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

2. In line 1, "footsteps of a lass" is an example of which technique?

3. Which lines of each stanza are indented?

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

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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 the use of the word "prowling" contrast with the poem's previous descriptions of the women?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Some might argue that McKay's use of traditional meter and rhyme is a kind of prison for his ideas, forcing them into rigid forms that are no longer necessary in the Modern era. But other critics have argued that McKay uses these traditional techniques as a kind of clever mask--his poems have the presentation of the traditional British poetry he studied in school, but this traditional presentation masks revolutionary ideas. In the case of "Harlem Shadows," which perspective do you find more accurate? Write an essay that takes a position on the effectiveness of the traditional rhyme and meter in the poem, making clear whether or not it serves a useful function as a way to make McKay's ideas more palatable to audiences outside of his own Black community. Support your arguments with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from both poems, and be sure to cite all evidence--including any outside sources you may choose to consult--in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Research the "call-and-response" pattern that influenced popular music through Black cultural traditions. How is this related to the idea of a refrain? Are all refrains in poetry part of this tradition, or did the refrain arise in poetry separately? What evidence is there in "Harlem Shadows" and in McKay's background to indicate whether McKay's use of a refrain in this poem is likely influenced by the call-and-response tradition or is instead a reflection of European poetic traditions? Write an essay that takes a position about whether there is sufficient evidence to form a theory about which influence is operating in "Harlem Shadows." Support your claims with evidence drawn from both the poem and from research into McKay's background and ideas. Cite all evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

In "Harlem Shadows," how does the personification in the first stanza create an aura of sympathy around the sex workers' situation? Does that sympathy continue throughout the poem? What feelings are attributed to the women? Are their voices ever heard? How is the choice to attribute feelings to them and not let them speak for themselves consistent with the purpose of the personification in the first stanza? How do other techniques, like antithesis, metonymy, synecdoche, diction, imagery, and symbolism work together with that personification to remove agency from the sex workers? How does this loss of agency support the poem's meaning? Write an essay in which you consider how McKay uses personification and other rhetorical devices to create a unified picture of the sex workers as more object than subject. Use both quoted and paraphrased evidence to support your claims, making sure to cite quoted evidence in MLA format.

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