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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. 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.

3. 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.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

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

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. 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?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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