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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 1: "Harlem Shadows," Lines 1-18.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What ideas are associated with the snow in this poem?
(a) Circumstance, poverty, and innocence.
(b) Prejudice, indifference, and suffering.
(c) Heaven, purity, and nature.
(d) Punishment, corruption, and justice.

2. What does the expression "feet of clay" in line 15 refer to?
(a) Stubbornness and selfishness.
(b) Cowardice and fear.
(c) A delicate, easily-fractured nature.
(d) A hidden character flaw.

3. Which two lines of each stanza create a kind of refrain in this poem?
(a) The second and fourth.
(b) The first and sixth.
(c) The first and third.
(d) The fifth and sixth.

4. Whose presence is implied in "To bend and barter at desire's call" (line 4)?
(a) Police officers.
(b) Clients.
(c) Pimps.
(d) Bystanders.

5. What are the sex workers wearing on their feet?
(a) Thick-soled shoes that make them appear taller.
(b) Light shoes meant to be worn indoors.
(c) Boots meant to protect them from snow and rain.
(d) Elaborate shoes with high heels.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which line most clearly echoes the tension between "little girls" (line 5) and "prowling" (line 6)?

2. What color does the speaker assign to the sex workers' feet?

3. Which techniques are evident in line 4, "To bend and barter at desire's call"?

4. In lines 2 and 3, the expression "when the night lets fall/ Its veil" is an example of which technique?

5. In the first image of the sex workers, what is being emphasized?

(see the answer key)

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