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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 say she is close to in 'Cold Poem'?

2. What does the crow call in 'Rain in Ohio'?

3. What does the narrator say the wind has in 'Web'?

4. What springs up behind John Chapman as he wanders in 'John Chapman'?

5. How does the narrator get into the whorehouse?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. Where does personification fit in 'Lightning'?

5. In 'The Kitten', what does the narrator feel as she buries the kitten, and why?

6. In 'The Bobcat', what does the bobcat do that astounds the narrator?

7. Who was John Chapman?

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

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

10. What sound does the narrator describe at the beginning of 'Postcard from Flamingo'?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Despair was a theme that was placed in a number of sensitive places in these poems. What are some of these places, and what role did despair play in this book?

Essay Topic 2

What was the main theme in 'Flying' and what kinds of literary devices were used to present this interesting and unique theme?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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This section contains 605 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample