View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What drifts through the window in stanza 4?
(a) The evening breeze.
(b) The scent of morning dew.
(c) The light from the moon.
(d) The scent of mock orange.

2. What does the speaker describe as "paralyzing" in the second stanza?
(a) The moonlight.
(b) The man's body.
(c) Her bed.
(d) The scent of flowers.

3. What does the speaker say has happened to herself and her addressee in stanza 4?
(a) They were made fun of.
(b) They were made fools of.
(c) They were perfectly united.
(d) They drift apart.

4. What does the speaker say "always escapes" in stanza 3?
(a) The cry.
(b) Her thoughts.
(c) The man.
(d) Her tears.

5. What is mock orange?
(a) A houseplant.
(b) A flower.
(c) A color.
(d) A fruit.

Short Answer Questions

1. What word is missing from the following line from stanza 3: "the low, ___________/ premise of union" (10-11).

2. What question is asked in the fourth stanza?

3. Fill in the missing word from the 4th stanza: "In my _____ tonight I hear the question and pursuing answer" (12-13).

4. What does the speaker say she is unable to do in the final stanza?

5. What troubling thing is still "in the world" (24) in the final stanza?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the first stanza of "Mock Orange." Who is speaking and to whom? What is she saying?

2. What word or words show the speakers feelings toward sex in stanza 3?

3. How would you describe the speaker's feelings toward men in "Mock Orange"?

4. What do you think is the setting in "Mock Orange"?

5. Where does the narrative shift in stanza 4? How do you know?

6. What are the speaker's feelings toward her partner in the second stanza? How do you know?

7. What do the mock orange flowers represent in the poem?

8. How does tone change in the second stanza?

9. Describe the author's use of enjambment in stanza 4. Why did she use this tool and how does it impact your reading?

10. What does the moon represent in the first stanza of "Mock Orange"?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 663 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample