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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. Where did Bishop grow up?

2. In what year does Questions of Travel begin?

3. Why does Bishop love the sea?

4. What effect does the tone have on the Four Poems?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Bishop portray the hermit's loneliness in "Chemin de Fer"?

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

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

5. How is the writing style in "The Riverman" unlike most of Bishop's poems?

6. How does the poet frame her journey in "Over 2,000 Illustrations and a Complete Concordance"?

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

8. How would you characterize the speaker's relationship to the title character in "Manuelzinho"?

9. How does the title of "The Man-Moth" alter the feel of the poem?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bishop employs a variety of different formats, including prose poetry, sonnets, and sestinas. Choose one example of each of these and discuss to what extent the format is a fitting approach for that particular poem. How would the poem's effect be different if it were presented differently? Discuss how it would be different in terms of its look on the page and the way it would sound. Would it be more or less effective, and why?

Essay Topic 2

"In the Waiting Room" is unique among Bishop's poems in that it details a critical moment in the poet's childhood. Discuss the specific details of the experience and describe what this moment means for the young Bishop. Can you relate it to any themes from the poet's adulthood that are revealed in any of her other poems? Do you see this poem as more personal, or more universal, and why?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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