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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What technique is used in line 29, "Out of the huts of history’s shame"?
(a) Juxtaposition.
(b) Allusion.
(c) Allegory.
(d) Oxymoron.

2. What technique does the first line of the poem, "You may write me down in history," introduce?
(a) Apostrophe.
(b) Verbal irony.
(c) Catalog.
(d) Allegory.

3. Why is the speaker's past "rooted in pain" (line 32)?
(a) Because she has been abandoned by someone she loves.
(b) Because of the death of a loved one.
(c) Because no one appreciates her value.
(d) Because of bigotry and discrimination.

4. Which technique is frequently used at the beginnings of stanzas?
(a) Internal rhyme.
(b) Cacophony.
(c) Onomatopoeia.
(d) Rhetorical question.

5. Which two things does the final stanza use to represent the past and present?
(a) A seed and a sprout.
(b) Gathering clouds and rain.
(c) Night and daybreak.
(d) The directions east and west.

6. What kind of "certainty" does the speaker claim to have in line 10?
(a) The "certainty of history."
(b) The "certainty of air."
(c) The "certainty of springtime."
(d) The "certainty of tides."

7. What precious stones does the speaker use to evoke beauty and value in the simile in line 27?
(a) Diamonds.
(b) Emeralds.
(c) Sapphires.
(d) Rubies.

8. In the final quatrain, what does the speaker wonder about upsetting "you" with?
(a) Intelligence.
(b) Sexiness.
(c) Beauty.
(d) Kindness.

9. Which is the best definition of "beset" in line 6?
(a) Cradled.
(b) Decorated.
(c) Inspired.
(d) Troubled.

10. Which technique is used in line 9, "Just like moons and like suns"?
(a) Allusion.
(b) Dialect.
(c) Parallelism.
(d) Euphemism.

11. What is the primary quality that the speaker's stanza eight description of a body of water is intended to convey?
(a) Independence.
(b) Power.
(c) Persistence.
(d) Endurance.

12. What body of water does the speaker claim to be in the eighth stanza?
(a) A stream.
(b) A river.
(c) A lake.
(d) An ocean.

13. Which is the first stanza of the poem that is longer than four lines?
(a) 7.
(b) 6.
(c) 8.
(d) 9.

14. What technique is used in line 21, "You may shoot me with your words"?
(a) Simile.
(b) Metaphor.
(c) Kenning.
(d) Innuendo.

15. What words create a refrain in the final two stanzas of the poem?
(a) "I rise."
(b) "Again I rise."
(c) "Still I rise."
(d) "I rise and rise."

Short Answer Questions

1. What techniques are used in line 19, "’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines"?

2. What technique is used in lines 7 and 8, "’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells/ Pumping in my living room"?

3. How does the speaker characterize herself in line 4?

4. In the fourth stanza, what kind of person does the speaker ask if "you" want her to be?

5. In line 17, what kind of a person is described by the word "haughtiness"?

(see the answer keys)

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