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

2. In line 16, what word does the speaker use to describe the feet of his own race?
(a) Fearful.
(b) Prideful.
(c) Aching.
(d) Sacred.

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

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

5. In line 1, "footsteps of a lass" is an example of which technique?
(a) Alliteration.
(b) Synesthesia.
(c) Onomatopoeia.
(d) Sibilance.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What is being referred to with the expression "silver break" (line 7)?

3. What are the sex workers wearing on their feet?

4. What ideas are associated with the snow in this poem?

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

(see the answer key)

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