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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 title of the poem about John Brown in the "Afro-American Fragments" section?

2. What is Langston Hughes known for?

3. What supernatural figure appears in the poem "Sunday Morning Prophecy"?

4. When the speaker asks his lover if she understands him in "Maybe," what does she say?

5. Why is the speaker so concerned about her lover in "Lover's Return"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the speaker hope in the poem "Island"?

2. What does Hughes write in the introduction before the poem "Sunday Morning Prophecy" begins?

3. Why does the speaker want people to wear red in "Wake"?

4. What simile is used in "Lover's Return"?

5. Why does the preacher in "Sunday Morning Prophecy" want congregants to give freely into the collection basket?

6. What is the Harlem Renaissance known for?

7. What exactly is the Black Pierrot mentioned in the poem of the same name?

8. For how long does the speaker in "Evil" plan to "keep on at it"?

9. What kinds of objects are referenced in "Spirituals"?

10. Why do some African-Americans have a complicated relationship with Christianity, at least as is represented in "Selected Poems of Langston Hughes"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze 1) the tone of "50-50," 2) the relationship between the two characters in the poem, and 3) how the tone helps the reader better understand the relationship dynamics between these two characters. Make sure to include direct quotations from the poem to support your well-written thesis statement.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze Sylvester in "Sylvester's Death Bed" and discuss 1) the role(s) women play in the poem, 2) Sylvester's attitude about the women surrounding him, and 3) the meaning behind why Sylvester dies right before he is able to "hug 'em."

Essay Topic 3

Analyze 3 ways a poem of your choosing from "Selected Poems of Langston Hughes" reflects the themes and styles of the Harlem Renaissance.

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