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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Whitman believes that the words of true ________ do not merely please those who read them.
(a) Books.
(b) Stories.
(c) Poems.
(d) Myths.

2. Who does Whitman see eating the bread of his last supper in the midst of youths and old persons?
(a) Mary.
(b) A death row inmate.
(c) A homeless man.
(d) Christ.

3. To what state does Whitman promise to know very well after traveling to it?
(a) California.
(b) Illinois.
(c) Florida.
(d) Ohio.

4. Whitman wonders how the real _______ can ever die and be buried in the end?
(a) Word.
(b) Body.
(c) Person.
(d) Book.

5. What color is the water in the poem, "In Cabin'd Ships at Sea," as it moves around the boat?
(a) Green.
(b) Black.
(c) Gray.
(d) Blue.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is NOT a word which is used to describe the poets Whitman says are still to come in the world?

2. Whitman says it is a painful thing to ___________ someone to excess, yet the rewards are great.

3. During this section of the poems, what age does Whitman profess to being?

4. Whitman says he will make a true ________ which will earn for the body and mind whatever sticks and does not droop in death.

5. Whitman raises a _____________ hand to all who he mentions in his poem, making the signal to remain after him.

Short Essay Questions

1. What are some of the features of the Paumanok area of Long Island which makes the area special to Whitman?

2. Why does Whitman warn the readers about the dangers of religion and those who are enamored of it?

3. What is Whitman's stance on how he views individual people and who they are, an opinion which is repeated frequently?

4. What parts of the United States structure does Whitman have a lot of respect for?

5. What is the city which Whitman admires, though not for the pageantry and the wealth that exists in this city?

6. What does Whitman reveal about a lover who spoke of acceptance within one of his poems?

7. How does Whitman describe the touches of the lover as they are making love in the grass with each other?

8. What does Whitman think about seeing the world through someone else's eyes, even if it is through the eyes of a poet?

9. Where was Whitman born, and how does that place affect him?

10. What can be determined about Whitman's life experiences by the reading of the many poems which Whitman has crafted about the water?

(see the answer keys)

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