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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the speaker doing in "The Fortress"?

2. How many poems are in Part 3 of All My Pretty Ones?

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

4. Who does the author decide to endure the pains of life for in the last poem in Live or Die?

5. What kind of accident is the subject of "Pain for a Daughter"?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Give at least one example of Sexton's use of humor in Love Poems.

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. What is the crossroads Sexton finds herself at in "The Fortress"?

10. How does Sexton use the book Love Poems? Give at least two examples.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the purpose of Sexton's poetry? What message does she want to send with her poems?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast Sexton's relationships with Sylvia Plath and John Holmes.

Essay Topic 3

What role did family play in Anne Sexton's life and work?

(see the answer keys)

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