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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 does the Malay claim in "The Blindness of Scorn" put people on the attack?

2. What is the poem "Vesuvius" about?

3. Who is La Guardia?

4. Where is "Vesuvius" located?

5. Who does Tolson compare the mountain climber's plight to?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does no one listen to the hillman in the poem "Vesuvius"?

2. Why did Tolson decide to split "Dark Symphony" into titles that are musical movements?

3. List two important, historical people that Tolson mentions in "Rendezvous with America." Why does he mention these people, and what did they contribute to America?

4. Describe Tolson's vision of a poet in the "The Poet."

5. How do different people view the world in "A Primer for Today"?

6. In "A Scholar Looks at an Oak," how is the black man represented?

7. What does Tolson mean when he suggests there is truth in death in "A Song for Myself"?

8. Why does the narrator in "An Ex-Judge at the Bar" feel guilty, and how does he appease this guilt?

9. What will bring death to the narrator in "If You Should Lie to Me"?

10. What is the lesson that Tolson puts forth in "When Great Dogs Fight"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose two significant events Tolson mentions in "Rendezvous With America." What are these events and why does Tolson include them in this poem?

Essay Topic 2

How does Tolson address the theme of America as a melting pot? Choose two examples of how this idea appears in his poems, and explain whether he believes the concept of the melting pot to be true.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the concept of a new black man. What is Tolson's definition of this term, and how does he present this idea in his poems. Choose two poems to defend your answer.

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