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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is written on the back of the letter featured within the poem entitled "Little Old Letter"?
(a) The word goodbye.
(b) The name of the speaker's lover.
(c) Nothing.
(d) The speaker's name.

2. How old were the two boys to whom the poem "The Bitter River" is dedicated?
(a) 12.
(b) 14.
(c) 17.
(d) 16.

3. What is the middle initial of the speaker in the poem "Madam's Past History"?
(a) A.
(b) Y.
(c) L.
(d) K.

4. What is NOT a theme depicted in the poem entitled "Freedom's Plow"?
(a) Community.
(b) American innovation.
(c) Deception.
(d) Freedom.

5. In the poem "Midnight Dancer," Hughes uses what object to act as a simile involving breasts?
(a) Pillows.
(b) Clouds.
(c) Aquamarines.
(d) Cups of black coffee.

6. The speaker of the poem entitled "The South" says that the South smells of what scent?
(a) Oppression.
(b) Clean laundry.
(c) Gumbo.
(d) Magnolias.

7. The final line of the poem "Afro-American Fragment" uses what adjective to describe the face of Africa?
(a) Wide.
(b) Dark.
(c) Noble.
(d) Wise.

8. The speaker of the poem entitled "Good Morning Revolution" suggests that the different countries named in the poem join together to sign what collective name?
(a) Common man.
(b) Worker.
(c) Proletarian.
(d) Human.

9. The titular character in the poem entitled "Ruby Brown" leaves her job as a maid to take what other position?
(a) An actress.
(b) A laundress.
(c) A prostitute.
(d) A waitress.

10. What type of business had the speaker of the poem "Madam's Past History" run for a while before moving on to a different business?
(a) A bar.
(b) A hair salon.
(c) A restaurant.
(d) A bookstore.

11. The speaker of the poem "Merry-Go-Round" asks about the whereabouts of what section on the Merry-Go-Round?
(a) The children's section.
(b) The Jim Crow section.
(c) The colored section.
(d) The dragon section.

12. What is the second business that the speaker of the poem "Madam's Past History" had tried to run?
(a) A bar.
(b) A barber shop.
(c) A barbecue stand.
(d) A bookstore.

13. The speaker of the poem "The South" says at the end of the poem that he will soon seek the North, for he has heard it said that the North is what?
(a) A more scrupulous government.
(b) A kinder mistress.
(c) A more intelligent host.
(d) A more welcoming host.

14. What tool does John Henry hold in his hand within the poem entitled "Love"?
(a) An awl.
(b) A scythe.
(c) A hammer.
(d) A hoe.

15. What is NOT a type of weather featured in the poem entitled "Still Here"?
(a) Snow.
(b) Hail.
(c) Wind.
(d) Sun.

Short Answer Questions

1. The poem "Lover's Return" is written from the point of view of what type of person?

2. What phrase is repeated three times in the poem entitled "In Time of Silver Rain"?

3. From what object were the two boys hung to whom the poem "The Bitter River" is dedicated?

4. The second poem within Vintage Hughes focuses on the stories of whom?

5. What is the name of the fortune teller's lover in the poem entitled "Ballad of the Fortune Teller"?

(see the answer keys)

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