luncheon is described by what specific term?

A. Parisian French
B. Demotic French
C. Standard French
D. Literary French

B. Demotic French

99. To which hotel did Mr. Eugenides propose a weekend getaway?

A. The Cannon Street Hotel
B. The Metropole
C. Highbury Hotel
D. Richmond Hotel

B. The Metropole

100. Which character explicitly describes himself as “I Tiresias, though blind, throbbing between two lives”?

A. The speaker fishing
B. Stetson
C. Mr. Eugenides
D. Tiresias

D. Tiresias

101. In the poem, the “violet hour” is identified as what time of day?

A. The hour of dawn
B. The evening hour that strives Homeward
C. The hour of nine o’clock in the morning
D. The hour of the impending storm

B. The evening hour that strives Homeward

102. Who is the lonely working woman who arrives home at teatime to clear her breakfast and light her stove?

A. Mrs. Porter
B. Belladonna
C. The typist
D. The hyacinth girl

C. The typist

103. What specific garments of the typist are described as being “perilously spread” out of the window to dry?

A. Her stockings
B. Her camisoles
C. Her drying combinations
D. Her work uniforms

C. Her drying combinations

104. What various items of clothing are described as being piled on the divan in the typist’s room?

A. Tins of food and her breakfast things
B. Stockings, slippers, camisoles, and stays
C. Books and papers from her work
D. Her portable work desk

B. Stockings, slippers, camisoles, and stays

105. The typist’s expected guest, “the young man carbuncular,” works as what kind of clerk?

A. Bank clerk
B. House agent’s clerk
C. Ship’s clerk
D. Military clerk

B. House agent’s clerk

106. The young man’s superficial confidence is compared to a silk hat worn by what kind of wealthy individual?

A. A London director
B. A Bradford millionaire
C. A Phoenician sailor
D. A Thebes wanderer

B. A Bradford millionaire

107. During their encounter, how does the typist react to the young man’s caresses?

A. She is enthusiastic.
B. Her advances are unreproved, if undesired.
C. She is angry and resistant.
D. She is frightened and cries out.

B. Her advances are unreproved, if undesired.

108. The figure of Tiresias recounts having sat by Thebes and walked among which group?

A. The prophets
B. The hooded hordes
C. The lowest of the dead
D. The great kings

C. The lowest of the dead

109. What is the typist’s final, indifferent, half-formed thought after her lover gropes his way out?

A. That she needs a new start in life
B. “Well now that’s done: and I’m glad it’s over”
C. That she must hurry up and get to bed
D. That she finally feels free from him

B. “Well now that’s done: and I’m glad it’s over”

110. After her encounter, what does the typist automatically put on the gramophone?

A. A Shakespeherian Rag
B. A record
C. A mandoline
D. A sound of thunder

B. A record

111. The music quoted, “‘This music crept by me upon the waters’,” is an adaptation of a line from which Shakespeare play?

A. Hamlet
B. The Tempest
C. King Lear
D. Othello

B. The Tempest

112. Besides upon the waters, where else did this enchanting music creep?

A. Along the Strand and up Queen Victoria Street
B. Down King William Street
C. Around the Hofgarten
D. Over London Bridge

A. Along the Strand and up Queen Victoria Street

113. What pleasant sound is sometimes heard beside a public bar in Lower Thames Street?

A. The crying of gulls
B. The pleasant whining of a mandoline
C. The sound of horns and motors
D. The wind under the door

B. The pleasant whining of a mandoline

114. What kind of workers are described as lounging at noon where the mandoline is heard?

A. House agents
B. Fishmen
C. City directors
D. Smyrna merchants

B. Fishmen

115. The walls of the church of Magnus Martyr are described as holding the “Inexplicable splendour” of what?

A. Roman black and white marble
B. Ionian white and gold
C. Corinthian grey and red stone
D. Doric brown and silver leaf

B. Ionian white and gold

116. The barges drifting on the Thames are noted for having what distinctive color sails?

A. Brown
B. White
C. Red
D. Blue

C. Red

117. The barges are described as washing drifting logs down which specific reach of the river?

A. Richmond reach
B. Moorgate reach
C. Greenwich reach
D. London Bridge reach

C. Greenwich reach

118. The mournful refrain “Weialala leia / Wallala leialala” evokes the song of which mythical figures from Wagnerian opera?

A. The Valkyries
B. The Rhinemaidens
C. The Nymphs
D. The Sibyls

B. The Rhinemaidens

119. Which famous historical pair are mentioned in association with the gilded shell and brisk swell of the Thames?

A. Albert and Lil
B. Stetson and Marie
C. Elizabeth and Leicester
D. Philomel and Tereus

C. Elizabeth and Leicester

120. One of the Thames-daughters begins her lament by stating which London district was her birthplace?

A. Richmond
B. Moorgate
C. Highbury
D. London Bridge

C. Highbury

121. In her lament, the speaker mentions what two places as having “Undid me”?

A. The Strand and Queen Victoria Street
B. Lower Thames Street and Cannon Street
C. Richmond and Kew
D. Thebes and Athens

C. Richmond and Kew

122. During her sordid encounter, the speaker describes raising her knees while situated where?

A. On the divan in her room
B. In a narrow canoe
C. On the beach at Margate Sands
D. By the waters of Lake Leman

B. In a narrow canoe

123. Where was the speaker when she lamented that she could connect “Nothing with nothing”?

A. On Margate Sands
B. In Rats’ alley
C. By the waters of Leman
D. In the Hofgarten

A. On Margate Sands

124. The speaker, describing her people as humble, states that they expect what from life?

A. A new start
B. Nothing
C. To die
D. To see the sun

B. Nothing

125. The line “To Carthage then I came” introduces the theme of burning, referencing which religious figure’s confession about lust?

