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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. Why does the toad in "Giant Toad" pity himself?

2. Where is the poet located as she composes "Night City"?

3. How does nature celebrate the birth of a baby in "From 'The Life and Death of a Severino'"?

4. In "Exchanging Hats," what does one person wear on his head?

5. What is the subject of "My Last Poem"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are two meanings of the title "The Waiting Room"?

2. Why is Bandeira so concerned about the specifics of his last poem in "My Last Poem"?

3. How is the character in "The Strayed Crab" an exaggerated human figure?

4. Why does the poet begins the section called Geography III with a geography lesson that throws a series of unanswered questions at the reader?

5. What is the double meaning of the phrase "family travelling through the flesh" in Drummond de Andrade's "Family Portrait"?

6. What do the various animals symbolize in "A Word with You"?

7. What is the effect on the reader of the surprise ending in Vinicius de Moraes' "Sonnet of Intimacy"?

8. What was the political situation that inspired "The Hanging of the Mouse"?

9. How is the character in "The Giant Snail" an exaggerated human figure?

10. From what perspective is the story of "The Hanging of the Mouse" told?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The New Poems section is comprised of four poems written shortly before Bishop's death. Do you see any connections among them? Do they differ in any way from the other poems in the text? Compare and contrast these poems with the poems in Poems Written in Youth. In what ways did the poet remain consistent, and in what ways did she change as a writer as she matured?

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

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?

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