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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 21, "You may shoot me with your words"?
(a) Metaphor.
(b) Kenning.
(c) Innuendo.
(d) Simile.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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) Juxtaposition.
(b) Personification.
(c) Metaphor.
(d) Simile.

13. 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 no one appreciates her value.
(d) Because of the death of a loved one.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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