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

2. Where did "we" rock"? (From the poem that started "In that year")

3. What did Morrison say an interview was similar to?

4. Where did the savages fall out from in the poem "Ode to LA"?

5. What did the ancient ones stand beside? (From the poem whose first line was "A vast radiant beach & a cool")

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Ophelia in the poem "Ode to LA"?

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

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

4. In the poem "Power", what did Morrison claim that he could do? (Name three things).

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

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

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

8. What did Morrison state that the "ancient ones" wanted? (In the poem that began "A vast and radiant beach & a cool")

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

10. What happened at the beginning of the poem "Ode to LA"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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