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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What has Bishop arranged in "Invitation to Miss Marianne Moore"?

2. What is described in "Love Lies Sleeping"?

3. "Questions of Travel" is in what format?

4. Who is the old man in "At the Fishhouses"?

5. What is described in "View of the Capitol from the Library of Congress"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Bishop chose the word "flying" in "Invitation to Miss Marianne Moore"?

2. What two things is Bishop comparing in "Brazil, January 1, 1502"?

3. How are the poems in North and South devoted to morning different?

4. What is similar about the poems in North and South devoted to morning?

5. Why does the character in "The Gentleman of Shalott" think half of him would be enough?

6. What is the significance of the trees capturing the music in "View of the Capitol from the Library of Congress"?

7. How does Bishop use humor in "Manners"?

8. In "Electrical Storm," why are the pearls twice described as dead?

9. What is the significance of the title of "The Prodigal"?

10. How does Bishop liken an iceberg to the soul in "The Imaginary Iceberg"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Several of Bishop's poems discuss what it means to be a traveler. Examine "Questions of Travel," "Brazil January 1, 1502," and one other poem on this subject. What is Bishop's relationship to travel and to the places she travels to? Why is she torn about it? Does she ultimately come to some resolution about the questions she poses?

Essay Topic 2

How are the poems composed in Bishop's youth unique in the collection? Do you see a difference in maturity between these and the later poems? Are there any clues in the earlier poems that predict what kind of poet Bishop will become? What differences do you see in terms of subject matter and approach? Do you think it was appropriate that the editors included poetry composed in Bishop's teen years, before she gained recognition? How would the reader's appreciation of Bishop as a writer be different if these poems had been omitted from the book?

Essay Topic 3

Death is a common theme among the poems Bishop chose to translate, though rare among the poems she penned herself. Why do you think this is? Given what you know about Bishop as a writer based on the rest of the book, do you think this was a coincidence, or do you think she was attracted to poetry that dealt with death? What type of language does Bishop use when referring to death; does it vary from poem to poem? Does this section offer us any insight into her own thoughts about death, or only into the original poets' views on death?

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