English test

– The main theme of Victorian literature was the search for truthfulness in reflecting the practical problems and issues of daily life. To this end writers and poets of this age considered themselves moral teachers who presented love, truth, justice, and brotherhood as the great ends of life.

Choose 2 of the following 5 literary selections and state what you believe the truth or moral insight is that is being presented. You must briefly support your statement with the events or specific lines from the text. The poems are:

  • To an Athlete Dying Young by A.E. Houseman
  • Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
  • Crossing the Bar by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
  • Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold
  • The Darkling Thrush by Thomas Hardy

Essay
In one paragraph, explain what the truth or moral insight is presented in The Nightingale and the Roseby Oscar Wilde.