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

2. Where does the speaker say she obtained her gifts?
(a) From her ancestors.
(b) From the passage of time.
(c) From well-chosen friends.
(d) From effort and hard work.

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

4. What technique is used in line 21, "You may shoot me with your words"?
(a) Kenning.
(b) Simile.
(c) Innuendo.
(d) Metaphor.

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

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

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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 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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 608 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample