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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 does the author describe herself at the beginning of "The Death Baby"?
(a) As an artist.
(b) As a baby.
(c) As a new mother.
(d) As Death.

2. What is the speaker tortured by in "The Room of My Life"?
(a) The people around her.
(b) The objects around her.
(c) Her own creativity.
(d) Her own thoughts.

3. What is the title of the poem "Rats Live On No Evil Star" based on?
(a) A fragment of a dream.
(b) A nonsensical phrase her daughter said.
(c) A nursery rhyme.
(d) A palindrome.

4. Who solves the mystery of "Twelve Dancing Princesses?"?
(a) A prince.
(b) The king.
(c) A servant.
(d) A soldier.

5. What is represented as a pair of applauding hands in "Two Hands"?
(a) Doubt.
(b) Faith.
(c) God.
(d) Humanity.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who casts doubt on Jesus' miracles in "The Jesus Papers"?

2. What is the focus of the author's version of "Red Riding Hood"?

3. What type of conflict is present in "The Civil War"?

4. In "The Earth Falls Down," what is the speaker trying to place blame for?

5. How many parts is The Book of Folly divided into?

Short Essay Questions

1. What inspired The Awful Rowing Toward God?

2. When was The Awful Rowing Toward God published, and how does that affect the poems in it?

3. How does Sexton inject herself into the final poem of "The Jesus Papers?" Why does she do this?

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

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

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

7. How is The Book of Folly set up?

8. Why do so many of the poems in The Death Notebooks deal with spirituality and Christianity?

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

10. How does Sexton view her poetry in relation to her faith?

(see the answer keys)

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