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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) Juxtaposition.
(b) Allegory.
(c) Oxymoron.
(d) Allusion.

2. Which technique is frequently used at the beginnings of stanzas?
(a) Rhetorical question.
(b) Cacophony.
(c) Internal rhyme.
(d) Onomatopoeia.

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

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

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

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

7. Where does the speaker say she obtained her gifts?
(a) From well-chosen friends.
(b) From her ancestors.
(c) From effort and hard work.
(d) From the passage of time.

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

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

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

11. Which is the most logical description of who "You" is in line 1?
(a) Scholars and critics.
(b) People of the past.
(c) A romantic partner.
(d) An unnamed oppressor.

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

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

14. Why is the speaker's past "rooted in pain" (line 32)?
(a) Because she has been abandoned by someone she loves.
(b) Because of bigotry and discrimination.
(c) Because of the death of a loved one.
(d) Because no one appreciates her value.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What technique is used in line 21, "You may shoot me with your words"?

2. What words create a refrain in the final two stanzas of the poem?

3. What kind of "certainty" does the speaker claim to have in line 10?

4. Which two things does the final stanza use to represent the past and present?

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

(see the answer keys)

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