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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 first poem in Transformations?

2. Whose Biblical story is retold in "Making a Living"?

3. What is personified in "The Assassin"?

4. What kind of poems are the collection "O Ye Tongues"?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. How does Sexton deal with feminism in Transformations?

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

7. What inspired The Awful Rowing Toward God?

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

9. How is The Book of Folly set up?

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain Sexton's experience with love, particularly as it relates to her poetry.

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

What role does feminism and the traditional roles of women play in Sexton's poetry?

(see the answer keys)

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