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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of these words is used by the editor to describe Oliver's style?
(a) Deep.
(b) All of these.
(c) Rich.
(d) Colorful.

2. What time of day did the poet try to save the animal in The Measure?
(a) Evening.
(b) Morning.
(c) Afternoon.
(d) Night.

3. What were the feet of the animal compared to in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First?
(a) The Sun.
(b) Flowers.
(c) Butter.
(d) Sand.

4. What kind of words does Oliver hope to find while writing in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones?
(a) Doubled words.
(b) Ripe words.
(c) Common, but amazing words.
(d) Meaningful words.

5. What poet did Oliver live with for a time?
(a) Merril.
(b) Miller.
(c) Millay.
(d) Marvel.

6. In Everything, what are we told to do in order to truly grasp the idea of poetry?
(a) Everything.
(b) The temporary.
(c) The unimportant.
(d) The singular.

7. What does Oliver observe at the end of Work Sometimes?
(a) Literature.
(b) Humans.
(c) Desire.
(d) Nature.

8. What does Oliver like to assign to inanimate objects in her poems?
(a) Identities.
(b) Descriptions.
(c) Functions.
(d) Human characteristics.

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

10. What did the animal in The Measure do when the poet tried to save it?
(a) Looked into her eye.
(b) Ran away.
(c) Bit her.
(d) Hissed at her.

11. What is found by Oliver, belonging to a heron, in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones?
(a) A print.
(b) A nest.
(c) An egg.
(d) A feather.

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

13. Which of the following is NOT a word Oliver says she wants to use often in Everything?
(a) Joy.
(b) Heart.
(c) Heavy.
(d) Wonderment.

14. In the Measure, what happens in the pinewoods?
(a) Blueberries ripen early.
(b) Small animals are left alone.
(c) The sun shines in happy measures.
(d) Flowers make perfect cover.

15. What is the name of the first section of poems in this group?
(a) The Begininning.
(b) New Poems.
(c) First.
(d) 2004.

Short Answer Questions

1. What amazing event happens to the catbird in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones?

2. What does the editor say Oliver is NOT trying to do with the poems in the first section?

3. What is the main subject of Everything?

4. How does Oliver describe her poetry in Everything?

5. What was a joy to the animal featured in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First?

(see the answer keys)

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