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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. What is revealed about the beetles balls once he rolls them up the mound?

2. In Book IV, Stanza 3, how is the man hanging from the gallows?

3. In Book V, Stanza 1, what does the narrator say lies in these poems?

4. Why does Mervyn begin walking faster?

5. In Book IV, Stanza 4, how does Maldoror react to the crab he finds living in him?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Elsseneur try to seek revenge against Maldoror?

2. How are the beetle and the man-pelican related?

3. In Book V, Stanza 2, what does the narrator realize about the vulture and the owl?

4. What happens at the child's funeral in Book V, Stanza 6?

5. How does Maldoror compare himself to the man with stolen eyes in Book IV, Stanza 5?

6. What happens when Maldoror sees the man hanging from the gallows?

7. How has the man in Book IV, Stanza 7 adapted to living at sea?

8. In Book V, Stanza 3, how does the narrator describe people's relationship to death?

9. In Book V, Stanza 7, how does Maldoror react to the spider's nightly visits?

10. What introduction to Book V does the narrator give?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the way the poem, "Lautréamont's Maldoror" is organized. Why did the poet use these divisions? What makes these divisions effective? How are they ineffective?

Essay Topic 2

Explore the ocean as a motif in this poem. Give examples of Lautréamont's use of the ocean and explain its symbolism and meaning.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast at least two of Maldoror's victims and consider what each victim represents. Why would the author use this juxtaposition?

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