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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 does the speaker say she is unable to do in the final stanza?

2. What is the longest stanza in "Mock Orange"?

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

4. What drifts through the window in stanza 4?

5. What does the speaker describe as "paralyzing" in the second stanza?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does tone change in the second stanza?

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

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

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

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 do you think is the setting in "Mock Orange"?

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing Glück's language style and word choice in "Mock Orange." What are some words that stand out to you and why? What words are repeated? What words are most impactful? Explain your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Write an analysis of the final stanza of "Mock Orange." How does this stanza fit into the overall poem? Do you think this was an effective ending? What theme might the ending represent? What might the author have done differently?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 652 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample