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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. In "Matins" (#1), what types of people does Noah say "hate the spring" (2)?

2. To whom is the speaker addressing in "Matins" (#3)?

3. What did humanity want that they did not receive from God?

4. What words does the speaker on "Retreating Wind" repeat in regards to human life?

5. What does the lamium say "living things don't all require...in the same degree" (5)?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does the speaker in "Matins" (#2) say in regards to the lesson God tried to teach humanity?

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

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

5. What does the speaker of "Matins" (#4) wonder if she is better of addressing instead of God?

6. How do the violets refer to the gardener in "Violets"?

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

8. How does God feel about humanity in "Retreating Wind"?

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

10. In "Witchgrass," why does the witchgrass feel humans needed to give them a name?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing the poet's search for God's existence. How does she search for God? What does she find? How do her moods change in regards to this search? Use evidence from at least 3 poems to support your analysis.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Write an essay analyzing the theme of immortality in 3 - 5 poems from Wild Iris. Use textual evidence to support your analysis.

(see the answer keys)

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