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

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

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

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

5. 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) Sibilance and onomatopoeia.
(d) Onomatopoeia and alliteration.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which technique is used in line 9, "Just like moons and like suns"?

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

3. How does the speaker characterize herself in line 4?

4. In the fourth stanza, what kind of person does the speaker ask if "you" want her to be?

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

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

4. 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?

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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