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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How is the pond in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones described?

2. How many poems are in the first section?

3. What did the animal in The Measure do when the poet tried to save it?

4. How do the characters in Mysteries, Four of the Simple Ones feel about the events in the poem?

5. What is the main subject of Everything?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What did Oliver compare the feet of the hawk to in The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that Comes First?

4. What did the hawk do at the end of The Real Prayers are Not the Words, but the Attention that Comes First?

5. In Work Sometimes, what are some of the things that Oliver lists as NOT leading to happiness?

6. At the end of Everything, what does Oliver say she wants her poems to do?

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

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

9. How did Oliver feel at the end of Work Sometimes?

10. What parts of grammar does Oliver say she wants to cherish in Everything, and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Fear is a common theme in this book that is presented a number of times in a number of different poems. What are some of these instances, and how are these examples different from each other?

Essay Topic 2

How were the themes of life and death shown together? Why do you think Oliver chose to present these themes in tangent with each other?

Essay Topic 3

What are some of the key examples of gratitude in this book, and how are these instances conveyed?

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