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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. Why does Bishop love the sea?

2. What is described in "Love Lies Sleeping"?

3. In which section does the poet arrive in Santos?

4. What color are the Brazilian warehouses?

5. What is involved in the resolution of Four Poems?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In "Questions of Travel," does the poet decide it is better to travel, or stay home and use one's imagination?

3. What is the relationship between the fisherman and the fishhouse in "At the Fishhouses"?

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

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

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

7. How do the poet's descriptions in "Arrival at Santos" reflect her dual state of mind?

8. How does the title of "The Man-Moth" alter the feel of the poem?

9. What surprise does Bishop reveal in the last line of "Insomnia?"

10. What is Bishop comparing in "Large Bad Picture" when she refers to "commerce or contemplation"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bishop shows a special fondness for water in her poetry. Does it have one symbolic meaning, or many? What are the allegorical and metaphorical connections she draws relating to water? Cite a variety of different poems to support your claim. For example, in "Pleasure Seas," how does she view natural bodies of water as opposed to man-made swimming pools?

Essay Topic 2

How are the poems composed in Bishop's youth unique in the collection? Do you see a difference in maturity between these and the later poems? Are there any clues in the earlier poems that predict what kind of poet Bishop will become? What differences do you see in terms of subject matter and approach? Do you think it was appropriate that the editors included poetry composed in Bishop's teen years, before she gained recognition? How would the reader's appreciation of Bishop as a writer be different if these poems had been omitted from the book?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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