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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. On the final morning of the story, what causes Mr. Coulson's mood to change?

2. What is clear in the first interaction between Mr. Coulson, Miss Coulson, and Mrs. Widdup?

3. What physical gesture of affection does Mr. Coulson make toward Mrs. Widdup?

4. What are the "portières" that Miss Coulson is sitting near?

5. When Mr. Coulson complains about the cold, what is his servant's response?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Mr. Coulson comments that the spring weather is "lovely," his daughter replies "That's just it" (334). What does she mean by her reply?

2. What is the thematic significance of the olfactory image of the city in springtime?

3. How do words like "yaller" and "lawsy" in Mrs. Widdup's dialogue characterize her?

4. Explain the significance of the diction "foxy" to describe Mrs. Widdup (333).

5. What is the significance of the sound of the overturned chair after Mr. Coulson confesses his feelings to Mrs. Widdup?

6. What rhetorical purposes does O. Henry accomplish with his introduction of Mr. Coulson through a list of things that he "has," like gout, money, and a daughter?

7. When rhetorical purposes are served by the passage where the narrator says that the scent of flowers was carried in through the window and "fought" with the scent of Mr. Coulson's gout medicine?

8. What is the rhetorical purpose of the allusions to Puck and Circe?

9. Explain the titular allusion and the allusion to "the poet" in the first sentence of the story.

10. What happens overnight that changes Mrs. Widdup and Mr. Coulson's fate?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that compares and contrasts the themes and techniques used in Dekker's poem "The Merry Merry Month of May" with those of O. Henry's "The Marry Month of May." Use textual evidence from both pieces to defend your ideas.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that makes and defends a thesis about the significance of social class in "The Marry Month of May." Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about the narrative voice of "The Marry Month of May." Use both paraphrased and quoted textual evidence to support your claim.

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