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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 the speaker in "Matins" (#6) feel happens to her over and over at the start of the poem?

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

3. What does the speaker in "Midsummer" remind humanity they were not intended to be?

4. What does the speaker in "Vespers" (#1) say she does more intensely than others?

5. Who is the speaker in "Jacob's Ladder"?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. In "Doorway," what does the poet say the one who waits has the benefit of observing?

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

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

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

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

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

9. "In Doorway," how does the poet describe the late spring?

10. What does the clover question in regards to people's view of the four leaf clover in "Clover"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing how depression is portrayed in Wild Iris. Choose a minimum of 3 poems which show that the poet is depressed. What words, phrases or images are used to show this? Are they effective? Why or why not?

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 human suffering in Wild Iris. Choosing one poem from God's perspective, one from the poet's and one from nature, analyze the differing views on human suffering.

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