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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. Whitman believes that all heroic deeds were conceived in __________, as are all free poems.
(a) The open air.
(b) The soul.
(c) Church.
(d) God's hand.

2. What rose before Whitman when he was pondering his poetry in silence in this book?
(a) Phantom.
(b) Sun.
(c) Water.
(d) Grass.

3. To what state does Whitman promise to know very well after traveling to it?
(a) California.
(b) Ohio.
(c) Illinois.
(d) Florida.

4. Whitman says that he is not sure, but the high soul of lovers welcomes _______ most.
(a) Desire.
(b) Truth.
(c) Lust.
(d) Death.

5. Whitman hears that some people believe that he is trying to destroy ____________, which confuses him.
(a) Schools.
(b) Libraries.
(c) Churches.
(d) Institutions.

Short Answer Questions

1. The ___________ is equal with the male according to Whitman in the first page of his poetry book?

2. Where does Whitman say there are beautiful hills which should be recognized as such?

3. Walt Whitman sees _______ exhaling from unexplored countries and savage types with bows and arrows.

4. To what does Whitman say he is near at hand with a throat to inflate itself and sing joyfully?

5. What are houses and rooms full of? What are shelves crowded with according to Whitman?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who are some of the groups for which Whitman seems to have a particular affection in his poems?

2. Why does Whitman warn the readers about the dangers of religion and those who are enamored of it?

3. What are some of the poet's feelings about the idea of mortality, according to the poems he writes?

4. What does the author feel about the idea of being present in the here and in the now?

5. What is Whitman's stance on how he views individual people and who they are, an opinion which is repeated frequently?

6. What is one of the main criticisms of Whitman's poetry, as these graphic images come up in the poems quite frequently?

7. What are some of the features of the Paumanok area of Long Island which makes the area special to Whitman?

8. What does Whitman proclaim about nature when he is talking about nature in this first section ?

9. Where was Whitman born, and how does that place affect him?

10. What does Whitman describe his understanding of Adam's first experience when walking in the Garden of Eden?

(see the answer keys)

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