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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 can the miracle that provides life provide in darkness?

2. What touches the head of the muskrat in 'White Night'?

3. What wants to join with the narrator's legs in 'The Sea'?

4. What does the narrator of 'Music' compare the body to?

5. Where does the narrator of 'White Night' want to lose herself?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator of 'Crossing the Swamp' feel when she gets covered in the mud from the swamp?

2. How does the narrator say a person would know Tecumseh if they saw him?

3. What does the narrator of 'Honey at the Table' say the taste of honey is composed of?

4. What does the narrator do in the second part of 'The Garden'?

5. What is the first big question asked of the reader in 'Tecumseh'?

6. What does the narrator of 'The Roses' compare the blooming of the roses to?

7. What is the prayer whispered in 'The Garden', and who is it meant for?

8. What does the narrator of 'Crossing the Swamp' find in the swamp?

9. What sad event happens in the second part of 'Something'?

10. What does honey fill a person with according to the narrator of 'Honey at the Table'?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Which poem did you relate to the most in this book? Why is this? What about this poem touched you, and why?

Essay Topic 3

Oliver puts a huge emphasis on optimism in many of these poems. Which poems presented this idea, and how did they differ in the way each presented this theme?

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