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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 is described as “the cataract falling like a veil over my countenance” in Section 33?

2. By whom does the narrator say he has been “given up” in Section 28?

3. The poet states in Section 27, “I merely stir, press, feel with my fingers, and am” what?

4. Herds of what animals “make a crawling spread of the square miles far and near” in Section 33?

5. What are “projected masculine, full-sized and golden” in Section 29?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the central message in Section 29 of the poem?

2. What reaction does the poet have to his circumstances in the opening of Section 38?

3. To what are flames compared in Section 28? Why?

4. What have the “sentries” done, according to the narrator in Section 28?

5. With what individuals does the poet relate in Section 33?

6. What setting does the narrator take the reader to in Section 34?

7. What does the poet tell the world’s “priests” in Section 43?

8. Why and how does Whitman turn to the sense of sound in Section 26?

9. Which of the five senses is introduced in Section 27? What animal is cited in this section?

10. What events take place in the battle described in Section 34 of the poem?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the issues of slavery and race relations in 1855 when the poem was first published. What were Walt Whitman’s political views regarding slavery and the dissention between the North and South at this time? What elements of racial relations have been seen in “Song of Myself”?

Essay Topic 2

Define the following literary terms: rhyme, meter, and form. Using an excerpt from the poem, identify the lines and stanzas as well as analyzing its rhyme and meter (or lack thereof). How does this poem compare to traditional, lyrical poetry? Why do you think Walt Whitman chose to write in this style?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Whitman’s exploration of the sense of touch in “Song of Myself.” How does the poet describe the touch of others? What symbols and motifs examine touch? What sexual descriptions does Whitman use regarding the sense of touch?

(see the answer keys)

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