View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. What is the rhyme scheme of the first seven stanzas?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 453 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample