View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 1: "Still I Rise," Lines 1 - 43 .

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which is the best definition for "trod" in the context of line 3?
(a) Press down with the foot.
(b) Drag along the floor or earth.
(c) The sound of footsteps.
(d) Throw or hurl downward.

2. What body of water does the speaker claim to be in the eighth stanza?
(a) A lake.
(b) An ocean.
(c) A stream.
(d) A river.

3. What kind of "certainty" does the speaker claim to have in line 10?
(a) The "certainty of springtime."
(b) The "certainty of tides."
(c) The "certainty of history."
(d) The "certainty of air."

4. Which is the first stanza of the poem that is longer than four lines?
(a) 9.
(b) 8.
(c) 6.
(d) 7.

5. In the fourth stanza, what kind of person does the speaker ask if "you" want her to be?
(a) Distant and uninvolved.
(b) Angry and afraid.
(c) Tired and distracted.
(d) Sad and meek.

Short Answer Questions

1. What precious stones does the speaker use to evoke beauty and value in the simile in line 27?

2. Why is the speaker's past "rooted in pain" (line 32)?

3. What technique does the first line of the poem, "You may write me down in history," introduce?

4. What is the primary quality that the speaker's stanza eight description of a body of water is intended to convey?

5. Which is the most logical description of who "You" is in line 1?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 254 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample