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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 kind of cadence is "The Weary Blues" written in?

2. Who is listening to the stories Aunt Sue tells in "Aunt Sue's Stories"?

3. What does the trumpet player have beneath his eyes in "Trumpet Player"?

4. In "Angels Wings," what does the speaker say the angel's wings are as white as?

5. What is Big Boy going to do with the object on his shoulders in "Catch"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the speaker of the poem "End" think about the passageway between states of existence?

2. What kind of tour does Hughes take the reader on in "Sea and Land"?

3. What is a Black Maria?

4. What does the poem "Drum" portray Death's eventuality as?

5. What is the unspoken implication about Monroe in "Monroe's Blues"?

6. Why is the "After Hours" section of "Selected Poems of Langston Hughes" named what it is?

7. Why is the speaker so surprised by his girlfriend's snoring in "Morning After"?

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

9. What does the use of the word "fragment" in a poem title imply?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the preacher that appears in "Sunday Morning Prophecy." Is he a good preacher? Bad preacher? Are his efforts to encourage his congregants to give freely in the collection plate altruistic or greedy? Is he helpful or judgmental (or both) of his congregants and congregation?

Essay Topic 2

In a well-written essay, discuss the symbolism, imagery, and diction Hughes uses in "March Moon."

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast 2 poems in the section "Lament Over Love," paying particular attention to their portrayal of men.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 709 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample