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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. In line 7, "Then practice losing farther, losing faster," rhythm is created through which devices?

2. Who is the author of "One Art"?

3. What does the speaker use in line 5 as an example of a common lost object?

4. Which word in lines 10 and 11, "And look! my last,/ or next-to-last, of three loved houses went," creates a momentary shift in verb mood?

5. What does the colon at the end of line 7, "Then practice losing farther, losing faster," indicate about the "places, and names" in line 8?

Short Essay Questions

1. On the surface level, what is the main message of "One Art"?

2. What is the poem's dominant meter, and how is it regularly interrupted?

3. How does the speaker arrange the examples of things that can be lost?

4. Describe the form of "One Art."

5. To whom is the parenthetical comment "(Write it!)" addressed in line 19, and how does this comment impact the reader's understanding of the poem?

6. What difference is there in the way the two refrain lines are repeated throughout the poem?

7. Which two verb moods are used in "One Art," and where are they employed?

8. What are the refrains employed in "One Art"?

9. How does the change in stanza structure in the final stanza mimic the poem's changing meaning?

10. How does the speaker's diction increase the emotional stakes as the poem progresses?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about the use of verb mood in "One Art." Support your argument with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that analyzes the significance of two of the objects Bishop lists as items that may be--or have been--lost. Consider whether the items have a figurative significance, how they relate to one another, and how they support the poem's overall meaning. Support your argument with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that analyzes Bishop's use of linebreak in "One Art." Provide quoted examples, explain their effect, and connect these effects to the poem's overall meaning.

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