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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What grade, in school, did Morrison write his first poem?
(a) 1st or 2nd.
(b) 7th or 8th.
(c) 5th or 6th.
(d) 3rd or 4th.

2. According to the Prologue, what was the purpose of real poetry?
(a) "It just ticks off the possibilities."
(b) "It shows reality in a colored light."
(c) "It shows the darkness inside."
(d) "It reveals a silver lining for the burned."

3. Where did Morrison think some learned about Satan from?
(a) From the first time they had sex.
(b) From their priest.
(c) From their father.
(d) From a box.

4. How did Morrison describe the young child's mind? (From the poem that began "Bird of prey")
(a) Torn between two consciousnesses.
(b) Fragile egg-shell mind.
(c) Fluttering between light and dark.
(d) Broken, paper-thin mind.

5. What were "sodden in silk"? ("Ode to LA")
(a) Weeds.
(b) Branches.
(c) Driveways.
(d) Leaves.

6. What did the moon drip because of it being "cool and swollen"? (From the poem that began with "Moonshine night")
(a) Fear.
(b) Love.
(c) Liquor.
(d) Tears.

7. What did Morrison say the "bleached sun" was needed for?
(a) TV aftrenoons.
(b) A life forgotten.
(c) Lunch by the pool.
(d) A day of dying.

8. What did Morrison say was a child's first moment of freedom?
(a) A first trip away from home.
(b) The first time a child crossed the street alone.
(c) When their mother quit breast-feeding.
(d) When they were able to speak.

9. Where did the savages fall out from in the poem "Ode to LA"?
(a) The clouds.
(b) The falls.
(c) Heaven.
(d) The sky.

10. In the poem "Ode to LA", who was Morrison chosen to play?
(a) Prince of Denmark.
(b) Son of God.
(c) A warden.
(d) King of LA.

11. In "Ode to LA", where did Morrison want the man found in the pool to do his dive at?
(a) In another pool.
(b) At an oceanfront.
(c) At another time.
(d) On another channel.

12. In the first poem of the book, what is left to wander?
(a) The body.
(b) The heart.
(c) The mind.
(d) The soul.

13. What did Morrison ask the "bird of prey"? (From the poem that began the same way)
(a) "When will I stop running?"
(b) "What should I do?"
(c) "When will I come down to earth?"
(d) "Am I going to die?"

14. What did Morrison compare savages to in "Ode to LA"?
(a) Silent singers.
(b) Monsters of rhythm.
(c) High messengers.
(d) Poetic versers.

15. What did Morrison hope that "you" went out doing? ("Ode to LA")
(a) Smiling like a child.
(b) Roaring like a lion.
(c) Yelling like the insane.
(d) Screaming like an owl.

Short Answer Questions

1. From the poem that began "Why does my mind circle around you", what did Morrison say wondered what it was like to be "you"?

2. From the poem "The Fear", what did rabbits possess?

3. In the title poem, what is the wilderness compared to?

4. What did Morrison say was all around him in the poem whose first line was "A vast radiant beach & a cool"?

5. What did Morrison wonder about the drowned man when he was carried up to heaven?

(see the answer keys)

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