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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. How many sections are in "The Operation"?
(a) Two.
(b) One.
(c) Four.
(d) Three.

2. In what point of view is "It Is a Spring Afternoon" written?
(a) Third-person.
(b) First-person.
(c) Second-person.
(d) It is unclear.

3. What is the weather in "Song for a Lady"?
(a) Foggy.
(b) Rainy.
(c) Snowy.
(d) Sunny.

4. What is the subject of the author's first book of poetry?
(a) The author's first battle with cancer.
(b) The death of the author's mother.
(c) The author's divorce.
(d) The author's first mental breakdown.

5. What aspect of childhood does "The Bells" reflect on?
(a) Innocence.
(b) School.
(c) The relationship with grandparents.
(d) Friendships.

Short Answer Questions

1. What play is the source for the title All My Pretty Ones?

2. In what year were the letters written that inspired "Walking in Paris"?

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. What conclusion does the speaker come to in "For My Lover, Returning to His Wife"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the poem "Eighteen Days Without You."

2. Explain how Sexton uses religion in All the Pretty Ones.

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

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

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

6. What makes To Bedlam and Part Way Back autobiographical?

7. What is the significance of the final poem of the book?

8. What is the significance of the title Live or Die?

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

10. How does Sexton treat her illness in her poetry?

(see the answer keys)

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