AP Success - AP English Literature: A Haunted House

This is a short story by Virginia Woolfe, published in 1921.

Whatever hour you woke there was a door shutting. From room to room they went, hand in hand, lifting here, opening there, making sure--a ghostly couple.

"Here we left it," she said. And he added, "Oh, but here tool" "It's upstairs," she murmured. "And in the garden," he whispered. "Quietly," they said, "or we shall wake them."

But it wasn't that you woke us. Oh, no. "They're looking for it; they're drawing the curtain," one might say, and so read on a page or two. "Now they've found it,' one would be certain, stopping the pencil on the margin. And then, tired of reading, one might rise and see for oneself, the house all empty, the doors standing open, only the wood pigeons bubbling with content and the hum of the threshing machine sounding from the farm. "What did I come in here for? What did I want to find?" My hands were empty. "Perhaps its upstairs then?" The apples were in the loft. And so down again, the garden still as ever, only the book had slipped into the grass.

But they had found it in the drawing room. Not that one could ever see them. The windowpanes reflected apples, reflected roses; all the leaves were green in the glass. If they moved in the drawing room, the apple only turned its yellow side. Yet, the moment after, if the door was opened, spread about the floor, hung upon the walls, pendant from the ceiling--what? My hands were empty. The shadow of a thrush crossed the carpet; from the deepest wells of silence the wood pigeon drew its bubble of sound. "Safe, safe, safe" the pulse of the house beat softly. "The treasure buried; the room . . ." the pulse stopped short. Oh, was that the buried treasure?

A moment later the light had faded. Out in the garden then? But the trees spun darkness for a wandering beam of sun. So fine, so rare, coolly sunk beneath the surface the beam I sought always burned behind the glass. Death was the glass; death was between us, coming to the woman first, hundreds of years ago, leaving the house, sealing all the windows; the rooms were darkened. He left it, left her, went North, went East, saw the stars turned in the Southern sky; sought the house, found it dropped beneath the Downs. "Safe, safe, safe," the pulse of the house beat gladly. 'The Treasure yours."

The wind roars up the avenue. Trees stoop and bend this way and that. Moonbeams splash and spill wildly in the rain. But the beam of the lamp falls straight from the window. The candle burns stiff and still. Wandering through the house, opening the windows, whispering not to wake us, the ghostly couple seek their joy.

"Here we slept," she says. And he adds, "Kisses without number." "Waking in the morning--" "Silver between the trees--" "Upstairs--" 'In the garden--" "When summer came--" 'In winter snowtime--" "The doors go shutting far in the distance, gently knocking like the pulse of a heart.

Nearer they come, cease at the doorway. The wind falls, the rain slides silver down the glass. Our eyes darken, we hear no steps beside us; we see no lady spread her ghostly cloak. His hands shield the lantern. "Look," he breathes. "Sound asleep. Love upon their lips."

Stooping, holding their silver lamp above us, long they look and deeply. Long they pause. The wind drives straightly; the flame stoops slightly. Wild beams of moonlight cross both floor and wall, and, meeting, stain the faces bent; the faces pondering; the faces that search the sleepers and seek their hidden joy.

"Safe, safe, safe," the heart of the house beats proudly. "Long years--" he sighs. "Again you found me." "Here," she murmurs, "sleeping; in the garden reading; laughing, rolling apples in the loft. Here we left our treasure--" Stooping, their light lifts the lids upon my eyes. "Safe! safe! safe!" the pulse of the house beats wildly. Waking, I cry "Oh, is this your buried treasure? The light in the heart.

Question 1

Multiple choice

The phrase "a door shutting" (line 1) primarily serves to evoke a sense of:

  • finality

  • mystery

  • isolation

  • continuity

  • urgency

Question 2

Multiple choice

The description of the couple as "ghostly" (line 2) suggests that they are:

  • insubstantial or not fully present

  • hidden or secretive

  • sinister and malevolent

  • pale and sickly

  • frightening and eerie

Question 3

Multiple choice

The repetition of "safe, safe, safe" (line 21) contributes to the tone of the passage by:

  • highlighting the tranquility and security within the house

  • introducing a new theme of safety

  • creating a sense of urgency and danger

  • contradicting the overall atmosphere of the passage

  • emphasizing the characters' insecurity

Question 4

Multiple choice

The reference to the wood pigeon's "bubble of sound" (line 20) is an example of which literary device?

