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

2. What is the meaning of the word "fluster" in line 4?

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

4. What is the name of the metrical foot that appears at the end of lines 1 and 3 in most of the stanzas?

5. What is the rhyme scheme of the first five stanzas of "One Art"?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. Describe the form of "One Art."

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

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

7. 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?

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

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

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

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 point-of-view in "One Art." Support your argument with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that analyzes whether Bishop is the speaker of "One Art." Be sure to acknowledge arguments on both sides of this question before you ultimately make your case for one side or the other. 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.

(see the answer keys)

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