The Forsaken Merman (Practice Test)

1. What is the central conflict in “The Forsaken Merman”?
(A) A battle between merfolk and humans
(B) A merman’s grief over his human wife abandoning their family
(C) A child’s struggle to choose between land and sea
(D) A religious debate between sea and land creatures

2. Margaret leaves her underwater family because:
(A) She is kidnapped by humans
(B) She hears church bells calling her to land
(C) The merman is cruel to her
(D) Her children reject her

3. The poem’s setting alternates between:
(A) Past and present
(B) Land and sea
(C) Summer and winter
(D) Day and night

4. The merman’s children symbolize:
(A) The innocence caught between two worlds
(B) The dangers of the ocean
(C) Religious doubt
(D) Victorian social norms

5. The poem’s form is best described as:
(A) A sonnet sequence
(B) A dramatic lyric
(C) Blank verse
(D) A ballad

6. The recurring line “Come, dear children, let us away” emphasizes:
(A) The merman’s desperation
(B) The children’s disobedience
(C) Margaret’s regret
(D) The sea’s danger

7. Margaret’s choice to return to land represents:
(A) The pull of human religion and society
(B) Fear of the ocean
(C) Rejection of motherhood
(D) Political rebellion

8. The poem’s tone is predominantly:
(A) Joyful and celebratory
(B) Angry and vengeful
(C) Melancholic and pleading
(D) Satirical and mocking

9. Arnold uses the sea as a symbol for:
(A) Freedom and natural passion
(B) Death and danger
(C) Political turmoil
(D) Religious purity

10. The poem’s conclusion suggests:
(A) Margaret returns to her sea family
(B) The merman gives up hope
(C) The children adapt to land life
(D) The separation is permanent