XAT Poem RC Quiz 3: Monuments & Memories
Practice XAT poem based questions with 2 poems exploring impermanence and legacy. Features Ozymandias-style themes with detailed trap analysis and allusion-based questions.
📋 How to Take This Quiz
- 1 Read the poem carefully — Each poem appears before its questions. Spend 60-90 seconds understanding the theme and tone before answering.
- 2 Select your answer — Click on your chosen option. It will highlight in pink. You can change your selection before moving to the next question.
- 3 Navigate with arrows — Use Previous/Next buttons to move between questions. Submit on the last question to see your score.
- 4 Review explanations — After submission, each question shows the correct answer, why it’s right, and trap analysis for wrong options.
🧠 Use the 3-Step Method While Solving
🎯 Start the Quiz
Answer all 10 questions, then review your trap analysis
🎯 Quiz Complete!
Ozymandias Revised
They built the tower to outlast the sky,
To pierce the clouds with glass and steel.
The architects toasted their vision on high;
The financiers praised the deal.
A hundred years, they said, at least—
Perhaps two hundred, maybe more.
The tenants filled it, west to east,
A thousand workers to a floor.
But nothing stands that men have made
Without the will to keep it whole.
Neglect undid what hands had laid;
Indifference took its toll.
Now pigeons nest where traders roared,
And weeds crack through the marble floor.
The tower falls not by fire or sword,
But by the closing of a door.
The allusion to “Ozymandias” in the title connects this poem to themes of:
✓ Correct! Option B is the answer.
Why B is correct: Shelley’s “Ozymandias” is about a ruined statue in the desert—”Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” The irony is that nothing remains of Ozymandias’s empire. This poem updates that theme for modern structures.
(A) Literal reading trap — Ozymandias was Egyptian, but that’s not the thematic point
(C) Outside knowledge trap — Literary history isn’t the focus
(D) Opposite trap — Neither poem suggests ancient superiority
The poem suggests that the tower ultimately fell because of:
✓ Correct! Option C is the answer.
Why C is correct: “Neglect undid what hands had laid; / Indifference took its toll.” The cause is explicitly stated: not disaster, not attack, but neglect and abandonment.
(A) Outside knowledge trap — No construction flaws mentioned
(B) Outside knowledge trap — No disaster described
(D) Opposite trap — Explicitly “not by fire or sword”
The final lines, “The tower falls not by fire or sword, / But by the closing of a door,” emphasize that:
✓ Correct! Option B is the answer.
Why B is correct: The anticlimax is deliberate. We expect towers to fall to war or catastrophe, but this one falls to people simply leaving—”the closing of a door.” Mundane abandonment, not spectacle.
(A) Literal reading trap — Door construction isn’t the point
(C) Literal reading trap — Takes “fire” literally
(D) Overreach trap — The poem isn’t about economics specifically
The tone of the poem toward the “architects” and “financiers” is best described as:
✓ Correct! Option C is the answer.
Why C is correct: “They said” a hundred or two hundred years—irony undercuts their predictions. “Toasted their vision,” “praised the deal”—the tone is wry, not vicious. They were wrong, and the poem notes it without rage.
(A) Opposite trap — The poem shows their vision failed
(B) Tone mismatch — The irony indicates a stance, not neutrality
(D) Tone intensity trap — Mocking, not angry—the critique is subtle
The juxtaposition of “traders roared” and “pigeons nest” serves to:
✓ Correct! Option B is the answer.
Why B is correct: “Traders roared” = noise, activity, power, commerce. “Pigeons nest” = silence, abandonment, nature reclaiming. The juxtaposition compresses the entire arc of decline into two images.
(A) Overreach trap — Noise pollution isn’t the theme
(C) Literal reading trap — The poem doesn’t compare the quality of occupants
(D) Literal reading trap — Acoustics aren’t discussed
The poem’s opening lines establish that the father’s inheritance was:
✓ Correct! Option B is the answer.
Why B is correct: The poem explicitly states “nothing I could sell— / No land, no stocks, no jewelry, no art. / Just phrases… And silences.” The inheritance is behavioral, not material.
(A) Outside knowledge trap — No theft is mentioned
(C) Outside knowledge trap — No deliberate withholding suggested
(D) Outside knowledge trap — Financial planning isn’t discussed
The phrase “silences I’ve learned by heart” suggests that:
✓ Correct! Option B is the answer.
Why B is correct: To “learn by heart” means to memorize deeply, to internalize. The silences aren’t absences but meaningful communications—things understood without being said. The speaker has absorbed this way of being.
(A) Tone mismatch — The poem is appreciative, not critical of the father
(C) Opposite trap — No resentment is expressed
(D) Literal reading trap — Takes “silences” as mere quiet
The speaker’s attitude toward this inheritance is best described as:
✓ Correct! Option B is the answer.
Why B is correct: The final stanza calls these “The heaviest things we inherit”—weight here means significance, not burden. The entire poem catalogues these traits with appreciation, not complaint.
(A) Opposite trap — The speaker clearly values the inheritance
(C) Tone mismatch — The poem is reflective and warm, not indifferent
(D) Tone mismatch — The speaker is certain about the meaning
The final stanza’s claim that these are “The heaviest things we inherit” is paradoxical because:
✓ Correct! Option A is the answer.
