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

2. 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 to draw the reader in.
(c) She wanted to set it apart from her other poems.
(d) She wanted the poem to flow easily.

3. What color were the eyes of the animal in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First?
(a) Brown.
(b) Blue.
(c) Black.
(d) Green.

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

5. How is Oliver trying to establish the intimacy she desires in Work Sometimes?
(a) She uses a conversational tone.
(b) She has some suggestive innuendos.
(c) She breaks down some barriers.
(d) She is very open.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many poems are in the first section?

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

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

4. What are most of Oliver's precious poems about?

5. What kind of hands does Oliver hope to write her poetry with?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Oliver state the reader has probably felt before in Work Sometimes?

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

3. 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?

4. In Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones, what does Oliver ask about a seed grain?

5. What did Oliver do at the beginning of The Measure?

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

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

8. What did the hawk do at the end of The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that Comes First?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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