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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does demobbed mean?

2. In a Game of Chess, how does the rich woman threaten to walk down the street?

3. Why doesn’t Lil have any more children than she does now?

4. In the Burial of the Dead, what does the narrator say he will show the reader under the red rock?

5. What meal does Lil make when she invites the narrator to diner?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do hyacinths symbolize, and why are they included in the Burial of the Dead?

2. What happens to the narrator when he mentions hyacinths?

3. What does the narrator censure Lil over in A Game of Chess?

4. When does Marie feel most free?

5. How does the narrator describe the summer season in the Burial of the Dead?

6. How is the setting of the first part of A Game of Chess described?

7. Who is Albert and what is his role in A Game of Chess?

8. What has Lil been given money for in A Game of Chess?

9. What is the significance of the title Burial of the Dead?

10. Why are German statements included in the Burial of the Dead?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Phlebas is a strange character. Who is he, and how does he appear in this poem?

Essay Topic 2

Eliot references war many times throughout this poem. What are some of these references, and how do they affect the tone of the poem?

Essay Topic 3

Allusion is heavily used in this poem. What are some instances of allusion, and how does this literary devise add to the poem?

(see the answer keys)

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