Table of Contents
- Essay Passage: Montaigne's "Of Solitude"
- Question 91: The Theme of the Passage
- Question 92: The Mistake Human Beings Make
- Question 93: When the Principal Worries Follow Us
- Poetry Passage: W.B. Yeats's "A Prayer for Old Age"
- Question 94: Meaning of Thoughts True for All Time
- Question 95: The Poet's Thoughts in the Second Stanza
- Question 96: Inferring the Poet's State
- Fiction Extract: Dickens's Dombey and Son
- Question 97: Identifying the Literary Device
- Question 98: Identifying the 'System'
- Drama Extract: Shakespeare's King Lear
- Question 99: Meaning of 'Is man no more than this?'
- Question 100: Meaning of Unaccommodated Man
Reading Comprehension: Essay (Questions 91-93)
Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow:
“[T]he aim of all solitude...is the same: to live more at leisure and at one’s ease. But people do not always look for the right way. Often they think they have left the business and they have only changed it. There is scarcely less trouble in governing a family than in governing an entire state: whatever the mind is wrapped up in it, it is all wrapped up in it, and domestic occupations are no less important for being less important. Furthermore, by getting rid of the court and the marketplace, we do not get rid of the principal worries of our life. Ambition, avarice, irresolution, fear and lust do not leave us when we change our country. They often follow us even into the cloisters and schools of philosophy. Neither deserts, nor rocky caves, nor hair shirts, nor fastings will free us of them.”
— Michel de Montaigne, “Of solitude”
Question 91
Which of the following best captures the theme of the passage?
The passage opens by establishing the true goal: "the aim of all solitude... is the same: to live more at leisure and at one’s ease."
Montaigne's entire essay revolves around achieving inner peace. However, he warns that physical isolation (leaving the court, going to a cave) is useless if you don't also isolate your mind from worldly desires. True solitude (and therefore true peace) is an internal condition, not just a geographical location.
Question 92
The mistake human beings make is to:
Montaigne states: "Often they think they have left the business and they have only changed it."
The core mistake humans make is believing that moving to a monastery or the desert will bring peace. But because they fail to restrain their own minds, their internal anxieties (ambition, fear, lust) simply follow them to the new location. You must restrain your mind, not just change your physical address.
Question 93
The “principal worries of our life” follow us if we:
A. detach ourselves from family life.
B. are deep into buying and selling.
C. mentally abstain from the hustle and bustle.
D. are in to schools of philosophy.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
The passage explicitly states that changing physical locations or retreating to "schools of philosophy" does not cure anxiety. If you detach from the state to manage a family, you will still have trouble, because "there is scarcely less trouble in governing a family than in governing an entire state." The only way to stop worries from following you is to mentally abstain from them, separating your soul from worldly attachments.
Reading Comprehension: Poetry (Questions 94-96)
Read the given poem and answer the questions that follow:
A Prayer for Old Age
God guard me from those thoughts men think
In the mind alone;
He that sings a lasting song
Thinks in a marrow-bone;
From all that makes a wise old man
That can be praised of all;
O, what am I that I should not seem
For the song's sake a fool?
I pray–for fashion's word is out
And prayer comes round again
That I may seem, though I die old,
A foolish, passionate man.
— W.B. Yeats
Question 94
Thoughts true for all time are:
In the first stanza, Yeats rejects cold, purely intellectual logic: "God guard me from those thoughts men think / In the mind alone."
Instead, he says that a poet who creates something eternal ("a lasting song" or a thought true for all time) must think "in a marrow-bone." This striking metaphor means that true poetry and lasting thoughts are not calculated in the brain; they are felt deep inside the very core of one's physical and emotional self (the marrow of the bones).
Question 95
In the second stanza, the poet thinks of:
The second stanza continues the sentence from the first stanza: "[God guard me] From all that makes a wise old man / That can be praised of all."
Yeats is deeply afraid of becoming a respectable, dignified, cold "wise old man." He does not want the polite praise of society. He is willing to look like an absolute fool if that is the price he must pay to keep his passionate, creative fire burning ("for the song's sake").
