View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Oliver say she wants readers of Everything to look beyond?
(a) The words.
(b) The lines.
(c) The page.
(d) The meaning.

2. What was singing to Oliver in Work Sometimes?
(a) The radio.
(b) Street cars.
(c) Robins.
(d) The wind.

3. In Everything, what are we told to do in order to truly grasp the idea of poetry?
(a) Everything.
(b) The singular.
(c) The temporary.
(d) The unimportant.

4. What kind of citizen did the poet call the animal in The Measure?
(a) Shy.
(b) Elderly.
(c) Voracious.
(d) Unknown.

5. Why did Oliver choose the simple titles for her poems?
(a) To make her thoughts obscure.
(b) To take the guesswork away from the reader.
(c) To leave the interpretation open.
(d) To guide the reader.

6. What does the editor say there is an absence of in the first section of poems?
(a) Inside jokes.
(b) Anachronisms.
(c) Deep analogies.
(d) Metaphors.

7. What kind of hands does Oliver hope to write her poetry with?
(a) Rough hands.
(b) Useful hands.
(c) Busy hands.
(d) Quiet hands.

8. In Everything, what does Oliver say she has faith in?
(a) Her art.
(b) Her words.
(c) Her God.
(d) Herself.

9. What is found by Oliver, belonging to a heron, in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones?
(a) A print.
(b) A nest.
(c) An egg.
(d) A feather.

10. How is the pond in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones described?
(a) Black and leafy.
(b) Blue and billowy.
(c) Small and shallow.
(d) Deep and quiet.

11. What are most of the poems in this collection about?
(a) People.
(b) Education.
(c) Literature.
(d) Plants and animals.

12. How is the animal featured in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First described in the first lines?
(a) Soaring.
(b) Gentle.
(c) Small.
(d) Robust.

13. How does Oliver describe her poetry in Everything?
(a) Her art.
(b) Her creation.
(c) Her children.
(d) Her message.

14. What animal was featured in The Measure?
(a) An armadillo.
(b) A box turtle.
(c) A rabbit.
(d) A squirrel.

15. What does Oliver call most of her poems?
(a) Statements of truth.
(b) Observations.
(c) Creations.
(d) Friends.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the length of most of Oliver's poems in this collection?

2. What else does the editor say there is an absence of in the first section of poems?

3. What does Oliver try to avoid awkwardness in as she is writing?

4. What tone does Oliver take on at the end of Work Sometimes?

5. What is Oliver trying to describe with the lilt in the words in Everything?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 405 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample