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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Janet Malcolm wrote to Olwyn Hughes in an effort to get an interview with whom in Part One: Chapter IV?
(a) Assia Wevill.
(b) Ted Hughes.
(c) Anne Stevenson.
(d) A. Alvarez.

2. Who was the consulting editor on The Journals of Sylvia Plath?
(a) Assia Wevill.
(b) Ted Hughes.
(c) Frances McCullough.
(d) Anne Stevenson.

3. Olwyn Hughes gave Anne Stevenson whose account that was unflattering to Sylvia to review in Part Two: Chapter I?
(a) Ted Hughes'.
(b) Dido Merwin's.
(c) Clarissa Roche's.
(d) Elizabeth Sigmund's.

4. What was the address where Sylvia committed suicide?
(a) 168 Holland Circle.
(b) 23 Fitzroy Road.
(c) 439 Meadow Lane.
(d) 75 Kirkland Drive.

5. What literary genre emphasizes the intimate, and sometimes unflattering, information about details of the poet's personal life, such as in poems about mental illness, sexuality, and despondence?
(a) Truthful poetry.
(b) Confessional poetry.
(c) Sinful poetry.
(d) Realistic poetry.

6. What was the name of Sylvia Plath's mother?
(a) Jennifer Wilma Plath.
(b) Susan Mary Plath.
(c) Aurelia Schobert Plath.
(d) Emma Rachel Plath.

7. Linda Wagner-Martin wrote a biography of Sylvia Plath. Upon what did her relationship with the Hughes family deteriorate in Part One: Chapter IV?
(a) The publishing of the book.
(b) Completion of the manuscript.
(c) Reviews of the book being published.
(d) Choosing a cover for the book.

8. A. Alvarez claimed that Sylvia Plath did not intend __________.
(a) To kill herself.
(b) To get divorced.
(c) To write a best seller.
(d) To be famous.

9. To what friend of the Hughes was William Stanley Merwin married?
(a) Dido Milroy.
(b) Sylvia Plath.
(c) Janet Malcolm.
(d) Anne Stevenson.

10. Who prescribed antidepressants for Plath a few days before her death?
(a) Dr. Hollingsworth.
(b) Dr. Hefner.
(c) Dr. Holiday.
(d) Dr. Horder.

11. When did Sylvia Plath die?
(a) 1963.
(b) 1971.
(c) 1965.
(d) 1969.

12. Dealing with Olwyn for three years, Malcolm saw none of the expected ________ in her character?
(a) Kindness.
(b) Generosity.
(c) Arrogance.
(d) Narcissism.

13. When Anne Stevenson wrote her biography of Sylvia Plath, she found that she and Sylvia had gone through the same teen-aged angst and sexual frustrations of the American youth of what era?
(a) 1940's.
(b) 1920's.
(c) 1930's.
(d) 1950s.

14. When was Bitter Fame published?
(a) 1993.
(b) 1991.
(c) 1992.
(d) 1989.

15. When was the publication date of The Journals of Sylvia Plath?
(a) 1985.
(b) 1979.
(c) 1982.
(d) 1983.

Short Answer Questions

1. The woman who had found the flat for the Hughes described in in Part One: Chapter VII recalled how Sylvia eschewed her suggestion to buy _____________.

2. In what year had a literary critic declared that what stood out about Plath's works was that Plath's "not nice" quality was what set her apart from her contemporaries?

3. Ronald Hayman wrote in The Independent that whose biography was vindictive?

4. Janet Malcolm met with Olwyn Hughes in February of what year in Part One: Chapter VI?

5. What did Sylvia Plath leave for her children when they awoke the night she killed herself?

(see the answer keys)

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