View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

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

5. Which lines of each stanza are indented?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the form of this poem.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Read Claude McKay's poem "America" (widely available online). Note the use of antithesis in this poem. How is it similar to the use of antithesis in "Harlem Shadows"? How is it different? Write a comparison and contrast of the use of antithesis in these two poems. Show how the technique is used in each poem and offer commentary on its purposes. 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 2

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 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 977 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample