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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 purpose of the first poem in Transformations?
(a) To share a fairy tale about the author's daughter.
(b) To share a fairy tale about the author's son.
(c) To create the author as the wicked witch.
(d) To act as an introduction and explanation.

2. Where do the poems come from in Transformations?
(a) Grimm's Fairy Tales.
(b) The stories of Hans Christian Anderson.
(c) Greek mythology.
(d) Aesop's Fables.

3. What myth is retold in "The Fire Thief"?
(a) Prometheus.
(b) Persephone.
(c) Icarus.
(d) Odysseus.

4. Who eats a magical snake in "The White Snake"?
(a) A king's servant.
(b) A queen.
(c) A king.
(d) A king's cook.

5. What theme is explored in "The Frog Prince"?
(a) Guilt.
(b) Salvation.
(c) Forgiveness.
(d) Trust.

Short Answer Questions

1. What poem has the author wondering if she is becoming an antisocial shut-in like the old woman who used to live in her neighborhood as a girl?

2. What are the maiden's replacement hands made of in "The Maiden Without Hands"?

3. How does the author describe herself at the beginning of "The Death Baby"?

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

5. Who curses the maiden's father in "The Maiden Without Hands"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain Sexton's retelling of the Biblical story of Jonah and the whale in "Making a Living".

2. Why might Sexton's poem "Sleeping Beauty (Briar Rose)" have special significance for her?

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

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

5. Explain "The Death Baby." What does this poem say about Sexton's view of death?

6. How is The Book of Folly set up?

7. Where does Sexton search for God in The Awful Rowing Toward God? Does she find him?

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

9. What is the purpose of the poem "The Gold Key"?

10. What inspired The Awful Rowing Toward God?

(see the answer keys)

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