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 is Geryon's mother doing as she looks at him in the opening line from “Screendoor”?

2. The poem that opens “Autobiography of Red: A Romance” concludes with the lines, "The only secret people keep / Is" what?

3. What kind of hedge surrounds the windows of the kindergarten in "Justice"?

4. Geryon's autobiography includes references to whose deaths in “Ideas”?

5. What does Geryon's teacher ask his mother at the parent-teacher conference in “Ideas”?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is significant about the quote that opens “Autobiography of Red: A Romance”?

2. What does the dog signify in "Wings" and the other early poems in the novel?

3. How is the color red explored metaphorically in Section 7?

4. To whom is the Greek writer Stesichoros compared in “Red Meat: What Difference did Stesichoros Make?”

5. What comprises Appendix C: "Clearing Up of the Question of Stesichoros’ Blinding by Helen"?

6. What is described in the poem "Herakles' Killing Arrow"?

7. What is a palinode? What palinode is described in Appendix A: “Testimonia on the Question of Stesichoros’ Blinding by Helen”?

8. What is signficant about Geryon's perception of himself in "Right"?

9. How are volcanoes explored metaphorically in Section 6?

10. How would you describe the language style in the introduction to the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the meaning of the word "EACH" to Geryon. Who defines this word for him and how is it defined? What meaning does this word take on as the narrative continues?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the significance of Geryon's dog in the novel. How is the dog described? In what poems does the dog appear? What statement is made regarding the dog in the final interview at the end of the book? What do you think is meant by this statement?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the motif of cigarettes in the novel. When and where do cigarettes appear in the poems? What do you think they signify? Why? To what themes does this motif connect?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 832 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample