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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 does the word "tom-toms" refer to in "Danse Africaine"?

2. Where does Aunt Sue get her stories from in "Aunt Sue's Stories"?

3. Where does the playboy mentioned in "Gone Boy" NOT go at the end of the poem?

4. In the poem "Feet o' Jesus," what does the author want to happen at Jesus's feet?

5. What does the speaker claim people do on the sea in "Long Trip"?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What advice does the gypsy give the speaker in "Bad Luck Card"?

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

4. What kind of imagery is most prevalent in the poems in the section "Sea and Land"?

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

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

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

8. What is the Harlem Renaissance known for?

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

10. What are the Lincoln Prairies symbolic of in "One"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how the poem "Early Evening Quarrel" can be analyzed as a vignette that addresses the larger themes (particularly those of romance and the dynamics between men and women) present in "Selected Poems of Langston Hughes."

Essay Topic 2

In "Widow Woman," Hughes writes from the perspective of a woman. Discuss at least 3 rhetorical devices he uses to come up with a voice that is his own and yet not his own in this particular poem.

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)

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