Question 96
Which one of the following best captures what we infer about the poet?
The final stanza gives the definitive conclusion: "That I may seem, though I die old, / A foolish, passionate man."
We can infer that Yeats is aging, but he utterly rejects the stereotype of the calm, detached, "wise" elder. He believes that true art requires burning emotion. Therefore, he is happy to be considered "foolish" by society, as long as he retains his passionate, youthful soul until the day he dies.
Reading Comprehension: Fiction Extract (Questions 97-98)
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
The earth was made for Dombey and Son to trade in, and the sun and moon were made to give them light. Rivers and seas were formed to float their ships; rainbows gave them the promise of fair weather; winds blew for or against their enterprises; stars and planets circled in their orbits to preserve inviolate a system of which they were the centre. Common abbreviations took new meanings in his eyes and had sole reference to them: A. D. had no concern with anno Domini, but stood for anno Dombey—and Son.
— Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son
Question 97
The whole description is an example of:
Dickens uses a vast, cosmic analogy (and intense hyperbole) to demonstrate the absolute, blinding arrogance of Mr. Dombey.
The passage sets up a direct, one-to-one correspondence between the massive forces of the universe and the needs of a single British shipping company. To Dombey's egomaniacal mind, the sun isn't a star; it is merely a lamp provided by God to light his warehouses. A.D. doesn't mean the year of Christ; it means the year of his company.
Question 98
What is the ‘system’ of which Dombey and Son were the centres?
"Dombey and Son" is the name of Mr. Dombey's powerful, multi-generational wholesale shipping firm.
To Mr. Dombey, his family business is the literal center of the universe. Dickens writes that the planets circle in their orbits merely to preserve the "system" (the business empire) that Dombey controls. His obsession with his business is so total that it overrides his humanity, destroying his relationship with his family.
Reading Comprehension: Drama Extract (Questions 99-100)
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
Is man no more than this? Consider him well. Thou ow'st the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the cat no perfume. —Ha! here's three on's are sophisticated. Thou art the thing itself; unaccommodated man is no more than such a poor, bare, forked animal as thou art.
— William Shakespeare, King Lear
Question 99
‘Is man no more than this?’ means:
King Lear speaks these lines during the violent storm on the heath, looking at the naked beggar "Poor Tom" (Edgar in disguise).
Lear realizes that human beings are incredibly frail. Animals are born with natural protection (a sheep has its own wool, a beast has its own hide). But humans have nothing of their own; we have to steal silk from worms and leather from beasts just to survive. Without stolen clothes and wealth, man is naturally the weakest and most pathetic of all animals.
Question 100
Which one of the following best captures what Shakespeare means?
In this profound moment of madness and clarity, Lear strips away the illusions of royal power.
He looks at himself, his Fool, and his loyal servant (the "three on's are sophisticated" because they are wearing clothes) and contrasts them with the naked beggar. He realizes that all human civilization, royalty, and dignity are just "accommodations"—borrowed/stolen clothes and tools. If you strip away those accommodations, a human king is no different than a "poor, bare, forked animal."
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Montaigne's philosophy of Solitude?
Michel de Montaigne, the inventor of the modern essay, believed that true solitude is not about physically hiding in the woods. It is a psychological state. To achieve true peace, you must build a "back shop" in your mind—a private internal space completely detached from worldly ambitions, family stress, and the opinions of others, where you can converse purely with yourself.
What does Lear mean by "Unaccommodated man"?
In Shakespeare's time, "accommodations" meant the comforts of civilization (clothes, houses, fire, status). An "unaccommodated man" is a human being stripped of absolutely everything artificial. Lear's terrifying realization is that without society's artificial protections, humans are just weak, vulnerable, two-legged (forked) beasts exposed to the brutal elements.
Why does Yeats pray to be "foolish"?
In "A Prayer for Old Age," Yeats is rejecting the societal expectation that old men should be serene, quiet, logical, and dignified. As a Romantic poet, he believes that art requires burning passion and emotional intensity (thinking in the "marrow-bone"). He would rather be mocked as a crazy old fool than lose the fiery passion that fuels his poetry.
