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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. Where is the narrator in 'Flying'?

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

3. Who killed a crow the week before in 'Crows and Owls'?

4. How does the narrator describe the shark heading for the seals in 'Cold Poem'?

5. What does the narrator feel during the storm in 'Lightning'?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What chafes the narrator in 'Fall Song'?

4. What does the narrator say about the trees at the Boston Hospital in 'University Hospital, Boston'?

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

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

7. What kind of annoyances does the narrator of 'Egrets' face while going to see the egrets?

8. What does the narrator see before leaving the hospital in 'University Hospital, Boston'?

9. What does the first snow do to familiar things in the poem 'First Snow'?

10. What do the Sioux say about ghosts in the poem 'Ghosts'?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many of these poems dealt with Oliver's thoughts about the treatment of Indians. What are some of the main incidents of this, and how was her tone and opinion presented in these poems?

Essay Topic 2

Through these poems, Oliver presented a very interesting and unique philosophy on life. What was this philosophy, and how did this different idealism affect the tone of her literature?

Essay Topic 3

What were some of the questions asked in 'The Gardens' and how did their unanswered status affect the tone of the poem?

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