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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The town doctor in one of the assumptions is _____.
(a) Also the town drunk.
(b) Dying of cancer.
(c) A gifted healer.
(d) Corrupt and incompetent.

2. In one of Hugo's assumptions, _____ at the farmer's market is punishable by death.
(a) Eating mushrooms.
(b) Stealing.
(c) Selling corn.
(d) Bargaining.

3. Which person observes some mold and later cures gonorrhea?
(a) Sir Alexander Fleming.
(b) John George Alexander.
(c) Marie Curie.
(d) Alexander Graham Bell.

4. The grain elevator in one assumption is _____.
(a) Rusted through.
(b) Silver.
(c) Completely full.
(d) Lopsided.

5. Which poet does Hugo believes appears to be usual when he is, in fact, a near-perfect example of the unusual in that he is one of the best poets out there?
(a) Mark Strand.
(b) William Stafford.
(c) Roethke.
(d) Wallace Stevens.

6. According to Hugo, Valery says that when words are used to convey information, they _____.
(a) Become true.
(b) Reanimate.
(c) Dissolve.
(d) Correlate.

7. Who says that poets don't take things as seriously as other people?
(a) Roethke.
(b) Yeats.
(c) Auden.
(d) Pound.

8. The hermit in one of Hugo's assumptions eats mostly _____.
(a) Popcorn.
(b) Sardines.
(c) Grub worms.
(d) Fried potatoes.

9. Yeats, Hopkins, Auden, Thomas, Kunitz, and Bogan are described by Hugo as having _____ as determined by Roethke when he read their work aloud.
(a) Distinct use of slang.
(b) Uncommon grace.
(c) An artist's ability to paint with words.
(d) Good ears.

10. What animal roams the streets in one assumption?
(a) Dogs.
(b) Coyotes.
(c) Horses.
(d) Mountain lions.

11. Hugo says that for Roehtke, the rules are simply one way to help a poet get to _____.
(a) The gold.
(b) A master's degree.
(c) Heaven.
(d) Publish.

12. What does Hugo say seldom happens to writers who don't work at it?
(a) Getting published.
(b) Comraderie.
(c) Proper recognition.
(d) Lucky accidents.

13. Hugo believes that a poet must take _____of a triggering town.
(a) Total control.
(b) Care.
(c) Emotional possession.
(d) Stock.

14. Which colleague of Hugo's points out that "if you are not risking sentimentality, you are not close to your inner self"?
(a) Auden.
(b) Herrick.
(c) Marvel.
(d) Kittridge.

15. Which clever, witty writer is described by Hugo as being able to conform the music of poetry to truth effectively?
(a) Auden.
(b) Himself.
(c) Pound.
(d) Yeats.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Hugo say endures most in a poet's work?

2. In one assumption, Hugo is an _____ who returns to the town.

3. Who remarks that American poetry could not help but get better and better?

4. Hugo states that the earth takes its configurations from the _____.

5. One assumption has the _____ being run by a kind man who lets kids in for free when nobody is looking.

(see the answer keys)

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