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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 is the subject of "Again and Again and Again"?
(a) Returning to a lover.
(b) Calling specific memories to mind.
(c) A woman scorned.
(d) Longing for a lover.

2. In what year did the author receive an award for Live or Die?
(a) 1970.
(b) 1967.
(c) 1963.
(d) 1966.

3. Who is the subject of "Somewhere in Africa"?
(a) Ted Hughes.
(b) Sylvia Plath.
(c) T. S. Eliot.
(d) John Holmes.

4. How many parts is All My Pretty Ones divided into?
(a) Four.
(b) Two.
(c) Five.
(d) Seven.

5. In what month does "Eighteen Days Without You" take place?
(a) May.
(b) December.
(c) April.
(d) August.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many poems are in Part 2 of the author's first book of poetry?

2. How is marriage portrayed in "Man and Wife"?

3. What is the sister poem to "The Double Image"?

4. Part I of the author's first book of poetry deals with the trauma of what?

5. Where is "The Double Image" set?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the use of animals in the poem "Loving the Killer."

2. How does the collection Love Poems fit in with Sexton's other work?

3. In All My Pretty Ones, Sexton uses more of a third person narrative approach with some of the poems. Why would this be difficult in confessional poetry?

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

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

6. How does Sexton use her poetry as a form of therapy in Live or Die?

7. How does Sexton's poetry put the reader in the middle of her life?

8. Compare and contrast "The Double Image" and "The Division of Parts."

9. What is the meaning of the title "The Fortress"?

10. Explain how Sexton expresses love in All the Pretty Ones.

(see the answer keys)

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