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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. Why does the speaker say humans suffer at the end of "Early Darkness"?

2. What do the daisies think people are more interested in than nature in "Daisies"?

3. What does the speaker in "Vespers" (#2) suggest God withhold if He wishes for her to continue to grow tomatoes?

4. What is described as "the heart's constant backdrop" (27) in "Song"?

5. Who or what is the speaker in "Heaven and Earth"?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Daisies," what do the daisies tell the poet will happen is she tries to share her "impressions of the natural world" (39) with others?

2. In "Vespers" (#4), where does the poet say she knows God is?

3. What does the poet in "Vespers" (#2) tell God she failed to do at the start of the poem?

4. In "Vespers" (#3), why does the poet think she is "uniquely/ suited to praise [God]" (38)?

5. What is different about John's peace in comparison to the poet's in "Vespers" (#4)?

6. In what way is the speaker in "Matins" (#6) different from the sick rose?

7. What is the gardener in "Matins" (#5) doing while she pretends to weed?

8. What is different about the way the poet in "Song" sees the rose compared to how her husband sees it?

9. What does the poet say were some of the signs God existed in her youth in "Vespers" (#6)?

10. What does the poet in "Heaven and Earth" question in regards to her husband at the end of the poem?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose a minimum of 4 poems written from the perspective of a plant or flower and write an essay comparing and contrasting the plant or flowers tone toward the poet/ gardener or humanity as a whole. Note the imagery used to convey tone.

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

Write an essay analyzing the sun as a symbol in Wild Iris. Choose a minimum of 3 poems from varying viewpoints and discuss what the sun means to that person or thing and what other words or phrases are used to convey meaning.

(see the answer keys)

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