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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 in "View of the Capitol from the Library of Congress"?

2. What makes the singer realize she is not dreaming in "Songs for a Colored Singer"?

3. What is Bishop's attitude toward the title character and his family in "Manuelzinho"?

4. What does the title character in "Manuelzinho" do?

5. Where does the old man in "At the Fishhouses" bring his fish?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Bishop feel about winter in "The Colder the Air"?

2. How are the poems in North and South devoted to morning different?

3. In "Electrical Storm," why are the pearls twice described as dead?

4. How does Bishop liken an iceberg to the soul in "The Imaginary Iceberg"?

5. Why does Bishop chose the word "flying" in "Invitation to Miss Marianne Moore"?

6. What is the significance of the trees capturing the music in "View of the Capitol from the Library of Congress"?

7. What is the meaning of the lines "I'm afraid if it's wheat it's none of your sowing" in "Letter to N.Y."?

8. What two things is Bishop comparing in "Brazil, January 1, 1502"?

9. How does the poet frame her journey in "Over 2,000 Illustrations and a Complete Concordance"?

10. In what form is "The Burglar of Babylon" written? Why does the poet use this form?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Bishop's use of personification in the three poems in Rainy Season; Sub Tropics. What does each animal tell us about the speaker's view of humanity? Why do you think Bishop chose the specific animals she did? How would the poem have been different if she had used exaggerated human characters?

Essay Topic 2

Bishop employs a variety of different formats, including prose poetry, sonnets, and sestinas. Choose one example of each of these and discuss to what extent the format is a fitting approach for that particular poem. How would the poem's effect be different if it were presented differently? Discuss how it would be different in terms of its look on the page and the way it would sound. Would it be more or less effective, and why?

Essay Topic 3

What does "12 O'Clock News" tell us about Bishop's unique powers of observation and her ability to see things from a different perspective? Why do you think she chose to present the items in terms of newspaper stories? Do you think she is merely being playful, or is this a more serious commentary on journalism? Use specific examples from the poem to support your claim.

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