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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 does Bishop display towards Moore in "Invitation to Miss Marianne Moore"?

2. What does the title character in "Manuelzinho" do?

3. To what does Bishop devote three poems to in North and South?

4. What does the man in "The Riverman" want to be?

5. To what topic do many of Bishop's observations in the poems in North and South pertain?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does "Arrival at Santos" end with the tour group heading toward the interior of Brazil?

2. How does Bishop portray water in the poems in North and South?

3. In what way does the language contrast with the emotional situation in "Songs for a Colored Singer?"

4. What is Bishop comparing in "Large Bad Picture" when she refers to "commerce or contemplation"?

5. How do the poet's descriptions in "Arrival at Santos" reflect her dual state of mind?

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

7. How is the tone of "A Cold Spring" in contrast to its subject matter?"

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

9. Why does Bishop use the structure of building each line upon the last in "Visits to St. Elizabeth's"?

10. In what form is "The Burglar of Babylon" written? Why does the poet use this form?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do you think is meant by the heading "Occasional Poems"? What does the word "occasional" connote in this context? How are the poems in this section alike and different? Are there any that you feel don't belong in this collection? Why or why not? How would your understanding of Bishop as a writer differ if these poems had been omitted?

Essay Topic 2

Why do you think Bishop chose to translate the poems of other writers from a variety of places? How does this relate to what you've learned about Bishop as a writer and as a person from reading her own work? Were you surprised by any of the choices she made in terms of poets, poems, languages, or the specific choices she made in translating each poem? Do you think it is appropriate to include translations in a collection of Bishop's poems? In what ways are these poems her work, and in what ways are they the work of the original poet? How would your experience of the book have been different if the translations had been omitted?

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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