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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What are we told to examine in Everything?
(a) Our motivations.
(b) Our needs.
(c) Our desires.
(d) Our emotions.

3. How is the animal featured in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First described in the first lines?
(a) Gentle.
(b) Small.
(c) Soaring.
(d) Robust.

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

5. Which of the following is a line from Work Sometimes?
(a) Desire will consume those who don't care to control.
(b) Sameness can be found in any landscape.
(c) Those who know need not read longer.
(d) You have had days like this, no doubt.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What kind of citizen did the poet call the animal in The Measure?

3. How does Oliver state we must pray in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First?

4. What does Oliver try to write most of her poems about?

5. How does Oliver say Everything first came to her?

Short Essay Questions

1. What parts of grammar does Oliver say she wants to cherish in Everything, and why?

2. In Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones, what does Oliver ask about a catbird?

3. In Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones, what does Oliver say about the pond?

4. At the beginning of The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that Comes First, what does Oliver state the hawk finds joy in?

5. In The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that Comes First, what is the bird doing at the beginning of the poem?

6. How did Oliver feel at the end of Work Sometimes?

7. In Work Sometimes, what are some of the things that Oliver lists as NOT leading to happiness?

8. What did Mary Oliver compare the hawk in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that Comes First to when it was in the grass?

9. What did the turtle in The Measure do when Oliver stopped to help it?

10. In The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that Comes First, what does Mary Oliver state the real method of praying should be?

(see the answer keys)

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