View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where does the narrator say the “sharp-hoof’d moose” comes from in Section 14?
(a) The south.
(b) The north.
(c) The east.
(d) The west.

2. How many “young men bathe by the shore,” according to the narrator in Section 11?
(a) 6.
(b) 20.
(c) 15.
(d) 28.

3. How old does the narrator of the poem claim to be in Section 1?
(a) 37.
(b) 34.
(c) 29.
(d) 44.

4. What “impassive” objects “receive and return so many echoes,” according to the narrator in Section 8?
(a) “Trees.”
(b) “Swamps.”
(c) “Stones.”
(d) “Clouds.”

5. How is the girl described that accompanies the youngster “up the bushy hill” in Section 8?
(a) “Red-skinned.”
(b) “Red-eyed.”
(c) “Red-headed.”
(d) “Red-faced.”

Short Answer Questions

1. What word from Section 5 refers to a beam fastened to the keel of a vessel for strength?

2. The narrator claims in Section 5, “I know that the hand of God is the promise of” what?

3. What sound is the “wild gander” cited as calling out as he passes in Section 14?

4. The poet claims in Section 24, “Copulation is no more rank to me than” what is?

5. What does the narrator bring to the runaway slave when he encounters him in Section 10?

Short Essay Questions

1. What comparison of women and men is made by the poet in Section 21?

2. What is signified by these lines from Section 1: “I loafe and invite my soul, / I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass”?

3. How does the poet’s delineation of “self” evolve in Section 5 of the poem?

4. How does Section 13 begin? What is the focus of this section of the poem?

5. How does the poet define “I” and “you” in response to his own questions in Section 20?

6. What is the metaphorical meaning in the following lines from Section 7: “Has any one supposed it lucky to be born? / I hasten to inform him or her it is just as lucky to die, and I know it.”?

7. How does the poet relate with the “wild gander” in Section 14?

8. What is Whitman’s conclusion regarding “failure” in Section 18?

9. What is the poet’s implication with the following lines from Section 4: “There was never any more inception than there is now, Nor any more youth or age than there is now”?

10. After calling out to the Earth in Section 21, what does Whitman address in Section 22?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 957 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample