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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 mean when she asks Moore to "please come flying" in "Invitation to Miss Marianne Moore"?

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

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

4. What are two sounds the poet appreciates in "Questions of Travel"?

5. What is similar about the language in the poems in North and South?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does the final stanza of "Insomnia" depict?

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

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

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

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

7. In "Questions of Travel," does the poet decide it is better to travel, or stay home and use one's imagination?

8. What is the meaning of the lines "I'm afraid if it's wheat it's none of your sowing" in "Letter to N.Y."?

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

10. What is the relationship between the fisherman and the fishhouse in "At the Fishhouses"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In several poems, Bishop reveals herself to be a storyteller. In some cases she is part of the story, and in other cases she tells it from an outsider's perspective. Choose three poems that tell stories. How are these narrative poems different from Bishop's other work? What literary devices does she employ? Compare and contrast the three poems, commenting on whether each is effective, and why or why not.

Essay Topic 2

What does "12 O'Clock News" tell us about Bishop's unique powers of observation and her ability to see things from a different perspective? Why do you think she chose to present the items in terms of newspaper stories? Do you think she is merely being playful, or is this a more serious commentary on journalism? Use specific examples from the poem to support your claim.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Bishop's use of personification in the three poems in Rainy Season; Sub Tropics. What does each animal tell us about the speaker's view of humanity? Why do you think Bishop chose the specific animals she did? How would the poem have been different if she had used exaggerated human characters?

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