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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. 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.

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

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

4. What does the editor say there is an absence of in the first section of poems?
(a) Deep analogies.
(b) Inside jokes.
(c) Anachronisms.
(d) Metaphors.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. When did the poet say the animal in The Measure had began her journey?

2. What animal is featured in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First?

3. What does Oliver want to celebrate in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones?

4. In the Measure, what happens in the pinewoods?

5. How is the pond in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones described?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Oliver say she wants to honor with her poem, Everything?

2. In The Measure, how does Oliver say the turtle came to choose its course of travel for the day Oliver saw it?

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

4. What does Oliver think the turtle was heading for in The Measure?

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

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

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

8. In Everything, where are some of the places Oliver states she wants to go when she writes?

9. 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?

10. In The Measure, what does Mary Oliver say her watched over life resulted in and why?

(see the answer keys)

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