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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 8 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the expression "feet of clay" in line 15 refer to?

2. Which two lines of each stanza create a kind of refrain in this poem?

3. What does the word "shod" in line 12 refer to?

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)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the poem conclude is the cause of the women's choice to pursue sex work?

2. How does the second stanza set up a contrast between dark and light?

3. Where is Harlem and why is it significant to the meaning of this poem?

4. What indications does the speaker give that he feels the sex workers' choices indicate something about all Black people in America?

5. What is the poem's first image, and how does it set a tone for the rest of the poem?

6. Describe the form of this poem.

7. How does McKay convey the idea that these women are sex workers?

8. How does the use of the word "prowling" contrast with the poem's previous descriptions of the women?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose another of McKay's poems and write an essay that compares and contrasts it with "Harlem Shadows," using biographical information about McKay to illuminate the similarities and differences between the two poems. (For the second poem, do not choose a McKay poem already discussed in class.) Your goal is not to analyze these poems but to demonstrate how the two poems reflect Claude McKay's era, his typical subject matter, and his style. Support your arguments with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from both poems, and be sure to cite all evidence--including outside sources--in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

What is the purpose of including musical devices like alliteration, assonance, consonance, and sibilance in "Harlem Shadows"? If McKay wanted the reader to notice these, why not make them more obvious? What value might they serve at an almost subliminal level? How does the effect they create support the poem's subject matter and tone, and what does it add to the reader's understanding of the poem's meaning? Write an essay in which you consider how McKay employs these devices, and why. Support your observations with both quoted and paraphrased evidence drawn from throughout the poem, and be sure to cite quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

There is a long tradition of visual and literary artists using sex workers as symbols. In a patriarchal society where sex work is largely dominated by women and the arts have historically been dominated by men, this means a large number of male painters and writers trying to convey something about the world through the figure of the female sex worker. Is this inherently problematic? Is Claude McKay's use of female sex workers problematic in any way? Do some research into how sex workers have been portrayed in art and literature. Use this background information to develop your own opinion about the reasons these female figures have been used symbolically and the ethical implications of this use. Then, decide to what extent McKay's use of sex workers as symbols falls in line with traditional uses and whether you find his particular use of them to be ethical or unethical. Write an essay in which you take and defend a position on these issues, supporting your assertions with evidence drawn from "Harlem Shadows" and from your background research. Be sure to cite your evidence in MLA format.

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