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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 does "obbligato" mean?

2. In "Junkman's Obbligato," the poet writes, "Empty out your pockets and _____."

3. The benches are filled with what kind of discarded statues in "Junkman's Obbligato"?

4. Where does the poet suggest sleeping in "Junkman's Obbligato"?

5. In "Autobiography," what are the French addicts of?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the street described in "The Long Street"?

2. What does the poet suggest to the reader in "Junkman's Obbligato"?

3. What are the major points of "Autobiography"?

4. Describe the dog in the poem, "Dog."

5. What does the poet suggest in "Junkman's Obbligato"?

6. How is the place in the ending of "The Long Street" described?

7. Describe the pop culture and literary references the author makes in "Autobiography."

8. Describe the train in "Meet Miss Subways." How is this tied to its theme?

9. Why does the author describe the poems of Chapter Two as "oral messages"?

10. What does the author say of money in the poem, "Autobiography"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What are the predominant, overriding themes in Chapter Three of the collection. What artistic and literary allusions are used in the poetry of this chapter? How does the artist feel about the references he makes?

Essay Topic 2

What are the major themes of the poem "I Am Waiting"? How does the author express the time in which he exists in this poem? How does Ferlinghetti illuminate his political beliefs through the use of symbolism?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss what the author means in his literary allusion to "Kafka's Castle" in Poem 16 of Chapter One. To what does the "Mystery of Existence" refer? What is the prominent theme of the poem?

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