A. Saint Peter
B. Saint Augustine
C. Saint Paul
D. Saint Mary

B. Saint Augustine

126. Who is the central figure in the short fourth section, “Death by Water”?

A. Belladonna
B. Tiresias
C. Phlebas the Phoenician
D. Mr. Eugenides

C. Phlebas the Phoenician

127. In the section “Death by Water,” for how long had Phlebas been dead?

A. A day
B. A week
C. A fortnight
D. A month

C. A fortnight

128. As he drowned, what did Phlebas forget as he passed through the stages of his life?

A. His military service
B. The current under the sea
C. The profit and loss
D. The warning of Madame Sosostris

C. The profit and loss

129. While passing the stages of his age and youth, Phlebas is described as entering what geographical feature?

A. The whirlpool
B. The colonnade
C. The harbour
D. The river’s tent

A. The whirlpool

130. As he lay under the sea, what happened to Phlebas’s bones?

A. They dissolved into the water.
B. A current picked them in whispers.
C. They were planted in a coral garden.
D. They floated away to the surface.

B. A current picked them in whispers.

131. The final stanza of “Death by Water” addresses the reader directly, regardless of whether they are —-.

A. Rich or poor
B. Gentile or Jew
C. A Londoner or a Theban
D. Living or dead

B. Gentile or Jew

132. The final section, “What the Thunder Said,” opens by describing scenes of agony in what kind of location?

A. A wet river bank
B. Stony places
C. The Hofgarten
D. The Unreal City

B. Stony places

133. The poem starkly contrasts “He who was living is now dead” with the current state of “We who were living,” who are now what?

A. Dreaming
B. Dying
C. Free
D. Sleeping

B. Dying

134. In the desolate landscape described in the first half of Section V, what is the fundamental element that is lacking?

A. No shelter
B. No rock
C. No water
D. No silence

C. No water

135. In the waterless landscape, what vivid dental image is used to describe the dry rock?

A. A cracked mirror
B. Carious teeth that cannot spit
C. A heap of broken images
D. Withered stumps of time

B. Carious teeth that cannot spit

136. What sound is heard in the desolate landscape that is described as “dry sterile thunder without rain”?

A. The song of the cicada
B. The sound of horns and motors
C. Thunder
D. An overwhelming silence

C. Thunder

137. In the mountains where there is no water, what is described as singing instead?

A. The hermit-thrush
B. Dry grass
C. The cricket
D. Bats with baby faces

B. Dry grass

138. According to the imagined sound of water over a rock, what specific bird sings in the pine trees?

A. The nightingale
B. The hermit-thrush
C. The swallow
D. The dove

B. The hermit-thrush

139. A famous question is asked regarding the mysterious, ghostly figure accompanying the speaker. What is that question?

A. Who is the third Apostle?
B. Who is the third hooded horde?
C. Who is the third shadow?
D. Who is the third who walks always beside you?

D. Who is the third who walks always beside you?

140. The mysterious “other one walking beside you” is described as gliding and wrapped in what?

A. A white burial sheet
B. A brown mantle, hooded
C. A silk hat, like a millionaire
D. A dry, cracking cloak

B. A brown mantle, hooded

141. The city over the mountains is described as performing what violent action in the violet air?

A. It stands perfectly still and silent.
B. It cracks and reforms and bursts.
C. It waits patiently for a sign.
D. It is rebuilt from the ruins.

B. It cracks and reforms and bursts.

142. Which of these great historical cities is NOT listed as one of the ‘Falling towers’?

A. Alexandria
B. Vienna
C. Jerusalem
D. Paris

D. Paris

143. In the mountains, how does the mysterious woman with long black hair make “whisper music”?

A. By singing a lamentation for the dead.
B. By fiddling on her long black hair drawn out tight.
C. By putting a new record on the gramophone.
D. By rattling a collection of dry bones.

B. By fiddling on her long black hair drawn out tight.

144. What kind of strange face do the bats have that whistle and beat their wings in the violet light?

A. Dry, withered faces
B. Baby faces
C. Sullen, angry faces
D. Sneering, mocking faces

B. Baby faces

145. In the desolate landscape, voices are described as singing out of what empty containers?

A. Exhausted wells and empty cisterns
B. Broken images and hollow spaces
C. Fallen temples and broken domes
D. Carious teeth and rats’ alley

A. Exhausted wells and empty cisterns

146. In this decayed hole among the mountains, what is the condition of the empty chapel?

A. It has windows, but the door is gone.
B. It is the wind’s home and has no windows.
C. It is tolled by reminiscent bells.
D. It is filled with hooded hordes seeking shelter.

B. It is the wind’s home and has no windows.

147. Signifying a flash of lightning and renewal, what bird stood on the rooftree making the sound “Co co rico”?

A. A heron
B. A cock
C. A bat
D. A vulture

B. A cock

148. In India, what famous river was described as sunken, with limp leaves waiting for rain?

A. Himavant
B. Ganga
C. Starnbergersee
D. Thames

B. Ganga

149. As a sign of impending rain, black clouds are described as gathering far distant over which mountains?

A. The Himalayas (Himavant)
B. The mountains of rock without water
C. The mountains of Jerusalem
D. The mountains near the Starnbergersee

A. The Himalayas (Himavant)

150. After all the fragments and voices, the poem concludes with a final Sanskrit word repeated three times. What is this final word?

A. Datta
B. Damyata
C. Dayadhvam
D. Shantih

D. Shantih