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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. In Sonnet XCIX, in what form does Neruda say his heart will exist after he is long dead?
(a) It will exist as rich soil.
(b) It will exist as dust.
(c) It will exist as steam.
(d) It will exist as water.

2. What is the painter in Sonnet LXXVI painting?
(a) The jungle.
(b) Isla Negra.
(c) Matilde.
(d) The ocean.

3. In Sonnet LI, Matilde's laugh reminds Neruda of what kind of tree?
(a) A tree that is struck by lightening.
(b) A tree the offers shade to travelers.
(c) A tree that grows deep in the forest.
(d) A tree growing along on a cliff.

4. In Sonnet LII, what does Matilde do that causes the whole earth to sing?
(a) She walks.
(b) She breathes.
(c) She sings.
(d) She dances.

5. In Sonnet LXXI, Neruda says that love is like what kind of city?
(a) A destroyed city.
(b) An abandoned city.
(c) A crowded city.
(d) A lunatic city.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Sonnet LIV, what two things does Neruda describe as being "like two wings?"

2. In Sonnet LVII, who is defeated by the love between Matilde and Neruda's love?

3. In Sonnet LVI, what does Neruda say is exhausted by his songs?

4. What is Matilde doing in Sonnet LXXX?

5. What is the house in Sonnet LXXV doing when Neruda and Matilde return to it?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Neruda ask of the "four-sided constellation" in Sonnet LXXXVI?

2. In Sonnet XCIII, why does Neruda ask Matilde to leave her mouth half-open if she should die before him?

3. How does Neruda describe his homeland in Sonnet LXIII?

4. What emotion is symbolized by the "calm slow flower, constantly held out" in Sonnet LXXXVII? What does Neruda see that makes him contemplate that emotion?

5. What effect does Matilde's absence have on Neruda in Sonnet LXV?

6. In Sonnet XCI, what overshadows the life that he gives to Matilde "like a swelling cluster of fruit?"

7. in Sonnet LXIX, what does Neruda say is the possible definition of "nothingness?"

8. In Sonnet LV, what attacks the "honied contentment" Matilde and Neruda share?

9. How does Neruda feel about himself and his poetry in Sonnet LVIII?

10. In Sonnet XCII, what does Neruda choose to contemplate instead of the inevitable death of either himself or Matilde?

(see the answer keys)

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