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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. Who saves the fiddler in "The Wonderful Musician"?
(a) The mouse.
(b) The woodcutter.
(c) The fox.
(d) The milkmaid.

2. Who casts doubt on Jesus' miracles in "The Jesus Papers"?
(a) The Virgin Mary.
(b) Judas.
(c) The author.
(d) John the Baptist.

3. How many sections is "The Death Baby" divided into?
(a) Four.
(b) Five.
(c) Six.
(d) Ten.

4. What building is in "Riding the Elevator Into the Sky"?
(a) A bank.
(b) A hotel.
(c) The Eiffel Tower.
(d) An office building.

5. How many messiahs is Mary pregnant with in "Mary's Song"?
(a) Twenty.
(b) One.
(c) Two.
(d) Five.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is killed the same day that the speaker receives a visitor in "Sweeney"?

2. What does the building represent in "Riding the Elevator Into the Sky"?

3. How many poems make up "The Jesus Papers"?

4. What is the first poem in Transformations?

5. What is the first poem in the first part of The Book of Folly?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the focus of Sexton's version of "Cinderella"?

2. What is the main theme of The Book of Folly? Is the theme of The Book of Folly treated the same as in her other work?

3. Explain the premise of Transformations, and explain the title.

4. Why does The Awful Rowing Toward God begin with the poem "Rowing"?

5. How is The Book of Folly set up?

6. Compare and contrast "The Death of Fathers" with "Angels of the Love Affair."

7. Why does Sexton end The Awful Rowing Toward God with the poem "The Rowing Endeth"?

8. When was The Death Notebooks published? How does this affect the poems in the collection?

9. What does "Mary's Song" say about Sexton?

10. What is the source material for "The Jesus Papers?" How does Sexton use this source material?

(see the answer keys)

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