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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. The narrator says that he sees “the elementary laws never” do what, in Section 20?
2. For what does the narrator exclaim “Hurrah!” for in Section 23?
3. Of “these thoughts,” the narrator says “If they are not the riddle and the untying of the riddle they are” what, in Section 17?
4. The narrator states in Section 7, “Undrape! You are not guilty to me, nor stale nor” what?
5. The narrator says in Section 24, “I speak the pass-word primeval, I give the sign of” what?
Short Essay Questions
1. How does the poet relate the quality of “aroma” and of the air in Section 2?
2. How is “the lunatic” described in Section 15 of the poem?
3. How have critics and scholars interpreted the following sexually implicit lines in Section 5: “How you settled your head athwart my hips and gently turn'd over upon me”?
4. What new journey does the poet embark upon beginning in Section 8 of the poem?
5. How does Section 13 begin? What is the focus of this section of the poem?
6. What motif reappears in Section 17? Why does the poet use this motif here?
7. 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”?
8. Over what elements does the poet describe Earth reigning in Section 21?
9. What is Whitman’s “advice” to the reader in Section 11 of the poem?
10. What does Whitman conclude of the quality of “presence” in Section 3?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Discuss the issues of slavery and race relations in 1855 when the poem was first published. What were Walt Whitman’s political views regarding slavery and the dissention between the North and South at this time? What elements of racial relations have been seen in “Song of Myself”?
Essay Topic 2
Discuss the War of 1812 as illustrated through the imagery from Sections 35 and 36 of “Song of Myself.” What characters does the poet describe? What is the setting? How does the poet describe the aftermath of the battle? Do you believe this is a realistic depiction of warfare?
Essay Topic 3
Define and discuss “metaphor” and “simile” in literature and poetry. Using an excerpt from “Song of Me,” show the different metaphors and similes in the poem. How does the poet use these comparisons as a way to explain? How do the metaphors and similes in the early parts of the poem help to establish the poem’s mood and tone?
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This section contains 955 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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