A slumber did my spirit seal by William Wordsworth Line by line Explanation, Summary, Theme MCQ Question Answer
Text of the Poem
Stanza 1
A slumber did my spirit seal;
I had no human fears:
She seemed a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years.
Stanza 2
No motion has she now, no force;
She neither hears nor sees;
Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course,
With rocks, and stones, and trees.
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Line-by-line Explanation
Stanza 1
1. "A slumber did my spirit seal;"
The poet’s mind was in a state of deep, dream-like calm. “Slumber” here is metaphorical — it means a trance-like ignorance or emotional numbness.
It suggests he did not yet grasp the reality of mortality.
2. "I had no human fears:"
In this state, he felt free from the common fears humans have — especially the fear of death.
He thought Lucy was beyond the reach of time and change.
3. "She seemed a thing that could not feel"
He perceived her almost like a timeless, immortal being — not bound by human frailty.
“Thing” dehumanizes slightly, showing his awe and distance.
4. "The touch of earthly years."
Time and aging (“earthly years”) seemed powerless to affect her beauty, vitality, or spirit.
Stanza 2
5. "No motion has she now, no force;"
Now the reality: she is dead. She has no movement, no life-force left in her body.
6. "She neither hears nor sees;"
She has lost all senses; she is beyond all perception.
Emphasizes her total separation from the living world.
7. "Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course,"
She is now part of the earth, moving with it in its daily rotation.
Suggests a cosmic, natural rhythm in which she has merged.
8. "With rocks, and stones, and trees."
She has become one with nature — just like rocks, stones, and trees, she is part of the physical landscape, no longer a separate living entity.
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Theme
Mortality & Transience – Life is short; death transforms us into part of nature.
Illusion vs. Reality – The poet’s earlier belief in Lucy’s timelessness contrasts with the stark truth of her death.
Union with Nature – Even in death, Lucy is harmonized with the natural world.
Calm Acceptance of Death – Instead of despair, the tone shifts toward a serene acceptance of her becoming one with the earth.
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Summary
The poet recalls how he once lived in a dream-like state, believing Lucy to be beyond the touch of time and decay. He felt no fear for her, thinking she was untouchable by age. But now she is dead — without movement or senses — and has become a part of nature, rolling with the earth among rocks, stones, and trees. The poem moves from romantic illusion to a quiet, almost stoic acceptance of her absorption into the natural cycle.
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Analysis
Tone: Starts with a soft, dream-like detachment, ending with a calm, almost philosophical resignation.
Structure: Two quatrains (4-line stanzas) in simple ABAB rhyme, typical of Wordsworth’s lyrical ballad style.
Contrast: Stanza 1 shows the idealized, almost supernatural vision of Lucy; stanza 2 grounds her in the reality of death and nature.
Romantic Element: Merging the human and the natural, death as a return to the earth — central to Wordsworth’s Romantic philosophy.
Philosophical Depth: Death is not an end but a transformation — a movement from individuality to unity with the cosmos.
Ambiguity: The poem doesn’t tell us how she died — the focus is on perception and emotional realization.
50 MCQ WITH ANSWER ✅
1. Who is the poet of A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal?
A) S.T. Coleridge
B) William Wordsworth ✅
C) John Keats
D) P.B. Shelley
2. The poem belongs to which famous series of poems by Wordsworth?
A) Lucy Poems ✅
B) Lyrical Sonnets
C) Nature Sonnets
D) Solitary Reaper Series
3. How many stanzas are in the poem?
A) 1
B) 2 ✅
C) 3
D) 4
4. Each stanza contains how many lines?
A) 3
B) 4 ✅
C) 5
D) 6
5. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?
A) ABAB ✅
B) AABB
C) ABCB
D) ABBA
6. In line 1, “A slumber” refers to:
A) Physical sleep
B) A trance-like state of the mind ✅
C) A dream about Lucy
D) Lucy’s actual sleep
7. What does “seal” mean in the first line?
A) Close or shut off ✅
B) Protect
C) Stamp
D) Hide
8. “I had no human fears” means the poet:
A) Was fearless like an animal
B) Felt no fear of death for Lucy ✅
C) Was fearless of ghosts
D) Was very brave
9. “She seemed a thing” — the word “thing” here suggests:
A) Affectionate tone
B) Object-like timelessness ✅
C) Disrespect
D) Anger
10. “The touch of earthly years” means:
A) The feeling of human love
B) The effects of time and aging ✅
C) Seasonal change
D) Physical touch
11. In stanza 2, “No motion has she now” refers to:
A) She is asleep
B) She is dead ✅
C) She is meditating
D) She is absent
12. “No force” in stanza 2 means:
A) No energy or life force ✅
B) No army
C) No willpower
D) No anger
13. “She neither hears nor sees” means:
A) She is ignoring people
B) She is blind and deaf
C) She has lost her senses in death ✅
D) She is sleeping deeply
14. “Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course” refers to:
A) Earth’s yearly revolution
B) Earth’s daily rotation ✅
C) The moon’s phases
D) The sun’s path
15. “Diurnal” means:
A) Happening at night
B) Happening daily ✅
C) Seasonal
D) Eternal
16. The phrase “With rocks, and stones, and trees” suggests:
A) Lucy is now part of nature ✅
B) Lucy is buried under rocks
C) Lucy is lost in a forest
D) Lucy is climbing mountains
17. The tone of the first stanza is:
A) Joyful
B) Idealistic and dreamlike ✅
C) Angry
D) Satirical
18. The tone of the second stanza is:
A) Fearful
B) Bitter
C) Calm and accepting ✅
D) Excited
19. Which Romantic theme is most prominent?
A) Political rebellion
B) Return to nature ✅
C) Industrial progress
D) Urban life
20. What shift occurs between stanza 1 and stanza 2?
A) From life to death ✅
B) From night to day
C) From sadness to happiness
D) From anger to joy
21. The poem reflects Wordsworth’s belief that:
A) Death is terrifying
B) Death unites humans with nature ✅
C) Nature causes death
D) Death is meaningless
22. Which poetic device is in “A slumber did my spirit seal”?
A) Simile
B) Metaphor ✅
C) Hyperbole
D) Alliteration
23. The poem’s style can be classified as:
A) Ode
B) Elegy ✅
C) Epic
D) Satire
24. The series of “Lucy poems” is thought to be partly inspired by:
A) An imaginary woman ✅
B) A historical figure
C) Wordsworth’s sister
D) Wordsworth’s wife
25. Which sense is mentioned in stanza 2?
A) Sight
B) Hearing
C) Both sight and hearing ✅
D) Touch only
26. Which sense is missing in stanza 2 but implied as gone?
A) Smell ✅
B) Taste
C) Touch
D) Balance
27. The imagery in “rocks, and stones, and trees” appeals to which sense?
A) Sight ✅
B) Hearing
C) Smell
D) Taste
28. “No motion… no force” uses which device?
A) Anaphora ✅
B) Assonance
C) Enjambment
D) Irony
29. The poem contrasts:
A) City vs. country
B) Illusion vs. reality ✅
C) Day vs. night
D) War vs. peace
30. The “slumber” in the title is primarily:
A) Physical sleep
B) Metaphorical spiritual numbness ✅
C) Lucy’s nap
D) A drug-induced sleep
31. The ending of the poem is:
A) Violent
B) Peaceful ✅
C) Uncertain
D) Dramatic
32. The poem is written in:
A) Free verse
B) Simple lyrical ballad form ✅
C) Blank verse
D) Sonnet form
33. The time reference “earth’s diurnal course” shows:
A) The passing of cosmic time ✅
B) The speed of death
C) The sun’s destruction
D) The beginning of life
34. “She neither hears nor sees” is an example of:
A) Parallelism ✅
B) Onomatopoeia
C) Simile
D) Hyperbole
35. The use of “thing” in stanza 1 can also imply:
A) Mystical otherworldliness ✅
B) Anger
C) Humour
D) Disrespect
36. The poem’s main emotional journey is:
A) From joy to anger
B) From idealism to acceptance ✅
C) From fear to bravery
D) From sadness to revenge
37. The death of Lucy is depicted as:
A) Tragic and violent
B) Serene and natural ✅
C) Unexplained and mysterious
D) Punitive
38. “Rolled round” is an example of:
A) Alliteration ✅
B) Personification
C) Simile
D) Enjambment
39. The “spirit” in line 1 refers to:
A) The poet’s soul or mind ✅
B) Lucy’s ghost
C) A guardian angel
D) A divine being
40. Which word in stanza 2 conveys cosmic movement?
A) Rolled ✅
B) Rocks
C) Trees
D) Course
41. “The touch of earthly years” implies:
A) Emotional connection with time
B) Physical and temporal decay ✅
C) Harsh weather
D) Physical love
42. The poem is part of which movement?
A) Romantic ✅
B) Realist
C) Modernist
D) Symbolist
43. Which emotion is absent in the second stanza?
A) Fear ✅
B) Calmness
C) Resignation
D) Acceptance
44. “With rocks, and stones, and trees” emphasizes:
A) Loneliness
B) Oneness with nature ✅
C) Human superiority
D) Permanence of love
45. Which is the best one-word theme for the poem?
A) Ambition
B) Mortality ✅
C) Greed
D) Politics
46. The poem suggests that human life is:
A) Separate from nature
B) Part of a natural cycle ✅
C) Short but meaningless
D) Dominant over nature
47. Which two stanzas show a clear before and after of death?
A) Stanza 1 & 2 ✅
B) Stanza 2 & 3
C) Stanza 3 & 4
D) None
48. The poem’s language is:
A) Complex and highly metaphorical
B) Simple and direct ✅
C) Slang-filled
D) Overly descriptive
49. The mood of the first stanza can be described as:
A) Dreamy ✅
B) Angry
C) Frustrated
D) Energetic
50. The poem ends by:
A) Rejecting nature
B) Accepting Lucy’s unity with the natural world ✅
C) Wishing for her return
D) Denying death
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