  • Onomatopoeia

  • Hyperbole

  • Simile

  • Metaphor

  • Personification

Question 5

Multiple choice

The narrative's shifting perspectives, as seen in lines 7-9 and 23-26, primarily serve to:

  • illustrate the confusion experienced by the characters

  • create a sense of disorientation in the reader

  • contrast the internal and external experiences of the characters

  • demonstrate the omnipresence of the ghostly couple

  • emphasize the mysterious nature of the treasure

Question 6

Multiple choice

In line 28, the repeated phrase "safe, safe, safe" most likely signifies:

  • The monotony and repetitiveness of their lives

  • A comforting reassurance amidst chaos

  • The characters' denial of an impending threat

  • The characters' satisfaction with their security

  • An incantation or spell for protection

Question 7

Multiple choice

The use of direct speech in lines 36-37 ("Here we slept," she says. And he adds, "Kisses without number.") contributes to the passage by:

  • highlighting the characters' nostalgia

  • providing insight into the characters' past experiences

  • demonstrating the couple's intimacy and affection

  • creating a more dynamic and immediate scene

  • contrasting the present with the past

Question 8

Multiple choice

The imagery in lines 31-33 ("Moonbeams splash and spill wildly in the rain.") primarily serves to:

  • symbolize the characters' emotions or state of mind

  • convey the intensity and wildness of the weather

  • illustrate the chaotic environment surrounding the characters

  • create a sense of beauty and wonder in nature

  • foreshadow an impending disaster or change

Question 9

Multiple choice

The phrase "the pulse of the house" (line 21) is an example of:

  • Personification

  • Alliteration

  • Synecdoche

  • Metonymy

  • Anaphora

Question 10

Multiple choice

The overall atmosphere of the passage can best be described as:

  • Nostalgic and melancholic

  • Confusing and disorienting

  • Joyful and celebratory

  • Ominous and foreboding

  • Peaceful and serene

Teach with AI superpowers

Why teachers love Class Companion

Import assignments to get started in no time.

Create your own rubric to customize the AI feedback to your liking.

Overrule the AI feedback if a student disputes.

Other English Literature Assignments

2017 AP English Literature and Composition Free-Response Questions(2023·新高考Ⅱ卷)阅读下面的文字,完成下面小题。2024 Fall Final Literary Argument2024 Fall Final Poetry Analysis2024 Fall Final Prose Analysis2025 "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"After reading "On the rainy River" through "How to Tell a True War Story,"After reading "The Man I Killed" through "Speaking of Courage," answer the folloAnalysis of Janie's Identity Development in 'Their Eyes Were Watching God'Analysis of Symbolism in the Song's WatchtowerAnalysis of 'The Handmaid's Tale' EndingAnalysis of 'Trifles' by Susan Glaspell (1916)Analyzing Complex Relationships in Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of CasterbridgeAnalyzing Setting in 'Claire of the Sea Light'Analyzing the Complex Portrayal of the Landlady in P. K. Page’s PoemAnalyzing the Narrator's Attitude in George Eliot's MiddlemarchAnalyzing the Role of a Foil Character in LiteratureAnswer the following after reading "Love" and "Spin"AP English Literature: Analysis of Nisi Shawl's 'Everfair'AP English Literature and Composition Free-Response QuestionsAP FRQ for Little Fires EverywhereAP FRQ For Little Fires EverywhereAP FRQ One Poetry: "The Myth of Music" by Rachel M. HarperAP LIT 2012 "Remembrance" Multiple ChoiceAP Literature Free Response Question #2: "Lucy"AP Literature FRQ: Major Jackson's Poem "Mighty Pawns"AP Literature FRQ: Major Jackson's Poem "Mighty Pawns"AP Literature – Literary Argument 2007AP Literature – Prose Analysis 2023 Set #1AP Literature – Prose Analysis 2023 Set #2AP Lit Q1 "The Landlady"AP Poetry Essay "Shaving" by Richard BlancoAP Success - AP English Literature: Advice to a ProphetAP Success - AP English Literature: An Idle FellowAP Success - AP English Literature: As I Lay DyingAP Success - AP English Literature: AzathothAP Success - AP English Literature: Bleak HouseAP Success - AP English Literature: Calmly We Walk Through This April’s DayAP Success - AP English Literature: February (a cat poem)AP Success - AP English Literature: My Name (means hope)AP Success - AP English Literature: My Name (means hope)--Day 5AP Success - AP English Literature Nature's Influence on NarrativesAP Success - AP English Literature: PlanetariumAP Success - AP English Literature Poetry Analysis: Dover BeachAP Success - AP English Literature Poetry Analysis: "Elegy for Jane"AP Success - AP English Literature Poetry Analysis: John Crowe RansomAP Success - AP English Literature Poetry Analysis: John DonneAP Success - AP English Literature Poetry Analysis: "Law Like Love"AP Success - AP English Literature Poetry Analysis: "Ogun"