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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. In "The Moose," why are the people's reactions to the moose surprising?

2. Where is the poet located as she composes "The Moose"?

3. In "Pleasure Seas," what do those on the shore, in the plane, or on the yacht have in common?

4. What is the subject of "Objects & Apparitions"?

5. What is the symbolic meaning of "Pleasure Seas"?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Carlos Drummond de Andrade's "Infancy," why does the author refer to Robinson Crusoe as "the long story that never comes to an end"?

2. Why is Bandeira so concerned about the specifics of his last poem in "My Last Poem"?

3. What does the porch symbolize in "Sunday at Key West"?

4. What is the effect on the reader of the surprise ending in Vinicius de Moraes' "Sonnet of Intimacy"?

5. What is the tone of "Lines Written in the Fannie Farmer Cookbook"?

6. How does Octavio Paz view the beginning of a new year in "January First"?

7. How is the character in "The Strayed Crab" an exaggerated human figure?

8. How is the character in "The Giant Toad" an exaggerated human figure?

9. Why does the poet begins the section called Geography III with a geography lesson that throws a series of unanswered questions at the reader?

10. How does the location in "Santarem" parallel the Garden of Eden?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Much of Bishop's poetry relates to nature. Citing specific poems from various sections throughout the text, analyze Bishop's relationship to the natural world in a general sense. How does she view it? What is its meaning and significance? How would her writing be different if this element were absent?

Essay Topic 2

Why do you think Bishop chose to translate the poems of other writers from a variety of places? How does this relate to what you've learned about Bishop as a writer and as a person from reading her own work? Were you surprised by any of the choices she made in terms of poets, poems, languages, or the specific choices she made in translating each poem? Do you think it is appropriate to include translations in a collection of Bishop's poems? In what ways are these poems her work, and in what ways are they the work of the original poet? How would your experience of the book have been different if the translations had been omitted?

Essay Topic 3

"Letter to N.Y." and "Invitation to Miss Marianne Moore" are both letters to friends of the poet in poetic form. How do these poems differ from the others in the collection? Consider the reader's knowledge about the speaker, the level of intimacy, and in what person the poems are composed. What is the overall effect of these differences on the reader? Do you think it is appropriate for these letters to be considered poetry in the same league with the rest of the collection? Why or why not?

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