View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What musician is NOT alluded to within the poem entitled "Projection"?

2. What is the final verb used in the poem entitled "Question and Answer," when the optimistic speaker within the poem says his final piece?

3. At the end of the poem "Without the Benefit of Declaration," the speaker tells the mother in the poem not to take what action?

4. The poem entitled "Final Call" suggests that Robin Hood should be called upon to "clinch" (133) what type of campaign?

5. How many times does the speaker of "Final Call" invoke the word "Come!" (134) in the poem's final stanza?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the poem that begins with three different interjections to do with "sorrow" and "pity" and "pain" (115), what type of eyes is terror said to have?

2. Discuss one humanist message put forth within the poem entitled "Junior Addict."

3. Discuss the appearance of the theme of redemption within the poem entitled "Life is Fine."

4. In what way is repetition utilized within the poem entitled "Song for Billie Holiday"?

5. What is the main message of the poem entitled "Without Benefit of Declaration"?

6. The poem entitled "Trumpet Player" uses what kind of metaphor to describe the qualities of music?

7. What state is being described within the poem that contains as its first three lines the words, "Oh, what sorrow!/Oh, what pity!/Oh, what pain" (115)?

8. What possibilities does Hughes imagine in relation to a "dream deferred" (108) in perhaps his most famous poem, entitled "Harlem [2]"?

9. Describe Hughes's use of character foils within the poem entitled "Mama and Daughter."

10. Discuss the way in which the theme of appearance versus reality appears within the poem entitled "Dinner Guest: Me."

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Hughes's messages about guilt and responsibility within the collection Vintage Hughes. Focus especially on events such as Cora’s inability to save Jessie from her hateful and reputation-obsessed mother.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the instances of irony within the collection entitled Vintage Hughes and analyze Hughes's purpose for including each instance you discuss.

Essay Topic 3

Could a particular poem or story within the collection entitled Vintage Hughes be classified as a coming-of-age story? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,104 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample