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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who was named the literary agent for the writings of Sylvia Plath after her death?
(a) Ted Hughes.
(b) Olwyn Hughes .
(c) Janet Malcolm.
(d) Dido Milroy.

2. In 1952, William Stanley Merwin's first book of poetry was published under what title?
(a) A Hat for Harrold.
(b) A Mask for Janus.
(c) A Coat for Jamal.
(d) Glasses for Peter.

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

4. In the second version of The Journals of Sylvia Plath, Hughes avoided blame for what?
(a) Incomplete editing.
(b) Plath's unhappiness.
(c) Plath's death.
(d) The destruction of Plath's journals.

5. When was The Bell Jar first published?
(a) 1960.
(b) 1965.
(c) 1961.
(d) 1963.

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

7. How many pages did the manuscript which Anne Stevenson wrote for Penguin Books contain?
(a) 75 pages.
(b) 50 pages.
(c) 100 pages.
(d) 150 pages.

8. Where was Sylvia Plath born?
(a) Rhode Island.
(b) Maine.
(c) Vermont.
(d) Massachusetts.

9. Sylvia Plath told A. Alvarez of two previous suicide attempts--one in which she took an overdose of pills and another when she _____________.
(a) Played Russian roulette.
(b) Attempted to hang herself.
(c) Almost drove off the road.
(d) Cut her wrist.

10. The Bell Jar is based in part on Plath's own life and, in particular, her suicide attempt in what year?
(a) 1953.
(b) 1949.
(c) 1955.
(d) 1950.

11. Anne Stevenson explained in Part Two: Chapter I that she had been commissioned to write a story about Sylvia Plath in a series for Penguin Books called __________.
(a) Lives of Modern Women.
(b) The Women Everybody Should Know.
(c) Women of History.
(d) Fascinating Women.

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

13. Where was A. Alvarez born?
(a) Spain.
(b) El Salvador.
(c) Mexico.
(d) England.

14. What university did Sylvia Plath attend in England?
(a) Exeter University.
(b) Rhodes University.
(c) Cambridge University.
(d) Oxford University.

15. A. Alvarez's remarks placed Sylvia's suicide in what type of scenario?
(a) "No go."
(b) "Look at me."
(c) "If only."
(d) "As if."

Short Answer Questions

1. Linda Wagner-Martin wrote a biography of Sylvia Plath. Upon what did her relationship with the Hughes family deteriorate in Part One: Chapter IV?

2. What poems did Plath write for the most part in the two months after Ted had left Devon?

3. How did Sylvia Plath commit suicide?

4. Olwyn Hughes gave Anne Stevenson whose account that was unflattering to Sylvia to review in Part Two: Chapter I?

5. Where did Anne Stevenson move after college and marrying?

(see the answer keys)

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