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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 7 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

3. Who is the author of "Still I Rise"?
(a) Toni Morrison.
(b) Alice Walker.
(c) Nikki Giovanni.
(d) Maya Angelou.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Which is the most logical description of who "You" is in line 1?

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

3. What body of water does the speaker claim to be in the eighth stanza?

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

5. Which two things does the final stanza use to represent the past and present?

Short Essay Questions

1. What oppressive actions does the speaker suggest "you" might take, and how does she say she will respond?

2. Describe how the final two stanzas of the poem differ from the first seven stazas.

3. Why is the poem titled "Still I Rise" and not just "I Rise"--what additional idea does the word "Still" convey?

4. Describe the pattern that stanzas 2, 4, 5, and 7 have in common.

5. In the final stanza, what metaphor does the speaker use, and what does it signify?

6. What specific historical phenomenon does the speaker talk about rising above in the final two stanzas, and what allusion does she use to introduce the topic?

7. What do all of the questions the speaker asks have in common?

(see the answer keys)

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