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

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

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

4. In line 16, what word does the speaker use to describe the feet of his own race?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the form of this poem.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do the particular adaptations McKay made to the sonnet form in "Harlem Shadows" allow him to more effectively communicate his meaning to the reader? How do the added four lines allow him to group ideas in a way that 14 lines would not? How does his rhyme scheme support this grouping of thoughts and also support the additional element of the refrain? How does McKay's use of stanzas support these same elements of the poem? If these goals were important, though, why use the sonnet form at all? Why not just write in free verse and have complete control of the flow of the poem's ideas? Write an essay in which you explore how McKay's adaptation and subversion of the sonnet form reveals the tension between his desire to use traditional forms and his need to clearly communicate his ideas. 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

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

Write an essay in which you consider the symbolic imagery of feet in "Harlem Shadows." Consider their structural placement throughout the poem and what this is meant to convey. Consider how these feet and footsteps are described--what feelings and associations are they meant to convey? Consider their use as synecdoches to represent the sex workers and how this transfers feelings and ideas to the sex workers, as well. Be sure to show how the symbolic imagery related to feet and footsteps supports the overall meaning of the poem, and support your assertions with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the poem. Cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

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