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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 8 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which line most clearly echoes the tension between "little girls" (line 5) and "prowling" (line 6)?

2. What ideas are associated with the snow in this poem?

3. What color does the speaker assign to the sex workers' feet?

4. Which lines of each stanza are indented?

5. What does the expression "feet of clay" in line 15 refer to?

Short Essay Questions

1. What indications does the speaker give that he feels the sex workers' choices indicate something about all Black people in America?

2. How does the second stanza set up a contrast between dark and light?

3. What does the poem conclude is the cause of the women's choice to pursue sex work?

4. Where is Harlem and why is it significant to the meaning of this poem?

5. How does the use of the word "prowling" contrast with the poem's previous descriptions of the women?

6. How does McKay convey the idea that these women are sex workers?

7. Describe the form of this poem.

8. What is the poem's first image, and how does it set a tone for the rest of the poem?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do the particular adaptations McKay made to the sonnet form in "Harlem Shadows" allow him to more effectively communicate his meaning to the reader? How do the added four lines allow him to group ideas in a way that 14 lines would not? How does his rhyme scheme support this grouping of thoughts and also support the additional element of the refrain? How does McKay's use of stanzas support these same elements of the poem? If these goals were important, though, why use the sonnet form at all? Why not just write in free verse and have complete control of the flow of the poem's ideas? Write an essay in which you explore how McKay's adaptation and subversion of the sonnet form reveals the tension between his desire to use traditional forms and his need to clearly communicate his ideas. Support your arguments with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from both poems, and be sure to cite all evidence--including any outside sources you may choose to consult--in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Is the speaker of "Harlem Shadows" Claude McKay himself? Use evidence from both the poem and research on McKay's ideas to construct a convincing argument about whether or not McKay can reasonably be said to be the speaker of the poem. You do not have to prove that, without a doubt, McKay is or is not the speaker. You are only trying to demonstrate what the balance of the evidence implies. Support your arguments with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the poem, and be sure to cite all evidence--including outside sources--in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Some might argue that McKay's use of traditional meter and rhyme is a kind of prison for his ideas, forcing them into rigid forms that are no longer necessary in the Modern era. But other critics have argued that McKay uses these traditional techniques as a kind of clever mask--his poems have the presentation of the traditional British poetry he studied in school, but this traditional presentation masks revolutionary ideas. In the case of "Harlem Shadows," which perspective do you find more accurate? Write an essay that takes a position on the effectiveness of the traditional rhyme and meter in the poem, making clear whether or not it serves a useful function as a way to make McKay's ideas more palatable to audiences outside of his own Black community. Support your arguments with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from both poems, and be sure to cite all evidence--including any outside sources you may choose to consult--in MLA format.

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