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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. Who wrote "Cemetery of Childhood" and "Elegy for Maria Alves"?

2. What does "A Word With You" describe?

3. To what does the poet compare love in the third part of Three Valentines?

4. Which of these poems is fourteen lines long?

5. How is the poet's perspective in Uncollected Poems different from that in her other poems?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How are the "Four Sambas" by Anonymous different from the rest of the poems in the book?

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

5. How does the location in "Santarem" parallel the Garden of Eden?

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

7. What do the hats come to symbolize in "Exchanging Hats"?

8. What is the meaning of the simple, repeated incident in Drummond de Andrade's "In the Middle of the Road"?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Much of Bishop's poetry relates to geography. Citing specific poems, including "The Map," "Over 2,000 Illustrations and a Complete Concordance," "Brazil January 1, 1502," and the introduction to Geography III, discuss the importance of geography in Bishop's work. How does she see it? Why is it so important to her? How does it frame who she is, her subject matter, and her approach?

Essay Topic 2

What is Bishop's attitude toward the characters in "Exchanging Hats"? Is it objective or judgmental? Support your claim with specific quotations from the poem. Does her attitude seem out of character for Bishop, considering the sense of humor she displays in other poems? Do you think her attitude has to do with the fact that the trend she witnesses is started by an "unfunny uncle"? Might she view things differently if the trend had been started by someone she admired?

Essay Topic 3

Describe Bishop's sense of humor as evidenced by her poetry. Is her humorous tone consistent across the various poems, or does it change? Why do you think she chooses a humorous approach in these poems? How does it make the poetry more effective? How would these poems be different if the writing were more objective? Cite specific poems to support your claim. Some poems you might consider include "The Man-Moth," "Lines Written in the Fannie Farmer Cookbook," and "12 O'Clock News."

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