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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What aspect of childhood does "The Bells" reflect on?
(a) Innocence.
(b) The relationship with grandparents.
(c) Friendships.
(d) School.

2. What is the subject of "Elizabeth Gone"?
(a) Sex.
(b) Death.
(c) Birth.
(d) Reunion.

3. In "For Eleanor Boylan Talking With God," what does the speaker witness a woman doing?
(a) Weeping.
(b) Dying.
(c) Praying.
(d) Laughing.

4. What is the author's relationship with the subject of "Somewhere in Africa"?
(a) Colleague.
(b) Student.
(c) Wife.
(d) Friend.

5. What myth does the author rethink in "To a Friend Whose Work Has Come To Triumph"?
(a) Hercules.
(b) Icarus.
(c) Odysseus.
(d) Persephone.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does "Elizabeth Gone" explore as the possibility of an escape?

2. What is the subject of "Those Times"?

3. What is the title of the author's first book of poetry?

4. "Torn Down From Glory Daily" draws a parallel between animal hunger and ______.

5. In what time frame does "Letter Written During a January Northeaster" take place?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the poem "Eighteen Days Without You."

2. Give at least one example of Sexton's use of humor in Love Poems.

3. What is the significance of the title Live or Die?

4. Explain how Sexton uses religion in All the Pretty Ones.

5. Why do you think Part 2 of To Bedlam and Part Way Back only contains three poems?

6. Explain the use of animals in the poem "Loving the Killer."

7. Explain how Sexton expresses love in All the Pretty Ones.

8. How does Sexton use her poetry as a form of therapy in Live or Die?

9. What makes To Bedlam and Part Way Back autobiographical?

10. Explain Sexton's retelling of the Icarus myth in "To a Friend Whose Work Has Come To Triumph."

(see the answer keys)

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