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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. What is Oliver's most commonly used literary device in these poems?
(a) Metaphor.
(b) Simile.
(c) Anthropomorphism.
(d) Allusion.

2. What is the turtle in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones, doing?
(a) Swimming in the lake.
(b) Teaching her babies to swim.
(c) Burying her eggs.
(d) Dying.

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

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

5. Where did Oliver attend college?
(a) Indiana State University.
(b) Wisconsin State University.
(c) Iowa State University.
(d) Ohio State University.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does using nature in her poems allow Oliver to do?

2. Which of these words is used by the editor to describe Oliver's style?

3. What amazing event happens to the catbird in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones?

4. In The Measure, what does the author say we must do to fully experience life?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Oliver feel at the beginning of Work Sometimes and why?

2. What does Oliver state the reader has probably felt before in Work Sometimes?

3. In The Measure, what does Mary Oliver say her watched over life resulted in and why?

4. In Everything, what kind of words does Oliver say she wants to avoid in her poetry, and what examples of good words does she give?

5. In The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that Comes First, what does Mary Oliver state the real method of praying should be?

6. In The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that Comes First, what is the bird doing at the beginning of the poem?

7. In Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones, what does Oliver say about the pond?

8. What does Oliver say she wants to honor with her poem, Everything?

9. In Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones, what does Oliver ask about a catbird?

10. What does Oliver think the turtle was heading for in The Measure?

(see the answer keys)

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