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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Oliver do at the end of Work Sometimes?
(a) Closed her blinds.
(b) Went back to work.
(c) Took a nap.
(d) Ran for her life.

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

3. What was singing to Oliver in Work Sometimes?
(a) The radio.
(b) The wind.
(c) Street cars.
(d) Robins.

4. What is the turtle in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones, doing?
(a) Burying her eggs.
(b) Swimming in the lake.
(c) Teaching her babies to swim.
(d) Dying.

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

6. What is the first plant talked about in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones?
(a) Barley.
(b) Roses.
(c) Wheat.
(d) Corn.

7. What tone does Oliver take on at the end of Work Sometimes?
(a) Frantic.
(b) Self-referencing.
(c) Omniscient.
(d) Relaxing.

8. How are the poems in this book grouped together?
(a) By publishing date.
(b) By length.
(c) By subject matter.
(d) By random order.

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

10. What are most of Oliver's precious poems about?
(a) Feelings.
(b) Plants.
(c) Abstract thoughts.
(d) Relationships.

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

12. What is Oliver trying to establish an intimacy with in Work Sometimes?
(a) Herself.
(b) The reader.
(c) Her God.
(d) A man.

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

14. Which of these is a line from The Measure?
(a) What shall we do?
(b) No, not now.
(c) Hush, be still.
(d) Ah, it's time.

15. How does Oliver state we must pray in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First?
(a) We must observe and meditate.
(b) We must desire and pursue.
(c) We must listen and obey.
(d) We must ask and wait.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the editor say is Oliver's signature on her work?

2. What does Oliver say is NOT praying in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First?

3. What had stacked up on the table in Work Sometimes?

4. What animal was featured in The Measure?

5. In Work sometimes, which of these does Oliver list as something that happiness is NOT?

(see the answer keys)

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