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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 the poet say we'll dry our drawers on in "Junkman's Obbligato"?

2. The poets writes in "Junkman's Obbligato," "Let us not wait for ______ / to carry us triumphant / into the interior waving / at the natives."

3. In "I Am Waiting" the poet writes he is waiting to write the great ____ poem.

4. In "I Am Waiting," the poet writes he is waiting for someone to really discover what?

5. In the poem, "Dog," what does the dog see in Chinatown windows?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the overall theme of the poem "Junkman's Obbligato"? What allusions point to this?

2. What is the underlying meaning of the poem "I Am Waiting"?

3. What are some of the things the poet is waiting for in "I Am Waiting"?

4. Who is described in "Meet Miss Subways"?

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

6. What are the prominent themes of "Christ Climbed Down"?

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the structural elements of Poem 24 of the first chapter of the collection. What imagery does the poet use to describe "the beach of love"? How does the poet create the image of waves using line breaks and what is the significance of this?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the examination of America in the poem "Autobiography." In what ways does the poet describe himself as an American? What does he juxtapose in terms of settings and imagery?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the animal imagery prominent in Poem 11 of Chapter One. In this poem, the author writes, "The wounded wilderness of Morris Graves / is not the same wild west / the white man found." How does he go one to describe it?

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