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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What word is missing from the following line from stanza 3: "the low, ___________/ premise of union" (10-11).
(a) Humbling.
(b) Humiliating.
(c) Horrific.
(d) Histrionic.

2. Fill in the missing word from the 4th stanza: "In my _____ tonight I hear the question and pursuing answer" (12-13).
(a) Ears.
(b) Mind.
(c) Thoughts.
(d) Heart.

3. What does the narrator repeat in stanza 2 in reference to the flowers she mentions in the first stanza?
(a) I hate them.
(b) I loathe them.
(c) I love them.
(d) I need them.

4. What does the speaker describe as "paralyzing" in the second stanza?
(a) The man's body.
(b) Her bed.
(c) The scent of flowers.
(d) The moonlight.

5. What time of day does "Mock Orange" take place?
(a) Night.
(b) Twilight.
(c) Afternoon.
(d) Morning.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the speaker explicitly say she hates in the second stanza?

2. What does "the man's mouth" do in stanza 2?

3. What does the speaker say "always escapes" in stanza 3?

4. What line in stanza one suggests the narrator is speaking to somebody?

5. What are "lighting the yard" (3) in the first stanza?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the first stanza of "Mock Orange." Who is speaking and to whom? What is she saying?

2. What do you think is the setting in "Mock Orange"?

3. What word or words show the speakers feelings toward sex in stanza 3?

4. What are the speaker's feelings toward her partner in the second stanza? How do you know?

5. What do the mock orange flowers represent in the poem?

6. How would you describe the speaker's feelings toward men in "Mock Orange"?

7. What does the moon represent in the first stanza of "Mock Orange"?

8. Where does the narrative shift in stanza 4? How do you know?

9. Describe the author's use of enjambment in stanza 4. Why did she use this tool and how does it impact your reading?

10. How does tone change in the second stanza?

(see the answer keys)

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