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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. When was Sylvia Plath born?
(a) 1925.
(b) 1932.
(c) 1929.
(d) 1924.

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

3. Toward the end of her life, according to Alvarez, Sylvia Plath developed a problem with ___________.
(a) Animals.
(b) Hygiene.
(c) Schizophrenia.
(d) Fear.

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

5. 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) Elizabeth Sigmund's.
(d) Clarissa Roche's.

Short Answer Questions

1. In 1952, William Stanley Merwin's first book of poetry was published under what title?

2. How many pages did the manuscript which Anne Stevenson wrote for Penguin Books contain?

3. After she and Ted separated, Sylvia chose to stay in England because __________ was more accepted there.

4. 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?

5. When was the publication date of The Journals of Sylvia Plath?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Malcolm write of the power and struggle of the biographer in Part One: Chapter I?

2. How did Janet Malcolm compare her writing to Anne Stevenson's in college? What was Stevenson's career like?

3. Where did Olwyn and Malcolm go together in Part One: Chapter VII? What did Malcolm learn there?

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

5. How old were Sylvia and Ted when Sylvia died? How did she die?

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

7. What correspondence did Malcolm have with Olwyn Hughes in Part One: Chapter IV? What was illustrated through the letters?

8. What qualities of Sylvia Plath's work made her appealing to feminists?

9. When were Ted and Sylvia separated? What did Sylvia reveal to Alvarez during that time?

10. Which biography of Sylvia Plath did Malcolm find to be the best? What criticism did the book meet?

(see the answer keys)

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