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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 7 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. The repetition of the word "deed" in line 13 is an example of which technique?

2. What is the implied antecedent of "our" and "we" in lines 1 and 2?

3. According to the poem's second sentence, how did "we" find "salvation"?

4. What technique is used in the phrase "unstoried, artless, unenhanced" (line 15)?

5. What technique is used in line 10, "We were withholding from our land of living"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the synecdoche in line 4, "In Massachusetts, in Virginia."

2. What is implied by the diction the speaker uses to describe the lands yet to be conquered by American settlers: "unstoried, artless, unenhanced" (line 15)?

3. To whom is it implied the pronouns "our" and "we" refer in this poem?

4. Explain the poem's title.

5. Describe the form of "The Gift Outright."

6. What does the speaker mean by "the land vaguely realizing westward" (line 14)?

7. What does the speaker claim makes the colonists "weak," and what is the solution to this weakness (line 8)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does diction with legal connotations add to "The Gift Outright"? How does diction with religious or sexual overtones add layers of meaning to the poem? How do these three types of diction interact with one another? What else do you observe about this poem's diction: is it formal or informal, abstract or concrete? How does the general diction of the poem create a framework for understanding the legal, sexual, and religious diction? How does the general diction itself help to create meaning? Write an essay in which you make and defend a claim about diction in "The Gift Outright." Support your assertions with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the poem; cite all borrowed language in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Alabama poet laureate Ashley M. Jones begins her poem "Friendly Skies, or, Black Woman Speaks Herself into God" with the following verse paragraph:

"—we’re taxiing at an airport named after american president ronald reagan. people tell me he was an american hero. sometimes, labels are jumbled in the big dark bag we call manifest destiny. sometimes, things get lost in its velvet mouth."

What do you suppose Jones means when she refers to the "velvet mouth" of manifest destiny? How does skillful rhetoric--evocative diction, rhythmic language, carefully chosen detail, etc.--help to create that "velvet mouth"? Write an essay in which you analyze the "velvet mouth" of "The Gift Outright," demonstrating how Frost's skillful use of language creates an emotional appeal that obscures some of the less appealing facts of American history. Support your assertions with evidence from "The Gift Outright." Cite any borrowed language in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

What spiritual claims does "The Gift Outright" make about the foundation and expansion of the American nation? How does diction like "surrender" and "salvation" advance its spiritual claim? What hidden premises are introduced into Frost's argument by the implied spiritual claims being made in this poem? If these hidden premises are disputed, does this weaken the overall effect of the argument being made in "The Gift Outright"? Write an essay that analyzes the poem's spiritual claims and considers how these claims impact the poem's overall argument. Support your assertions with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the poem; cite all borrowed language in MLA format.

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