View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 7 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What technique does the first line of the poem, "You may write me down in history," introduce?

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

4. Which is the best definition of "beset" in line 6?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What specific historical phenomenon does the speaker talk about rising above in the final two stanzas, and what allusion does she use to introduce the topic?

2. In the final stanza, what metaphor does the speaker use, and what does it signify?

3. Why is the poem titled "Still I Rise" and not just "I Rise"--what additional idea does the word "Still" convey?

4. What oppressive actions does the speaker suggest "you" might take, and how does she say she will respond?

5. Describe the pattern that stanzas 2, 4, 5, and 7 have in common.

6. Describe how the final two stanzas of the poem differ from the first seven stazas.

7. What do all of the questions the speaker asks have in common?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 657 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample