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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 troubling thing is still "in the world" (24) in the final stanza?

2. What is the best definition of the word antagonisms as used in the 4th stanza?

3. What is mock orange?

4. What drifts through the window in stanza 4?

5. What does the speaker say has happened to herself and her addressee in stanza 4?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. How does tone change in the second stanza?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The addressee in "Mock Orange" is not given a voice. Write an essay on why you think that is. How does this impact your reading and develop the themes of the poem?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about the author of "Mock Orange." Who is she? What else has she written? How is "Mock Orange" similar or different from her other works?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring the theme of sexual intimacy in "Mock Orange."

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 632 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample