Critical Thinking Questions: Poem: After Blenheim

Type I

Q1: Kaspar's repeated reference to a "famous victory" reflects:

1. Blind acceptance of public opinion
2. Genuine pride in national glory
3. Critical questioning of war
4. Emotional grief over soldiers

(a) 1 and 2
(b) Only 1
(c) 3 and 4
(d) 2 and 4

Q2: Peterkin and Wilhelmine's questions in the poem symbolise:

1. Childlike curiosity
2. A demand for justification
3. Deep patriotic emotion
4. Knowledge of political strategy

(a) 1 and 4
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 3 and 4
(d) 1 and 2

Q3: The skull discovered by Peterkin represents:

1. The forgotten casualties of war
2. The excitement of childhood discovery
3. Dignified remembrance of soldiers
4. A symbol of national victory

(a) 1 and 2
(b) 1 and 4
(c) 2 and 3
(d) 3 and 4

Q4: Kaspar's tone when recalling destruction ("things like that must be") indicates:

1. Normalisation of human suffering
2. Irony toward heroic narratives
3. A hopeful view of war
4. Willingness to challenge authority

(a) 3 and 4
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 and 2
(d) 1 and 4

Q5: The burning of Kaspar's father's home highlights:

1. Civilian loss in warfare
2. Celebration of heroism
3. Forced migration
4. Economic progress

(a) 1 and 3
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 3 and 4
(d) 1 and 4

Q6: Wilhelmine calling the war "a wicked thing" shows:

1. Innocent moral clarity
2. Rejection of bloodshed
3. Political knowledge
4. Acceptance of propaganda

(a) 1 and 4
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 3 and 4
(d) 1 and 2

Q7: The poem's irony mainly targets:

1. Military leaders who gain praise
2. Common people who suffer silently
3. The narrative of heroic warfare
4. The curiosity of children

(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 4
(c) 1 and 3
(d) 3 and 4

Q8: Kaspar's inability to explain the reason for war emphasises:

1. Lack of historical understanding
2. Futility of conflict
3. Trust in public opinion
4. Clarity of political goals

(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 3 and 4
(d) 1 and 4

Q9: The rotting bodies after the battle symbolise:

1. Emotional numbness
2. The physical horrors of war
3. Biological study
4. Honour in death

(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 3 and 4
(d) 1 and 4

Q10: The broader thematic message of the poem critiques:

1. Glorification of warfare
2. The unquestioning public mind
3. Economic greed
4. Environmental destruction

(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 3 and 4
(d) 1 and 4

Type II

Q11: Identify the line that uses the same literary device as "For many thousand men were slain":
(Hyperbole exaggerating scale)
(a) "My father lived at Blenheim then"
(b) "They burnt his dwelling to the ground"
(c) "With fire and sword the country round was wasted"
(d) "It was a summer evening"

Q12: Identify the line that uses the same literary device as "That was so large and smooth and round":
(Visual imagery)
(a) "They say it was a shocking sight"
(b) "Old Kaspar took it from the boy"
(c) "The ploughshare turns them out"
(d) "And lay rotting in the sun"

Q13: Identify the line that uses the same literary device as "For many a childing mother then, and new-born baby died":
(Appeal to emotion / pathos)
(a) "And he before his cottage door was sitting in the sun"
(b) "Who fell in the great victory"
(c) "So with his wife and child he fled"
(d) "'Twas a very wicked thing"

Q14: Identify the line that uses the same literary device as "Why that I cannot tell":
(Irony / ignorance despite glorification)
(a) "And what they fought each other for"
(b) "But everybody said"
(c) "That 'twas a famous victory"
(d) "Roll something large and round"

Q15: Identify the line that uses the same literary device as "But what good came of it at last?":
(Rhetorical questioning)
(a) "He came to ask what he had found"
(b) "Now tell us what 'twas all about"
(c) "Nay, nay, my little girl"
(d) "Who put the French to rout"