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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 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.

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

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. In line 17, what kind of a person is described by the word "haughtiness"?

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

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

5. Which is the best definition for "trod" in the context of line 3?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. 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?

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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