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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 word does the poet describe as “a word of the modern” in Section 23?
2. What instruments does the narrator describe playing in the opening of Section 18?
3. The narrator describes “the little one” as sleeping where in the opening of Section 8?
4. The narrator makes a statement equating stoutness with what animal in Section 3?
5. How old does the narrator of the poem claim to be in Section 1?
Short Essay Questions
1. How does the poet relate the quality of “aroma” and of the air in Section 2?
2. After calling out to the Earth in Section 21, what does Whitman address in Section 22?
3. What comparison of women and men is made by the poet in Section 21?
4. 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.”?
5. For whom does Whitman describe playing victory marches in Section 18?
6. How does Section 13 begin? What is the focus of this section of the poem?
7. What foreshadowing is exhibited in Section 1 of the poem? How is the universal “I” set up in this section?
8. What does the “twenty-ninth bather” represent metaphorically in Section 11?
9. Over what elements does the poet describe Earth reigning in Section 21?
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
Describe and discuss the marriage of the trapper to the “red girl” in Section 10. What is the implied cultural history of the bride and her family? How does the poet describe the customs of the Native Americans in this section of the poem?
Essay Topic 2
Discuss Walt Whitman’s comparisons of those things that appear minute and/or mundane with those that appear vast and overshadowing. What is the poet’s point in these illustrations in Section 31? What conclusions does the poet reach?
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 904 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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