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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. Who saves the fiddler in "The Wonderful Musician"?

2. What is the first poem in Transformations?

3. Who eats a magical snake in "The White Snake"?

4. How is Jesus depicted in "The Jesus Papers"?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

6. When was The Awful Rowing Toward God published, and how does that affect the poems in it?

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain how Sexton weaves her personal and poetic lives together. Explain how they are set against each other.

Essay Topic 2

Explain how Live or Die is different from Sexton's other collections.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the style of Anne Sexton's poetry using specific examples to support your claims.

(see the answer keys)

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