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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 poem is the companion poem to "The Rowing Endeth"?

2. "Rats Live On No Evil Star" is a revision of what Biblical story?

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

4. What does the building represent in "Riding the Elevator Into the Sky"?

5. Who curses the maiden's father in "The Maiden Without Hands"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does The Awful Rowing Toward God begin with the poem "Rowing"?

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

3. 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.

4. What is the focus of Sexton's version of "Cinderella"?

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

6. How is The Book of Folly set up?

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

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

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

10. Explain "The Death Baby." What does this poem say about Sexton's view of death?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

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

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