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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 mocks Oliver in Daisies?

2. What is the prey in Prose Poem 2?

3. Which of these words does Oliver use to describe letters in Forty Years?

4. In At Round Pond, what does Oliver say both life and death are?

5. In Seven White Butterflies, which of these does Oliver compare the flying butterflies to?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Mindful, where does Oliver say she gets all of her teaching?

2. In While I am Writing a Poem to Celebrate Summer, the Meadowlark Begins to Sing, what does Oliver compare the meadowlark's song to?

3. In Prose Poem 2, what does Oliver say about narrative, and how does this change the feeling of the poem?

4. What is Many Miles about?

5. How does Oliver describe letters in Forty Years?

6. What does Oliver state she can't wait for at the end of Long Afternoon at the Edge of Sister Pond?

7. In Mindful, what does Oliver say she sees everyday?

8. In Grass, what does Oliver say is the most important time of all, and why?

9. What does Oliver say the owl is symbolic of in At Round Pond?

10. In May, what does Oliver say makes her feel most alive?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How were the themes of life and death shown together? Why do you think Oliver chose to present these themes in tangent with each other?

Essay Topic 2

What are some of the relationships spoken about in these poems, and what do they reveal about Mary Oliver's personality?

Essay Topic 3

What are some of the particular animals that were included in these poems, and what did their inclusion do to the tone of the poems?

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