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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 7 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What precious stones does the speaker use to evoke beauty and value in the simile in line 27?
2. Who is the author of "Still I Rise"?
3. What technique is used in lines 7 and 8, "’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells/ Pumping in my living room"?
4. In line 17, what kind of a person is described by the word "haughtiness"?
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. Describe how the final two stanzas of the poem differ from the first seven stazas.
3. What do all of the questions the speaker asks have in common?
4. Describe the pattern that stanzas 2, 4, 5, and 7 have in common.
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. 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?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Read Maya Angelou's poem "The Mothering Blackness" (available online). How does Angelou use repetition in this poem? How is it similar to and different from the way she uses repetition in "Still I Rise"? Consider the various forms of repetition in both poems as well as the purposes repetition serves. Write an essay in which you compare and contrast the use of repetition in "The Mothering Blackness" and "Still I Rise." Support your analysis with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from throughout both poems, and be sure to cite quoted evidence in MLA format.
Essay Topic 2
Among Maya Angelou's many contributions to American literature and culture are her inspirational speeches and interviews. Choose and watch one of her speeches or interviews from the dozens available online. What are the key ideas that she expresses in the video? What rhetorical strategies does she use to make her ideas appealing and memorable? How does this compare to the ideas she expresses in "Still I Rise"? Do you see any strategies in common between the prose in the video and the poetry of "Still I Rise"? Write an essay in which you compare and contrast the content and style of her remarks in the video you chose with the content and style of "Still I Rise." Support your observations with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from both sources, and be sure to cite borrowed language in MLA format.
Essay Topic 3
Read Lucille Clifton's poem "won't you celebrate with me" (available online). What does Clifton mean by "babylon," in line 4? What claim is she making about oppression and triumph? How does she also use natural resources in her poem? Is her speaker's voice similar to or different from the speaker in "Still I Rise"? Why? Write an essay in which you discuss similarities and differences in the way Clifton and Angelou approach the theme of survival against oppression. Support your analysis with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from throughout both poems, and be sure to cite quoted evidence in MLA format.
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This section contains 873 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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