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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

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

5. Which technique is frequently used at the beginnings of stanzas?

(see the answer keys)

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