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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 is easy in the poem "Sorcerer's Apprentice"?

2. What does the spider catch in its net in "Spider Signatures"?

3. What does the speaker implore the rain to do in "Tracking the Rain"?

4. What happens in Part II of "The Aliens Arrive"?

5. What does "some idiot" wish for in "Sorcerer's Apprentice"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the main message in "Heart of the Arctic"?

2. In the poem "Fatal Light Awareness," what do we know that the birds do not?

3. What play on words does Atwood introduce in the poem "Plasticene Suite"?

4. What should have been inside the dead bird instead of plastic in the poem "Midway Island Albatross"?

5. What does the siren wonder about in the poem "Siren Brooding on Her Eggs"?

6. What are the advantages of having a spider in the house in the poem "Spider Signatures"?

7. What does the speaker in the poem "Little Robot" worry the robot might do?

8. What have many humans lost, according to the speaker in "Improvisation on a First Line by Yeats"?

9. What can one tell by a wolf's ears in the poem "Short Takes on Wolves"?

10. What is the "defining foliage of the oil age" in the poem "Foliage"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Atwood treat the topic of plastics in Parts IV and V of this collection? Why are plastics so harmful and destructive, according to Atwood? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

Consider the theme of the poem "Dearly" and write an essay exploring why Atwood chose its title for the name of this collection.

Essay Topic 3

What dual meanings and symbolism does Atwood assign to souvenirs in the poem in Part I by that title? Write an essay explaining your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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