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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does Whitman describe as being lean and sinewy with muscular legs, thinly clothed, and well trained?

2. What does Whitman say that one should hold up sternly in order for it to send something back?

3. Whitman asks in his poems who may have learned the ______________ of the lessons that he has to teach.

4. Who are the tan faced children who follow well in order and get their weapons ready?

5. Who does Whitman say that he does not forget, not in the summer or in the winter?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does a muse beckon Whitman to do in the beginning of these poems in this section?

2. Who are the phantoms to which Whitman refers in his poems about love being lost?

3. What is the procession of the people into the theater, one of many on Broadway, used as a metaphor for in "A Broadway Pageant"?

4. What is an endless source of inspiration for poetry, according to the poems which the poet has created?

5. To what are the tides of the ocean compared to in life, according to the poems of Whitman?

6. How does Whitman describe Paumanok in the spring when he writes the poem "Sea-Drift"?

7. What is the lesson of the ebb of the ocean, according to the poem of Whitman?

8. Why does the young man ring the ocean bell when he is steering the boat during the treacherous weather?

9. What are some of the signs of spring that Whitman lists in the poem, "Warble for Lilac-Time"?

10. To whom does Whitman appear to give his spirit to, though this person is never mentioned by name in a poem?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Whitman seems to have a very strong sense of patriotism and allegiance to the United States.

Part 1: Did you find it surprising that Whitman was so patriotic? Why or why not?

Part 2: Do you think it's important to have a strong sense of patriotism as a creative person?

Part 3: Why do you think Whitman felt so strongly about the United States that he had to include poems about patriotism?

Essay Topic 2

While Whitman also addresses a number of metaphysical issues, he also talks about God and Jesus.

Part 1: Do you think that metaphysical and Christian ideas can coexist?

Part 2: How do you think Whitman feels about the idea of religion in general?

Part 3: How do you you feel about faith, spirituality, and religion? Are they all connected in some way? Do they have to be?

Essay Topic 3

Whitman points out that the inhabitants of America want nothing more than to be unique and to have their own identity.

Part 1: How would you describe the idea of being unique?

Part 2: Do you feel it is important for you to have your own identity?

Part 3: Why is it so important for people to create their own identity in the world? Or isn't it?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 695 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample