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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 did the animal in The Measure do when the poet tried to save it?

3. How does Oliver describe her poetry in Everything?

4. What poet did Oliver live with for a time?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. 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?

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

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

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

8. 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?

9. In Work Sometimes, what does Oliver say happiness truly is?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is prose poetry different from other forms, and what other effects did prose form have on the poems written in that style?

Essay Topic 2

What are some of the main places where personification is used in these poems, and what messages are sent in these moments?

Essay Topic 3

Friendship is a strong theme throughout the book. Where are some places that this theme appears, and how do these moments affect the tone of those poems?

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