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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 is caught in the glare of your stare in the poem "Betrayal"?

2. What happens when the speaker in the poem "Songs For Murdered Sisters" sings this song for her sister?

3. What does the speaker imagine the cicadas' song is saying in the poem "Cicadas"?

4. Why does the speaker not realize how good things were in the poem "Salt"?

5. What falls and falls in the end of the poem "A Drone Scans the Wreckage"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the poem "Betrayal" about?

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

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

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

5. What does Atwood use the ghost cat in the poem by the same titled to symbolize?

6. How does the speaker in the poem "Passports" feel about aging?

7. What kind of people were the Scythians in the poem "Digging Up the Scythians"?

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

9. What does the speaker in "Everyone Else's Sex Life" think about everyone else's sex life?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the theme of the poem "Dearly" and write an essay exploring why Atwood chose its title for the name of this collection.

Essay Topic 2

How does Atwood treat the topic of plastics in Parts IV and V of this collection? Why are plastics so harmful and destructive, according to Atwood? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

What dual meanings and symbolism does Atwood assign to souvenirs in the poem in Part I by that title? Write an essay explaining your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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