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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How do the characters in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones feel about the events in the poem?
(a) They are frightening.
(b) They are unexpected.
(c) They are miraculaous.
(d) They are commonplace.

2. What color were the eyes of the animal in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First?
(a) Black.
(b) Brown.
(c) Blue.
(d) Green.

3. What is the main subject of Everything?
(a) Love.
(b) Poetry.
(c) Nature.
(d) Transcendance.

4. What does Oliver try to avoid awkwardness in as she is writing?
(a) Subject matter.
(b) Symbols.
(c) Abbreviations.
(d) Format.

5. How was the poet traveling when she saw an animal in The Measure?
(a) She was walking along.
(b) She was swimming.
(c) She was driving a car.
(d) She was riding a bike.

6. What does Oliver try to provide multiple avenues for in her poems?
(a) Thought provocation.
(b) Modality.
(c) Interpretation.
(d) Tonality.

7. What does the editor say new readers of Oliver will feel when they read the first section?
(a) They are in for a surprise.
(b) They will be eased into the style.
(c) They will get sucked in right away.
(d) They will feel like they have always known her.

8. What is Oliver's most commonly used literary device in these poems?
(a) Anthropomorphism.
(b) Allusion.
(c) Simile.
(d) Metaphor.

9. What does the editor say is Oliver's signature on her work?
(a) Her description.
(b) Her verbage.
(c) Her tone.
(d) Her method.

10. What does Oliver compare picking the right words to in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones?
(a) Sorting money.
(b) Picking fruit.
(c) Threading a needle.
(d) Growing a garden.

11. When did the poet say the animal in The Measure had began her journey?
(a) When she was first born.
(b) In the early morning.
(c) Shortly before she appeared.
(d) In the middle of the night.

12. What amazing event happens to the catbird in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones?
(a) Finding a mate.
(b) Learning to fly.
(c) Building a nest.
(d) Hatching eggs.

13. What kind of hands does Oliver hope to write her poetry with?
(a) Useful hands.
(b) Quiet hands.
(c) Busy hands.
(d) Rough hands.

14. Why did Oliver choose the tone she did at the beginning of Work Sometimes?
(a) She wanted the poem to flow easily.
(b) She wanted to set it apart from her other poems.
(c) She wanted to draw the reader in.
(d) She wanted it to seem as though the conversation was already in place.

15. What does Oliver try to write most of her poems about?
(a) Psychological problems.
(b) Literature.
(c) Human concerns.
(d) Political needs.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many poems are in the first section?

2. How are the poems in this book grouped together?

3. According to Oliver, what is the question mark's bold sister?

4. Which of the following is not a place Oliver says she wants to be while writing her poems in Everything?

5. What should one be transcending according to Everything?

(see the answer keys)

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