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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. Whose hidden laughter in the foliage does the speaker mention in the final lines of "Burnt Norton"?

2. What is a synonym for the word "eructation," used in the third part of "Burnt Norton"?

3. Which of the following is found at the still point of the world, as described in Part II?

4. The speaker says that "each venture / Is a new" what in Part V of "East Coker"?

5. The speaker says in Part II of "East Coker" that there is "only a limited value / In the knowledge derived from" what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the speaker mean in the latter lines of Part III of "Burnt Norton" when he states that "This is the one way, and the other / Is the same"?

2. What does it mean to say, as the speaker does in the final line of Part II of "Burnt Norton," that "Only through time time is conquered"?

3. What purpose is served by the string of paradoxical statements at the end of Part III of "East Coker"?

4. What does the speaker mean when he states in Part V of "East Coker" that "there is no competition - / There is only the fight to recover what has been lost And found and lost again and again"?

5. What is a possible interpretation of the fourth part of "Burnt Norton"?

6. What is an interpretative possibility for the final four lines of the first part of "East Coker"?

7. Why does the speaker claim in Part II of "Burnt Norton" that "To be conscious is not to be in time"?

8. What is the significance of the "Eructation of unhealthy souls," mentioned in Part III of "Burnt Norton"?

9. What is meant by the "intolerable wrestled / With words and meanings" in the second part of "East Coker"?

10. What is the significance of the statement in the fifth part of "Burnt Norton," "Words strain, / Crack and sometimes break... Will not stay still"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Recurrent as a character throughout The Four Quartets, Christ is referred to in many different ways. In Part IV of "East Coker," he is called the "wounded surgeon." Analyze this identity of Christ in Part IV, both within its particular analogy and as significant to the whole of the work. Why is Christ called the "wounded surgeon"? What are his wounds? In what way is he a surgeon? What surgery does he perform? Upon whom does he perform it? What is the relationship between health and disease in Part IV of "East Coker"? How is this significant to the whole of the poem? How is it significant to the interpretation of all four poems? How is Christ's role as healer significant to the whole of the work?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout all four of the poems in The Four Quartets, circularity and wholeness are brought to light and the object of hints and vague statements. In the final part of "Little Gidding," they are summed up and the poems are brought into a sort of unity. Discuss the manner in which they are unified and how they are all interrelated, as demonstrated in this final part. In what way is the final part of the work a conclusion of the whole? How does it relate to each of the four poems? How does it contain them all? How is the beginning shown to be in the end? How is the end found in the beginning? What does this indicate about human nature? What does this indicate about the world and about time? How does it relate to the prevalent concern with the universal and infinite that pervades the poetry?

Essay Topic 3

Set off of the coast of Cape Ann, Massachusetts, "The Dry Salvages" uses many seafaring and nautical images. Throughout the poem, water plays a prevalent role. Examine the role of water throughout the poem in a critical essay. Why is water important for man? How does water benefit man? How can water harm man? In what way is man dependent on what? How has man been dependent on water in past times? How has he overcome this dependence, and what are the consequences of his overcoming it? What is the significance of water in a religious context? How is this shown in the poem? How is this religious significance important to interpretation of the work as a whole?

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