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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the editor say new readers of Oliver will feel when they read the first section?
(a) They will get sucked in right away.
(b) They will feel like they have always known her.
(c) They are in for a surprise.
(d) They will be eased into the style.

2. What is the subject of Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones?
(a) Motivations.
(b) Personal identity.
(c) Nature.
(d) Literature.

3. What kind of hands does Oliver hope to write her poetry with?
(a) Rough hands.
(b) Busy hands.
(c) Useful hands.
(d) Quiet hands.

4. What is the turtle in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones, doing?
(a) Dying.
(b) Burying her eggs.
(c) Swimming in the lake.
(d) Teaching her babies to swim.

5. How is Oliver trying to establish the intimacy she desires in Work Sometimes?
(a) She breaks down some barriers.
(b) She uses a conversational tone.
(c) She has some suggestive innuendos.
(d) She is very open.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did Oliver choose the simple titles for her poems?

2. What does Oliver observe at the end of Work Sometimes?

3. Which of these is a line from The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First?

4. What does Oliver hope to show about the world in her poems?

5. What belongs to the animal in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones, what does Oliver ask about a turtle?

2. In Work Sometimes, what does Oliver say happiness truly is?

3. In The Measure, what does Mary Oliver say her watched over life resulted in and why?

4. In Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones, what does Oliver say about the pond?

5. How did Oliver feel at the end of Work Sometimes?

6. What is the main question Oliver asks in Work Sometimes?

7. In Everything, what does Oliver say she wants her poems to be able to do?

8. In The Measure, what does Oliver say happens to the lives that are watched over?

9. In Everything, what kind of words does Oliver say she wants to avoid in her poetry, and what examples of good words does she give?

10. In The Measure, how does Oliver say the turtle came to choose its course of travel for the day Oliver saw it?

(see the answer keys)

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