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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 is a reasonable statement to make about the effect of the enjambment in lines 8 and 9, "places, and names, and where it was you meant/ to travel"?

2. In lines 2 and 3, "so many things seem filled with the intent/ to be lost that their loss is no disaster," what is the antecedent of the word "their"?

3. What kind of metrical foot is the most frequent in "One Art"?

4. What "Art" does the title refer to?

5. What is the most reasonable interpretation of the speaker's line 13 claim that they have "lost two cities"?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8. Describe the form of "One Art."

9. 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?

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 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 2

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

Essay Topic 3

Do some more reading about Bishop's life, and then write an essay in which you demonstrate how understanding information from her biography clarifies some puzzling aspect of "One Art." You should clearly identify which element of the poem is puzzling--and why--before explaining how the author's biography might function as a key to unlock the mystery. Support your argument with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the text, and cite your sources in MLA format.

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