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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When the speaker of the poem "Sylvester's Dying Bed" wakes up, by whom is he surrounded?
(a) Doctors.
(b) Family members.
(c) Women from the town.
(d) Lovers.

2. The poem with a title that includes the words "The Raid" (33) also includes what date?
(a) October 16th.
(b) April 16th.
(c) December 16th.
(d) November 16th.

3. 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 bookstore.
(d) A restaurant.

4. The poem entitled "Good Morning Revolution" relies upon which literary device throughout the entirety of the poem?
(a) Onomatopeia.
(b) Understatement.
(c) Personification.
(d) Hyperbole.

5. The speaker of the poem "Good Morning Revolution" suggests that soon all but which of the following will be true?
(a) No one will be taken for granted.
(b) No one will be cold.
(c) No one will be oppressed.
(d) No one will be hungry.

Short Answer Questions

1. The poem entitled "Cross" focuses on the experience of what type of person?

2. What are the final two words of the lengthy poem entitled "Freedom's Plow"?

3. The speaker of the poem "Heart of Harlem" describes Harlem as "the kid you hope will grow up" (73) what?

4. The titular character in the poem entitled "Ruby Brown" leaves her job as a maid to take what other position?

5. What two adjectives are part of the poem titled using two words prior to the title's final word, "freedom" (67)?

Short Essay Questions

1. Which two marginalized groups are focused upon within the poem "America"?

2. What is the main literary device Hughes uses within the poem entitled "Joy"?

3. In what way is the theme of racially-motivated brutality present within the poem entitled "The Bitter River"?

4. In what way is irony utilized within the poem entitled "The South"?

5. In what way are sensory details used within the poem entitled "Harlem Night Song"?

6. In what way is the water motif included within the very first poem in the collection?

7. The poem "Madam and Her Madam" utilizes humor in what way?

8. How are sensory details incorporated into the poem "Daybreak in Alabama" and for what purpose?

9. How is the theme of family bonds depicted within the poem entitled "Mother to Son"?

10. In what way is the theme of isolation depicted within the poem entitled "Little Old Letter"?

(see the answer keys)

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