View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. What words create a refrain in the final two stanzas of the poem?
(a) "I rise."
(b) "Still I rise."
(c) "I rise and rise."
(d) "Again I rise."

10. What is the primary quality that the speaker's stanza eight description of a body of water is intended to convey?
(a) Persistence.
(b) Endurance.
(c) Power.
(d) Independence.

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

12. What technique is used in line 21, "You may shoot me with your words"?
(a) Metaphor.
(b) Simile.
(c) Innuendo.
(d) Kenning.

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the speaker characterize herself in line 4?

2. What techniques are used in line 19, "’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines"?

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

4. What technique is used in lines 7 and 8, "’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells/ Pumping in my living room"?

5. Who is the author of "Still I Rise"?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 436 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample