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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. "Music Swims Back To Me" presents an irony of the freedom where?

2. Who does the speaker's daughter cry out for when she is in an accident in "Pain for a Daughter"?

3. Who is the speaker traveling to see in the poem "Flight"?

4. How many poems are in Part 2 of the author's first book of poetry?

5. What myth does the author rethink in "To a Friend Whose Work Has Come To Triumph"?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How does Sexton use her poetry as a form of therapy in Live or Die?

4. Why do you think Part 2 of To Bedlam and Part Way Back only contains three poems?

5. How was Live or Die received after its publication?

6. Compare and contrast "The Interrogation of the Man of Many Hearts" with "For My Lover, Returning to His Wife."

7. What is the meaning of the title "The Fortress"?

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

9. How does the collection Love Poems fit in with Sexton's other work?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do the poems in Posthumously Published Work fit into the larger scope of Sexton's poems? How do they stand out?

Essay Topic 2

What is allegory? How does Sexton use allegory in her poetry? Use specific examples to support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Explain how the arrangement of the poems in Sexton's collections contributes to the reader's experience.

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