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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. In the poem "The Bottle Is Drunk," what is the narrator sick from?

2. In the poem "Pour Away That Youth," what fear is expressed?

3. What animal is mentioned in the poem "At Grass"?

4. In the poem "I Dreamed of an Out-thrust Arm," what is the narrator empty of?

5. What does the coming season do to the narrator of the poem "Coming"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the subject of the poem "This Is the First Thing"? To what does the narrator compare it?

2. In "The Building," what kind of building is the narrator describing? What kind of building does he compare it to?

3. In the poem "Ugly Sister," why does the girl go to her room? Where does she find solace?

4. In the poem "Faith Healing," what are the women doing? How are they trying to do this?

5. In "Friday Night at the Royal Station Hotel," to what does the narrator compare the hotel? What kind of letters do the people write?

6. Where is the narrator in the poem "Night Music"? What does the poem celebrate?

7. Who is the narrator of the poem "Wedding-Wind"? What emotion is the narrator feeling in the poem?

8. In "Breadfruit," what do the boys dream of? Where do these visions end?

9. In "The Card-Players," what elements does the poem celebrate in the last line? What comparison is being made with the characters in the poem?

10. In the poem "The Large Cool Store," what does the store sell? What is the end of the poem about?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the collection "The Whitsun Weddings," Larkin uses the theme of city vs. country often. Write an essay explaining this theme in the collection, making sure to use at least three of the poems in your argument.

Essay Topic 2

In the collection "The North Ship," winter and snow are common elements. Using at least three poems, write an essay detailing Larkin's use of these elements in the collection.

Essay Topic 3

Using the poems "Kick Up the Fire" and "If Grief Could Burn," write a compare/contrast essay on the nature of fire and grief in the collection "The North Ship."

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