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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. Whose full name is included in "Sweeney"?

2. What is the title of the poem "Rats Live On No Evil Star" based on?

3. Whose death does the author recount in "The Death Baby"?

4. What does Doctor Faustus sell his soul to the devil for in "Faustus and I"?

5. What is particularly depicted in "God's Backside"?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. Other than showing Sexton's emotional and mental instability, how is The Death Notebooks different in the arc of her work? Give at least two examples.

5. 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?

6. How does Sexton deal with Christianity in "The Jesus Papers"?

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

8. Explain Sexton's revision of "Rapunzel."

9. Compare and contrast "The Death of Fathers" with "Angels of the Love Affair."

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain Anne Sexton's mental health, especially as it relates to her poetry.

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

Explain Sexton's choice of fairy tales as source material in Transformations as they relate to common themes in her poetry.

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