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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 7 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of tree does the speaker mention being under?

2. What paradox does the speaker introduce at the end of the second verse paragraph?

3. Which of the following describes the term "pastoral farms" (line 16)?

4. What does the speaker mean when he says he was "'mid the din/ Of towns and cities" (lines 26-27)?

5. What kind of image opens the poem?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the speaker mean in line 47 when he talks about becoming "a living soul"?

2. What two elements does the first stanza mention that contribute to the sense that the scene is unbroken and whole?

3. What are two possibilities that the speaker imagines as the origin of the smoke he sees?

4. What literal and philosophical impact do the cliffs have on the landscape the speaker is viewing?

5. Where has the speaker been for the past five years, and how has the memory of this landscape impacted him?

6. What does the speaker say about the hedge-rows, and what does this reveal about his perspective on the scene?

7. Describe the landscape that the speaker sees.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you analyze the symbolic value of the River Wye in "Tintern Abbey." Draw on mentions of the river throughout the poem, including in the poem's title, as you build a case about what idea or ideas the presence of the river communicates. Provide both quoted and paraphrased evidence of diction, imagery, and detail that support your interpretation.

Essay Topic 2

Choose one image of nature and one image of urban life from the poem. Write an essay that explicates these two passages, explaining how the techniques used in these passages create tone and meaning. Consider techniques such as diction, detail, sound devices, symbolism, and figurative language. Not all of these will be found in every chosen passage, but comment on those that do appear in the passages you choose and show how these contribute to each passage's overall effect. After you have finished your explications of these two passages, provide a paragraph of analysis that discusses how the two passages differ and what purpose this serves in the poem as a whole. Provide both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the poem to support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about the relationship "Tintern Abbey'" posits between nature, the sublime, and transcendence. Establish the literary definitions of the Romantic terms "sublime" and "transcendence" and then provide analysis of how the poem treats these topics and their relationship to nature. Provide textual evidence to support your analysis, and cite all sources in MLA format.

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