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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What technique is used in line 29, "Out of the huts of history’s shame"?

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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