Why A is correct: Paradox: “heaviest” usually means physical weight, but these things “cannot put on shelves” or be counted—they’re intangible. Yet they are the most significant inheritance. The paradox captures the idea that immaterial things matter most.
(B) Outside knowledge trap — Speaker’s physical strength isn’t mentioned
(C) Partial truth trap — This restates the paradox but doesn’t explain why it’s paradoxical
(D) Literal reading trap — Takes “heaviest” as physical weight
The poem implies that true inheritance consists of:
✓ Correct! Option B is the answer.
Why B is correct: The entire poem argues this point. The inheritance is “ways of carrying ourselves”—habits, values, character. Not money, not objects, but who we become through our parents’ influence.
(A) Opposite trap — The poem explicitly dismisses financial inheritance
(C) Outside knowledge trap — Genetics aren’t discussed
(D) Partial truth trap — Heirlooms are still material; the poem is about the immaterial
📖 About This XAT Poem Based Questions Quiz
This XAT poem based questions quiz features 10 carefully crafted questions across 2 poems exploring impermanence and legacy. “Ozymandias Revised” is a modern take on Shelley’s classic theme, while “The Inheritance” examines what truly passes between generations.
What You’ll Practice in Quiz 3
Quiz 3: “Monuments & Memories” includes questions that test your ability to:
- Recognize literary allusions — Understanding how poets reference classic works (like Shelley’s Ozymandias)
- Identify tone intensity — Distinguishing “gently mocking” from “angrily condemning”
- Interpret paradox — Lines like “the heaviest things we inherit” require understanding paradoxical statements
- Analyze juxtaposition — “Traders roared” vs “pigeons nest” compresses narrative into contrast
Key Trap Types in Quiz 3
Quiz 3 introduces 7 trap types—more variety than earlier quizzes:
- Literal Reading Traps: Q1, Q3, Q5, Q7, Q9 — Don’t take “door,” “fire,” or “heaviest” literally
- Opposite Traps: Q1, Q4, Q7, Q8, Q10 — Watch for answers that reverse the poem’s meaning
- Tone Intensity Traps: Q4 — “Mocking” vs “angry” is a common XAT distinction
- Partial Truth Traps: Q9, Q10 — Options that are partly correct but miss the full point
Review our Trap Types Guide for detailed explanations of each trap type.
Quiz Series Progress
This is Quiz 3 of our XAT Poem RC practice series:
- Quiz 1: “The Weight of Time” — Focus on irony and personification
- Quiz 2: “Nature’s Lessons” — Focus on natural imagery and elliptical language
- Quiz 3 (This Page): “Monuments & Memories” — Focus on allusion, tone intensity, and paradox
- Quiz 4: Coming soon — Mixed question types (exam simulation)
Access all quizzes from our XAT Poem RC Practice Hub.
After Completing This Quiz
If you struggled with tone intensity questions (Q4), review our Question Types Guide for tone/attitude question strategies. For allusion questions, check the Poets in XAT page for background on commonly referenced works.
❓ FAQs: XAT Poem Based Questions Quiz
Common queries about XAT poem practice and this quiz
Quiz 3: “Monuments & Memories” features 2 original poems: “Ozymandias Revised” (a modern take on Shelley’s classic about impermanence) and “The Inheritance” (exploring intangible legacy between generations). Each poem has 5 questions covering allusion, tone, paradox, and thematic interpretation.
Ozymandias is Percy Bysshe Shelley’s famous 1818 poem about a ruined statue in the desert with the inscription “Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” The irony is that nothing remains of this once-great king’s empire. “Ozymandias Revised” updates this theme for modern skyscrapers—monuments to commerce that also decay through neglect.
Quiz 3 introduces Tone Intensity Traps (Q4—distinguishing “mocking” from “angry”) and Partial Truth Traps (Q9, Q10—options that are partly correct but miss the full point). Combined with Literal Reading, Opposite, Outside Knowledge, Overreach, and Tone Mismatch traps, this gives you practice with the full range of XAT traps. See our Trap Types Guide for all 7.
A Tone Intensity Trap offers an answer with the right direction but wrong intensity. Example: Q4 asks about the poem’s tone toward architects. “Gently mocking” is correct; “Angrily condemning” has the right negative direction but exaggerates the intensity. XAT often tests whether you can calibrate tone precisely.
Quiz 1 focused on irony and personification. Quiz 2 tested natural imagery and elliptical language. Quiz 3 introduces literary allusion (Ozymandias), juxtaposition (traders vs pigeons), and paradox (heaviest intangible things). We recommend completing quizzes in order, but each stands alone.
After Quiz 3: (1) If tone questions gave you trouble, study the Question Types Guide, (2) Continue with Quiz 4 (coming soon) for exam simulation, (3) Review Poets in XAT for allusion background.
9-10: Excellent — Strong poetry comprehension with allusion recognition. 7-8: Good — Minor gaps in tone calibration or paradox interpretation. 5-6: Average — Review trap types, especially Tone Intensity and Partial Truth. Below 5: Needs work — Revisit Quiz 1-2 first.
Yes, all our XAT poem practice quizzes are available for PDF download from the XAT Poem RC Practice Hub. The PDF includes the poems, questions, answers, and complete trap analysis for offline practice.