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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. In the poem "Mary Desti's Ass," what city does O'Hara warn the reader about?

2. In ''For the Chinese New Year & For Bill Berkson," what no longer interests us?

3. In "Mary Desti's Ass," where has O'Hara never has a bad time?

4. In "For the Chinese New Year & For Bill Berkson," what helps ease the terror?

5. What is the weather in "How to Get There"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the poem "St. Paul and All That" about?

2. Describe the dream O'Hara has in "Kamin's Dance Shop."

3. What is the message in "Ave Maria"?

4. In the poem "For the Chinese New Year & For Bill Berkson," where does O'Hara take comfort?

5. What are some of the lies O'Hara discusses in "How to Get There"? How do the lies affect people?

6. Who writes the epigram of "For the Chinese New Year & For Bill Berkson"? What does it say?

7. What is the poem "Cornkind" about?

8. In "For the Chinese New Year & For Bill Berkson," why does O'Hara compare and contrast America to Old Europe?

9. Describe O'Hara's experience on the train in "A Little Travel Diary."

10. What is O'Hara convinced his generation is going to do in "For the Chinese New Year & For Bill Berkson"? How is this similar to the previous generation?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how O'Hara's poetry differs from the poetry of his idols, the Russian and German poets. How has poetry evolved over time?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss O'Hara's relationship with Sally in "Galanta." What is the significance of O'Hara comparing Sally to America?

Essay Topic 3

Explain how O'Hara uses setting in the poem "Alma" and in another poem of your choice. How are his descriptive terms different and similar in each poem?

(see the answer keys)

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