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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 kind of flowers are in the painting in the poem "A Genre Painting"?

2. What lies in the ditch in the poem "Princess Clothing"?

3. What does the speaker say about most poems in the poem "Late Poems"?

4. What does Cassandra fantasize about possessing in the poem "Cassandra Considers Declining the Gift"?

5. How is time laid out in the poem "Salt"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do people carve jack-o-lanterns in the poem "Carving the Jacks"?

2. What does Atwood compare "late poems" to in the poem by the same title?

3. Why does the speaker implore people to keep their clothes on in the poem "Everyone Else's Sex Life"?

4. What are some contradictions about cicadas in the poem by the same title?

5. In the poem "Aflame," what is happening to the world?

6. What is the problem with souvenirs, according to the speaker in the poem by the same name?

7. In the poem "Salt," what does Atwood warn will happen if one spends too much time in the past?

8. What does the speaker's mother in the poem "Blizzard" fight?

9. Why should one avoid wearing cotton when making recordings, according to the poem "Princess Clothing"?

10. What gift does Cassandra have in the poem "Cassandra Considers Declining the Gift"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Atwood use animals and insects to convey messages to the readers not only about the natural world, but about human nature, throughout this collection? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

The first poem in this collection is titled "Late Poems;" how does Atwood use the first poem to set the reader's expectations for the rest of the collection in terms of style, tone, and content? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

How does Atwood treat the topic of technology and technological advancement in the modern world throughout this collection? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

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