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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 did everything once have, according to the speaker in "Improvisation on a First Line by Yeats"?

2. What does the robot look like in the section of "Plasticene Suite" titled "Little Robot"?

3. What do the humans wonder about the siren in the poem "Siren Brooding on Her Eggs"?

4. What did the madman once love in "Walking in the Madman's Wood"?

5. Why does the spider dislike the floor in "Spider Signatures"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the main message in "Heart of the Arctic"?

2. What have many humans lost, according to the speaker in "Improvisation on a First Line by Yeats"?

3. What does the speaker in the poem "Little Robot" worry the robot might do?

4. What tense does not exist at the conference in the poem "At the Translation Conference" and why?

5. Why does the speaker insinuate people are so desperate for rain in the poem "Tracking the Rain"?

6. What is the "bright side" of the modern era in the poem by the same title?

7. What does the speaker think about the world in the poem "Walking in the Madman's Wood"?

8. What is the "defining foliage of the oil age" in the poem "Foliage"?

9. What are the advantages of having a spider in the house in the poem "Spider Signatures"?

10. In quoting Rilke, what does Atwood say about poetry?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

What is the Siren trying to communicate to her young in "Siren Brooding on Her Eggs?" 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.

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