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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does the editor describe the language in the first section of poems?
(a) Descriptive.
(b) Adorned.
(c) Basic.
(d) Imaginative.

2. What does Oliver hope to show about the world in her poems?
(a) Where the world has been.
(b) What is becoming of the world.
(c) How the world works.
(d) How to navigate through the world.

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

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

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

6. How does Oliver come to a better understanding of human nature?
(a) She looks to non-human examples.
(b) She talks to people of different ages.
(c) She observes the ocean tides.
(d) She meditates.

7. What belongs to the animal in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First?
(a) The earth and sky.
(b) The water.
(c) The life it has claimed.
(d) The heavens.

8. What is the length of most of Oliver's poems in this collection?
(a) Medium in length.
(b) Just a few lines.
(c) A few short stanzas.
(d) Many pages.

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

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

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

12. What are most of the poems in this collection about?
(a) Education.
(b) Plants and animals.
(c) Literature.
(d) People.

13. Why did Oliver choose the simple titles for her poems?
(a) To guide the reader.
(b) To take the guesswork away from the reader.
(c) To leave the interpretation open.
(d) To make her thoughts obscure.

14. Which of the following is not a place Oliver says she wants to be while writing her poems in Everything?
(a) A field of daisies.
(b) Her own house.
(c) A boat at sea.
(d) A spot of grass.

15. What does Oliver say is NOT praying in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First?
(a) Observing.
(b) Seeing what has not been seen.
(c) Seeing and noticing.
(d) Witnessing with the eyes.

Short Answer Questions

1. How do the characters in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones feel about the events in the poem?

2. What time of day did the poet try to save the animal in The Measure?

3. What were the eyes of the animal compared to in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First?

4. In Everything, what are we told to look to for examination?

5. What is Oliver trying to describe with the lilt in the words in Everything?

(see the answer keys)

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