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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. What adjective does Oliver use to describe the world in Mindful?

2. In While I Am Writing a Poem to Celebrate Summer, the Meadowlark Begins to Sing, what is the song of the bird called?

3. In Mindful, what does Oliver say she was born to do?

4. How does Oliver describe Have You Ever Tried to Enter the Long Black Branches?

5. In Mindful, what does Oliver say almost kills her every day?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the overall feeling in Prose Poem 1?

2. What is the main message of Song of the Builders?

3. What are the two extremes Oliver describes about her life in Long Afternoon at the Edge of Sister Pond?

4. In Mindful, what does Oliver say she was born to do?

5. How does Oliver describe letters in Forty Years?

6. What does Oliver talk about in Bleeding Heart?

7. What does Oliver say the owl is symbolic of in At Round Pond?

8. What does Oliver say we are all helping to build in Song of the Builders?

9. In Grass, what does Oliver say humans could learn from inanimate objects?

10. What is Many Miles about?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the main message being sent in Work Sometimes, and how is this poem different from the other poems in the first section of this book?

Essay Topic 2

What role does symbolism play in these poems, and what are some of the major symbols presented?

Essay Topic 3

What are some of the relationships spoken about in these poems, and what do they reveal about Mary Oliver's personality?

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