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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What award was given to the author for Live or Die?
(a) The Pushcart Prize.
(b) The Nobel Prize.
(c) The Edgar Allen Poe Prize.
(d) The Pulitzer Prize.

2. What is the sister poem to "The Double Image"?
(a) "Torn Down From Glory Daily."
(b) "A Story For Rose On the Midnight Flight To Boston."
(c) "The Moss of His Skin."
(d) "The Division of Parts."

3. "Torn Down From Glory Daily" describes an encounter with a group of what?
(a) Gulls.
(b) Ducks.
(c) Crows.
(d) Chickens.

4. How many poems are in Part 2 of the author's first book of poetry?
(a) Three.
(b) Fifteen.
(c) One.
(d) Seven.

5. What is explored in "The Double Image"?
(a) Duty.
(b) Legacy.
(c) Love.
(d) Abandonment.

Short Answer Questions

1. "Loving the Killer" takes place where?

2. What part of the speaker's body is personified in "The Touch"?

3. Who is Doctor Martin?

4. In what time frame does "Letter Written During a January Northeaster" take place?

5. "The Bells" ponders about the search for love and acceptance from whom?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the quote in the preface of All My Pretty Ones suggest about the purpose of art? How does this apply to Sexton's poetry?

2. Give at least one example of Sexton's use of humor in Love Poems.

3. What is the focus of Part 2 of To Bedlam and Part Way Back?

4. What is the significance of ending Part 1 of To Bedlam and Part Way Back with the poem "A Story For Rose On the Midnight Flight To Boston"?

5. How do the poems in Live or Die reflect Sexton's mental and emotional health?

6. What are the two major themes dealt with in Live or Die, and how are they dealt with?

7. Explain Sexton's retelling of the Icarus myth in "To a Friend Whose Work Has Come To Triumph."

8. One theme in All the Pretty Ones is the idea that poetry is catharsis. Why might poetry be catharsis for Sexton?

9. How was Live or Die received after its publication?

10. What is the crossroads Sexton finds herself at in "The Fortress"?

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