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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the subject of "Your Face on the Dog's Neck" doing?

2. What aspect of childhood does "The Bells" reflect on?

3. "The Interrogation of the Man of Many Hearts" is a poetic dialogue between the speaker and who?

4. "In Celebration of My Uterus" celebrates what?

5. What is the tone of "Moon Song, Woman Song"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of the final poem of the book?

2. Explain the use of animals in the poem "Loving the Killer."

3. Compare and contrast "The Double Image" and "The Division of Parts."

4. What is the significance of the title Live or Die?

5. How was Live or Die received after its publication?

6. What is the significance of "For John, Who Begs Me Not To Enquire Further"?

7. What is the focus of Part 2 of To Bedlam and Part Way Back?

8. How does Sexton's poetry put the reader in the middle of her life?

9. Explain the poem "Eighteen Days Without You."

10. In All My Pretty Ones, Sexton uses more of a third person narrative approach with some of the poems. Why would this be difficult in confessional poetry?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain how The Awful Rowing Toward God can be considered Sexton's suicide note.

Essay Topic 2

Explain Anne Sexton's mental health, especially as it relates to her poetry.

Essay Topic 3

How do the poems in Posthumously Published Work fit into the larger scope of Sexton's poems? How do they stand out?

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