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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What technique is used in line 29, "Out of the huts of history’s shame"?
(a) Allegory.
(b) Oxymoron.
(c) Juxtaposition.
(d) Allusion.

2. In the final quatrain, what does the speaker wonder about upsetting "you" with?
(a) Sexiness.
(b) Kindness.
(c) Intelligence.
(d) Beauty.

3. Who is the author of "Still I Rise"?
(a) Nikki Giovanni.
(b) Alice Walker.
(c) Toni Morrison.
(d) Maya Angelou.

4. What technique is used in lines 7 and 8, "’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells/ Pumping in my living room"?
(a) Juxtaposition.
(b) Simile.
(c) Metaphor.
(d) Personification.

5. What techniques are used in line 19, "’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines"?
(a) Alliteration and assonance.
(b) Assonance and sibilance.
(c) Sibilance and onomatopoeia.
(d) Onomatopoeia and alliteration.

6. What is the rhyme scheme of the first seven stanzas?
(a) ABAB.
(b) ABCB.
(c) ABAC.
(d) ABBA.

7. Which two things does the final stanza use to represent the past and present?
(a) The directions east and west.
(b) Night and daybreak.
(c) A seed and a sprout.
(d) Gathering clouds and rain.

8. What technique does the first line of the poem, "You may write me down in history," introduce?
(a) Catalog.
(b) Apostrophe.
(c) Allegory.
(d) Verbal irony.

9. 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) Throw or hurl downward.
(d) The sound of footsteps.

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

11. How does the speaker characterize herself in line 4?
(a) Lively and confident.
(b) Lighthearted and silly.
(c) Intelligent and curious.
(d) Brave and perseverent.

12. What precious stones does the speaker use to evoke beauty and value in the simile in line 27?
(a) Sapphires.
(b) Rubies.
(c) Emeralds.
(d) Diamonds.

13. Which technique is used in line 9, "Just like moons and like suns"?
(a) Dialect.
(b) Parallelism.
(c) Allusion.
(d) Euphemism.

14. Which is the best definition of "beset" in line 6?
(a) Inspired.
(b) Cradled.
(c) Decorated.
(d) Troubled.

15. In line 17, what kind of a person is described by the word "haughtiness"?
(a) Strange and eccentric.
(b) Mean-spirited and petty.
(c) Sneaky and dishonest.
(d) Arrogant and proud.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the fourth stanza, what kind of person does the speaker ask if "you" want her to be?

2. Where does the speaker say she obtained her gifts?

3. Which is the first stanza of the poem that is longer than four lines?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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