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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. How does the speaker describe the plants in "Garden"?

2. What did the speaker's lover do in "Late Last Night" that caused his/her heart to break?

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

4. What inappropriate fashion item do the pimps wear in "What?"

5. In "As I Grew Older," what does the speaker say he had nearly forgotten?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is a Black Maria?

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

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

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

5. What exactly is "jazz style" poetry?

6. What is the musician singing about in "The Weary Blues"?

7. What are the two characters quarreling about in "Early Evening Quarrel"?

8. In "Afro-American Fragment" (the poem), what does the author imply is being fragmented?

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

10. What is the Harlem Renaissance known for?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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

Essay Topic 2

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 3

In a well-written essay, discuss 1) 3 reasons why it is important to know information about an author when analyzing a literary text and 2) one example for each reason of how knowing about Hughes helps the reader better understand a poem (or part of a poem) of your choosing.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 701 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample