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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. How many of the birds have foregone their mates at the passing of "it" in May?
2. The corpse of the speaker's beloved is worthy of the embrace of whom in Sister Maude?
3. What thirsts for the poem's first (or only) speaker of A Bruised Reed Shall He Not Break?
4. How many speakers are there in A Bruised Reed Shall He Not Break?
5. What are the names of the two girls the speaker of No Thank You, John says would take pity on John?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
A constant theme in Rossetti's poetry is the struggle of a speaker against despair. Compose an analytical essay which examines this theme overall. How is it portrayed in individual poems? How is it portrayed overall? What shapes does the struggle take? What prompts the feelings of despair? In what ways, if any, is the despair overcome? With what does the speaker struggle against despair; in other words, how does she try to conquer it? Give specific examples.
Essay Topic 2
Throughout a great deal of Rossetti's poetry, there is a connection drawn between life and love, between living and loving. This can be seen in At Home, A Triad, A Birthday, After Death, An End, and many others. Explicate in a thoroughly-developed analytical essay the significance of this connection. In what way are the two states or actions comparable? Why would one be linked with the other? What makes the two similar? How is this demonstrated in the various poems of Christina Rossetti? What does this connection reveal about human nature?
Essay Topic 3
A conventional poetic motif is introduced, but also partially inferred, in Rossetti's Another Spring, which operates primarily on the "If, then; but, therefore" structure. In this poem, the "if, then" half of the structure is explicitly stated, and the reader is supposed to infer the "but, therefore" half. Compose an essay which thoroughly analyzes this sort of poetic presentation, but the overall impact of the "If, then; but, therefore" structure and the immediate impact of the inference insisted upon by Another Spring. What purpose does the particular structure serve? How does this motif help to indicate truth? What purpose is served by the contrast? What purpose is served by having the reader supply half of the contrast himself? What does the poem signify overall? How is this signification accomplished?
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This section contains 431 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) |
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