View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does the poet say he wrote "I'm Explaining a Few Things"?
(a) To restart his writing career.
(b) To explain his politics.
(c) To avoid being fired.
(d) To answer the readers' questions.

2. In "Oceanic South," what does the poet have left?
(a) His imagination.
(b) His writing.
(c) His love.
(d) His friends.

3. In "Love, America (1400)," what does the poet say America has no word for?
(a) Thunder.
(b) Pain.
(c) Spain.
(d) War.

4. In "Tonight I can Write," what does the poet say he could write?
(a) The truth.
(b) Nothing.
(c) A novel.
(d) Sad lines.

5. In lines 4-8 of "Tang," who does the poet describe?
(a) Musicians.
(b) Teachers.
(c) Politicians.
(d) Philosophers.

6. What rules does the poet say exist for human creativity in "Nocturnal Statutes"?
(a) You can't hurt others.
(b) Avoid copying someone else's work.
(c) No rules exist.
(d) Work hard.

7. In "Ode with a Lament," when does the poet realize he is too old for the woman?
(a) When he sees her up close.
(b) When he falls asleep early.
(c) When he looks in a mirror.
(d) When she tells him.

8. In "Death Alone," what does the poet first describe?
(a) Hospitals.
(b) Cemetaries.
(c) Birth.
(d) Funerals.

9. What color is evoked in the beginning of "Serenade"?
(a) Yellow.
(b) White.
(c) Purple.
(d) Red.

10. At the end of "Education of the Chieftain," what does the chief become?
(a) Injured.
(b) Worthy.
(c) Rich.
(d) Frightened.

11. What question does the poet ask in "Absence of Joaquin"?
(a) Why do we question anything?
(b) What did he take with him?
(c) How did everyone react?
(d) Who will be left behind?

12. What does "Widower's Tango" resemble?
(a) A letter.
(b) A short story.
(c) A play.
(d) A dialogue.

13. At the end of "The Builders of Statues," what does the poet consider?
(a) If the statues built themselves.
(b) If he can build a statue.
(c) If the statues will exist after he dies.
(d) If the statues are a hallucination.

14. What emotion is detailed in the beginning of "Ars Poetica"?
(a) Love.
(b) Happiness.
(c) Rage.
(d) Fear.

15. How is Marisol described in "Every Day you Play"?
(a) Angry.
(b) Dangerous.
(c) Excited.
(d) Happy.

Short Answer Questions

1. At the end of "Dream Horses," what does the poet wish for?

2. What do all the people in "Lone Gentleman" do in the first lines of the poem?

3. How does the poet feel about the prostitute in "The Night of the Soldier"?

4. At the end of "Barcarole," who does the poet say won't listen to him?

5. In "The Way into Wood," what does the poet say about apologies?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 456 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample