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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 does the building represent in "Riding the Elevator Into the Sky"?

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

3. What myth is retold in "The Fire Thief"?

4. Who is Transformations dedicated to?

5. Who is "Mother and Daughter" addressed to?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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.

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

4. How is The Book of Folly set up?

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

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

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

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

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

10. What is the source material for "The Jesus Papers?" How does Sexton use this source material?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Sexton's experience of motherhood from her mother with her experience of motherhood as a mother herself, especially as it relates to her poetry.

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

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

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