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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 narrator of 'Cold Poem' say men become when it grows colder?

2. What makes the crows so angry with the owl in 'Crows and Owls'?

3. What does the crow dream about in 'Crows and Owls'?

4. What is the blue heron looking for in 'A Poem for the Blue Heron'?

5. What color is the snake in 'Rain in Ohio'?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator in 'University Hospital, Boston' think about when she hears how old the hospital is?

2. In 'First Snow', what is brought about by the first snow?

3. What does the person in 'Skunk Cabbage' love about the woods?

4. What does the narrator of 'Egrets' say allows them to step without fear?

5. How do most people feel about vultures according to the narrator of 'Vultures'?

6. How does the narrator of 'Fall Song' describe the present time?

7. What does the alligator in 'Postcard From Flamingo' do?

8. What is the central theme in the first four poems?

9. What question does the narrator want to ask the stranger on the plane in 'Flying'?

10. What question is asked at the beginning of 'Ghosts'?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What are some of the key examples of gratitude in this book, and how do these instances affect the tone of the poems that had this as a central theme?

Essay Topic 2

Some of these poems alluded to Oliver's belief in God and her religious views. How did this this religious center affect the tone of the poems and the messages being presented in them?

Essay Topic 3

What role does symbolism play in these poems and where does it appear? How is the tone and meaning of the poems altered by the presence of these symbols?

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