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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 God say "glitters like the moon" (9) in "Spring Snow"?

2. How does the witchgrass feel the gardener feels about it in "Witchgrass"?

3. Where does the trillium flower describe waking in "Trillilum"?

4. Who is the speaker of "Matins" (#3)?

5. The speaker in "Retreating Wind" tells his audience that their lives are not what, like the plants?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Noah say about depressives in "Matins" (#1)?

2. In "Witchgrass," the witchgrass tells the gardener that it will remain for how long?

3. What pain does the iris describe in "Wild Iris"?

4. In "Scilla," what does the scilla say to its human audience that reflects its feeling toward humanity?

5. Why does the hawthorn tree say it does not have to follow the couple to know what they are going through in "Hawthorn Tree"?

6. What does the poet struggle with and search for in many of the poems in which she address God?

7. What does the trilium flower learn in its first moments of life in "Trillium" and why?

8. In "April," what does God say to the man and woman in the garden regarding their grief?

9. What does God say he gave people in "End of Winter" because that is what they wanted?

10. What does the lamium flower say in regards to the light and sun in "Lamium"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose a minimum of 3 poems and analyze the poet's use of metaphor. Explain the comparison the poet makes and whether you feel it is an apt comparison in light of the poem's theme.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing the conversation between God and the poet in the "Matins" and "Vespers" poems. Consider how the tone in each change over time. Compare and contrast the images used in the poems to convey tone. Use textual evidence to support your analysis.

Essay Topic 3

The poet uses personification in many of the poems written from the viewpoint of a plant or flower. Choose 3 poems written from the perspective of the plant or flower and analyze the poet's use of personification in this poems. Discuss why the poet may have chosen to write from that plant or flowers point of view.

(see the answer keys)

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