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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 happens to the flowers at the top of the bush while the one at the bottom blooms dark red in "Song"?

2. What is the gardener in "Matins" (#5) pretending to do in the beginning of the poem?

3. What time of year is it in "Matins" (#5)?

4. Who is the speaker in "Field Flowers"?

5. What time of year does the poet in "The Doorway" wish she could remain forever?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "The Doorway," how does the poet liken the flowers in spring to a child's behavior?

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

3. What does the flower ask the human at the start of "Field Flowers"?

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

5. What does the poet say is a way of God revealing Himself in "Vespers" (#5)?

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

7. What does the jacob's ladder plant think may be the reason for the woman's grief in "Jacob's Ladder"?

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

9. What does the poppy say about the sun in "The Red Poppy"?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose a minimum of 3 poems an analyze the poet's use of imagery in the poems. What emotions do the images evoke? Is the poet successful in evoking the desired emotion? Use textual evidence to support your analysis.

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Choosing several of the poems written from the voice of the poet to God, write an essay analyzing the poet's changing thoughts on God's existence. Analyze the poems for tone and imagery, comparing and contrasting these aspects of the poem in a minimum of 4 poems.

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