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

2. How did Morrison describe himself in the woods? (From the poem that began with "Moonshine night")

3. What kind of dream was stated as being "mad stifled witness"? ("Ode to LA" )

4. In "he enters stage", who was Morrison looking for?

5. How did Morrison describe the man who died in the pool-in regard to him being a muse?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the poem that began "Moonshine night", what were the "young folk" doing?

2. How did Morrison describe the girl in "Orange County Suite"?

3. In the poem "Ode to LA", what did Morrison state was going to happen to Jones' body?

4. What did Morrison, in the poem "Ode to LA", say existed in "meat heaven"?

5. In the poem that began "Why does my mind circle around you", what did Morrison say was wrong with the dog?

6. What were the different ways that Morrison referred to Jones in "Ode to LA"?

7. What did Morrison ask of the bird of prey? (In the poem that began "Bird of prey, Bird of prey")

8. According to Morrison, what does "real poetry" do?

9. How did Morrison state Jones' body looked when the gardener found it?

10. What was happening on the beach in the poem that began "A vast and radiant beach& a cool"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many times throughout the poems/reflections, Morrison used religious imagery. Discuss the religious imagery that Morrison used. What image did he use? How did it speak to the theme/mood of the poem? Why did the image work, or did it create confusion? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Morrison claimed in the Self-Interview that he always wanted to write, but he was afraid of not being good at it. Do you think that Morrison succeeded at writing poetry, or that he (as he thought) failed? Why do you believe this? What helped him to succeed? Where did he fail? Support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

In the final section of the book "As I Look Back", Morrison claimed that he was stunned by the forgetting of his past. Discuss the relation of Morrison's poetry in sections prior to the last section. How does it seem confusing that Morrison claimed to forget his past, but have a vivid enough memory to write the image-filled poetry that packed all of the previous sections? What could have Morrison been speaking about? Explain using combination of textual evidence and personal understanding.

(see the answer keys)

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