View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Oliver like to assign to inanimate objects in her poems?
(a) Human characteristics.
(b) Identities.
(c) Functions.
(d) Descriptions.

2. What style is Work Sometimes written in?
(a) Second Person.
(b) Conversational.
(c) Omniscient.
(d) First Person.

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

4. What had stacked up on the table in Work Sometimes?
(a) All of these.
(b) Papers.
(c) Work.
(d) Books.

5. How is Oliver trying to establish the intimacy she desires in Work Sometimes?
(a) She has some suggestive innuendos.
(b) She breaks down some barriers.
(c) She is very open.
(d) She uses a conversational tone.

6. What does the editor say new readers of Oliver will feel when they read the first section?
(a) They will be eased into the style.
(b) They are in for a surprise.
(c) They will feel like they have always known her.
(d) They will get sucked in right away.

7. What is the length of most of Oliver's poems in this collection?
(a) A few short stanzas.
(b) Medium in length.
(c) Many pages.
(d) Just a few lines.

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

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

10. What is the first plant talked about in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones?
(a) Corn.
(b) Wheat.
(c) Roses.
(d) Barley.

11. What does Oliver hope to show about the world in her poems?
(a) What is becoming of the world.
(b) Where the world has been.
(c) How to navigate through the world.
(d) How the world works.

12. Which of the following is NOT a word Oliver says she wants to use often in Everything?
(a) Heart.
(b) Heavy.
(c) Wonderment.
(d) Joy.

13. What were the eyes of the animal compared to in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First?
(a) Worlds.
(b) Microscopes.
(c) Glass.
(d) Water.

14. Which of the following is not a place Oliver says she wants to be while writing her poems in Everything?
(a) A boat at sea.
(b) A field of daisies.
(c) A spot of grass.
(d) Her own house.

15. What did the animal in The Measure do when the poet tried to save it?
(a) Ran away.
(b) Hissed at her.
(c) Bit her.
(d) Looked into her eye.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Oliver do at the end of Work Sometimes?

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

3. What is the name of the first section of poems in this group?

4. How was the poet traveling when she saw an animal in The Measure?

5. What color were the eyes of the animal in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that comes First?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 481 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample