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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "The Idols of the Tribe," what does the fool do?
(a) Drink and be merry.
(b) Dance in the court.
(c) Cast stones.
(d) Worship based on race.

2. Who is Black Diamond?
(a) A police officer.
(b) A doctor.
(c) The heir to the Lenox Policy Racket.
(d) The curator.

3. Who is the self-portrait of in "Upsilon"?
(a) Mrs. Berry.
(b) Mr. Sparks.
(c) Mr. Kent.
(d) Mrs. Starks.

4. Who is the poet laureate of Lenox Avenue in Harlem?
(a) Hideho Heights.
(b) The Curator.
(c) Rufino Laughlin.
(d) Mary James.

5. What does the narrator of "Tapestries of Time" want to prevail?
(a) Justice.
(b) Wealth.
(c) The educated.
(d) Tyrants.

Short Answer Questions

1. How are the parts of the poem "Libretto for the Republic of Liberia" broken up?

2. What is a tyrant made of?

3. What is the poem "The Man from Halicarnassus" about?

4. What do the African warriors in "The Idols of the Tribe" do?

5. What does the white god in "The Idols of the Tribe" eat?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Tolson's opinion of Abraham Lincoln in "Abraham Lincoln of Rock Springs Farm"?

2. What is Tolson's opinion on tyrants as seen in the poem "A Long Head to a Round Head"?

3. Explain your interpretation of the line "You are / Black Lazarus risen from the White Man's grave" from the poem "Libretto for the Republic of Liberia."

4. In "Pi" it is written that art without limits can climb mountains. What is meant by this?

5. What is the significance of the Curator in Harlem Gallery distinguishing the importance of the word "ex"?

6. What is the danger of worshiping false idols according to Tolson?

7. What might have been the reason Tolson elects to use the Greek alphabet to separate his poem Harlem Gallery?

8. Why does Tolson believe that despite the reign of tyrants justice will prevail?

9. How does Tolson address tyranny in the poem "Tapestries of Time"?

10. Why does the poem "The Idols of the Tribe" open with a quote from Hitler?

(see the answer keys)

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