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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 repeated refrain in Poem 27?

2. In Poem 12, what did the painting cry at him?

3. In Poem 6, whose statue were they putting up?

4. In Poem 10, the poet writes that beauty never dies, but lies among the aborigines of what?

5. What do the "falcons of the inner eye" do in Poem 11?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Chagall do in Poem 14 of Chapter One?

2. What is the juxtaposition of setting in Poem 19 of Chapter One? How is memory involved?

3. How is life compared to a circus in Poem 17 of Chapter One?

4. What is the metaphor for a poet in Poem 15 of Chapter One?

5. Poem 3 of Chapter One describes other visions of America. What are they?

6. What is the major theme of Poem 29 of Chapter One?

7. Describe Poem 7 of Chapter One. What literally happens in the poem, and what is the underlying meaning?

8. What is Poem 4 about in Chapter One? What imagery is used?

9. What events take place in Poem 18 of Chapter One? How does the poet describe "the dreamer"?

10. What does the poet write about Beauty in Poem 10 of Chapter One?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the theme of "materialism" in the poem "Christ Climbed Down." What is the author's point of view in this poem? What imagery is used to support this?

Essay Topic 2

Poem 2 of "A Coney Island of the Mind" begins, "Sailing thru the straits of Demos / we saw symbolic birds / shrieking over us." Describe the bird and animal imagery in this poem and how they relates to the poem's themes.

Essay Topic 3

Poem 8 of Chapter One describes a couple on a picnic in Golden Gate Park. What is the mood of this poem? What symbolism does the poet use? How do these reflect its themes?

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