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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What poet and playwright had previously lived at the residence where Sylvia Plath committed suicide?
(a) Jack Kerouac.
(b) Charles Bukowski.
(c) W. B. Yeats.
(d) Leonard Cohen.

2. A. Alvarez noted that toward the end of her life, Sylvia's once reserved persona was replaced with an aggressive one, most apparent when she was doing what activity?
(a) Arguing.
(b) Delivering readings of her poetry.
(c) Reciting the Bible.
(d) Addressing critics.

3. At what meeting had Anne Stevenson appeared to speak in Part Two: Chapter I?
(a) The 4H Club.
(b) The Girl Scouts.
(c) A town hall meeting.
(d) The University Women's Club.

4. 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) 1950.
(d) 1955.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. When did the bomb drop on Hiroshima?

2. What did Hughes claim Sylvia had discarded during the last years of her life in the first publication of The Journals of Sylvia Plath?

3. Sylvia had told her mother about the dismal kitchens and ____________ in England.

4. How many children did Sylvia Plath have?

5. When was the second version of The Journals of Sylvia Plath released?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Anne Stevenson find she related to Sylvia Plath in their youths?

2. What power did Olwyn Hughes have over the Plath Library? What was Malcolm's impression of her after working with her on the book?

3. What friend of Sylvia Plath's commented negatively about her life and death in Part One: Chapter II?

4. What was A. Alvarez's first impression of Ted and Sylvia? How did that opinion change?

5. What did Aurelia Plath have published regarding Sylvia after her death? Why?

6. What happened between Linda Wagner-Martin and Ted and Olwyn Hughes?

7. What was the first official bad review of Bitter Fame? Who wrote it?

8. What lecture did Malcolm read of Anne Stevenson's defense of her biography in Part Two: Chapter I?

9. How did Sylvia's demeanor and image change from her youth to her death?

10. What two friends of Sylvia perpetuated the negative image of Ted Hughes? How?

(see the answer keys)

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