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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of words does Oliver hope to find while writing in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones?

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

3. What does using nature in her poems allow Oliver to do?

4. What is the subject of Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones?

5. How was the poet traveling when she saw an animal in The Measure?

Short Essay Questions

1. At the end of Everything, what does Oliver say she wants her poems to do?

2. What is the main question Oliver asks in Work Sometimes?

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

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

5. In Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones, what is personified in the last lines?

6. How did Oliver feel at the beginning of Work Sometimes and why?

7. In The Measure, what does Oliver say happens to the lives that are watched over?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Solitude was something that Mary Oliver sought for often in this book. Where did she find it, and how did this solitude affect her writing style?

Essay Topic 2

What are some of the main examples of irony from these poems? How do these moments of irony change the tone of those poems?

Essay Topic 3

What are some of the key examples of gratitude in this book, and how are these instances conveyed?

(see the answer keys)

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