Question

What details from the two poems support your choice of theme? (Choose only one answer.)

Grown-Up
Was it for this I uttered prayers,
And sobbed and cursed and kicked the stairs,
That now, domestic as a plate,
I should retire at half-past eight?

The Unexplorer
There was a road ran past our house
Too lovely to explore.
I asked my mother once—she said
That if you followed where it led
It brought you to the milk-man’s door.
(That’s why I have not travelled more.)

(A) The speakers in both poems find real life to be quite dull.
(B) The speakers in both poems could not wait to experience the world as adults.
(C) The speakers in both poems take great pleasure in life.
(D) The speakers in both poems once had a desire to travel.

Answer 1

(A) The speakers in both poems find real life to be quite dull.

- In "Grown-Up" the speaker complains that after all their earlier hopes and rebellions they are now "domestic as a plate" and must "retire at half‑past eight," showing boredom and disappointment with ordinary adult life.
- In "The Unexplorer" the speaker describes a nearby road "Too lovely to explore" but reports the mother’s anticlimax — it only "brought you to the milk‑man’s door" — and concludes "(That’s why I have not travelled more.)", showing a lack of real adventure or excitement.