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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 in Section 14, “The press of my foot to the earth springs a hundred” what?

2. Where does the narrator say the “sharp-hoof’d moose” comes from in Section 14?

3. What “impassive” objects “receive and return so many echoes,” according to the narrator in Section 8?

4. Whose proper name is stated in the poem in the beginning of Section 24?

5. What is being carried in loads on the “slow-drawn wagon” in Section 9?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Whom does the poet invite to eat the meal in Section 19?

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

4. What is Whitman’s “advice” to the reader in Section 11 of the poem?

5. For whom does Whitman describe playing victory marches in Section 18?

6. Over what elements does the poet describe Earth reigning in Section 21?

7. What imagery is the focus of Section 11 of the poem?

8. How is “the negro” described in Section 13 of the poem?

9. What motif reappears in Section 17? Why does the poet use this motif here?

10. How is “the lunatic” described in Section 15 of the poem?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the humanist, realist, and transcendentalist movements in literary history and Walt Whitman’s relationship to each of these movements. How can elements of these literary styles be seen in “Song of Myself”?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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”?

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