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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. What will the smell of burning leaves become for children in the future? ("A man rakes leaves into a pile")

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

3. What did Morrison describe the movement of his hands to in "Can you dig it"?

4. What competed with "Silence"? ("Ode to LA")

5. In the first sentence of the section "Far Arden", what did Morrison say they had an intense visitation of?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In the poem that began "An angel runs", what happened when the angel ran?

3. In the poem that began "Well I'll tell you a story of whiskey", what did Morrison say about how the "whole thing began"?

4. In the poem beginning "A man rakes leaves into", what happened as the smell of burning leaves filled the air?

5. Why did Morrison state that poetry meant so much to him?

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

7. What did Morrison state was the aim of his poetry?

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

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

10. How did Morrison use the imagery of the gardener in both "When radio dark night existed" (from "Far Arden") and "Ode to LA"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the separation of poetry throughout the book. How did the editor chose to section off the book? Was this consequential to the understanding of the book?

Essay Topic 2

Given that the poetry shows Morrison's direct concerns and feelings regarding life, which poem do you believe shows the most truthful representation of Morrison? How did the poem illustrate Morrison as a man, a writer, and a legend? How did he feel about who he was?

Essay Topic 3

"THE PONY EXPRESS" 21st May 1954

The pony express carried the mail

Over hill, over dale.

Over rough rugged trails

And the brave men that carried it

Didn't complain,

For they knew they were helping their good country's name

They rode and rode through

Strong winds and rain just

To carry the mail and build

Up our name

Over Indian country and great sandy plains,

They carried the mail and shared our fame.

"The Pony Express" was Morrison's first poem. Discuss the similarities between his writing as an adult to those of his first poem. What imagery did Morrison still use? How is the theme similar to poetry from his adulthood? What distinct image do you find that Morrison carried with him?

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