View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Whom does O'Hara wonder if he should visit in "Poem en Forme de Saw"?

2. O'Hara ponders the point of _____________in "Cornkind."

3. In "Steps," what do women wear in O'Hara's vision of New York?

4. How does O'Hara feel at the end of "Poem en Forme de Saw"?

5. What do people not care for in ''For the Chinese New Year & For Bill Berkson''?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe two of the cities that O'Hara mentions in "Mary Desti's Ass."

2. What is the poem "Cornkind" about?

3. To whom is "Down at the Canal" addressed?

4. What are some of the pleasures O'Hara discusses in "Five Poems"?

5. How does O'Hara explain love at the end of "St. Paul and All That"?

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

7. What does O'Hara write is located behind semblance and order in "For the Chinese New Year & For Bill Berkson"? Where does this true face reside?

8. What is the symbolism of the snow and fog in "How to Get There"?

9. What does O'Hara request at the end of "Down at the Canal"?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is a prophecy, and how does O'Hara use prophecies in his poetry?

Essay Topic 2

What is the theme of the poem "Cornkind"? Explain how O'Hara demonstrates this theme in his poem.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the technique of free-writing. Choose one poem of O'Hara's that demonstrates this technique. Provide examples of how the message of the poem is or is not effectively conveyed to the reader through free-writing.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 447 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample