Read the following poem given below and answer the question.
LOVE AND A QUESTION
A STRANGER came to the door at eve,
And he spoke the bridegroom fair.
He bore a green-white stick in his hand,
And, for all burden, care.
He asked with the eyes more than the lips
For a shelter for the night,
And he turned and looked at the road afar
Without a window light.
The bridegroom came forth into the porch
With "Let us look at the sky,
And question what of the night to be,
Stranger, you and I."
The woodbine leaves littered the yard,
The woodbine berries were blue,
Autumn, yes, winter was in the wind;
"Stranger, I wish I knew."
Within, the bride in the dusk alone
Bent over the open fire,
Her face rose-red with the glowing coal
And the thought of the heart's desire.
The bridegroom looked at the weary road,
Yet saw but her within,
And wished her heart in a case of gold
And pinned with a silver pin.
The bridegroom thought it little to give
a dole of bread, a purse,
A heartfelt prayer for the poor of God,
Or for the rich a curse,
But whether or not a man was asked
To mar the love of two
By harboring woe in the bridal house,
The bridegroom wished he knew.
The mood of the poem is:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Sombre and heavy
Sombre means dark, grave and serious; a heavy mood is one that weighs on the mind. The poem moves from a stranger at the door at nightfall, a road without a window light and winter in the wind, to a bridegroom troubled by the fear of harboring woe in the bridal house. The tone stays grave and thoughtful to the end.
Example: The news of the accident cast a sombre mood over the gathering.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: Cheerful — Incorrect. Contradicted: although the setting is a wedding, the poem dwells on doubt and unease, not on happiness.
Option 3: Celebratory — Incorrect. Contradicted: there is no celebration in the poem; the bride sits alone in the dusk while the bridegroom stands outside with the stranger.
Option 4: Angry and bitter — Incorrect. Contradicted: the bridegroom is uncertain, not resentful; he feels no anger towards the stranger, only a doubt about what is right.
Example: He wrote a bitter letter after losing the job.