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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 7 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does line 12 make clear is the "Gift" in the title "The Gift Outright"?

2. Who is the author of "The Gift Outright"?

3. What is alluded to in the phrase "the land vaguely realizing westward" (line 14)?

4. The repetition of the word "deed" in line 13 is an example of which technique?

5. What techniques are used in the lines "She was ours/ In Massachusetts, in Virginia" (lines 3-4)?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the poem's title.

2. What does the speaker mean by "the land vaguely realizing westward" (line 14)?

3. Describe the form of "The Gift Outright."

4. What is implied by the diction the speaker uses to describe the lands yet to be conquered by American settlers: "unstoried, artless, unenhanced" (line 15)?

5. To whom is it implied the pronouns "our" and "we" refer in this poem?

6. Explain the synecdoche in line 4, "In Massachusetts, in Virginia."

7. What does the speaker claim makes the colonists "weak," and what is the solution to this weakness (line 8)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Alabama poet laureate Ashley M. Jones begins her poem "Friendly Skies, or, Black Woman Speaks Herself into God" with the following verse paragraph:

"—we’re taxiing at an airport named after american president ronald reagan. people tell me he was an american hero. sometimes, labels are jumbled in the big dark bag we call manifest destiny. sometimes, things get lost in its velvet mouth."

What do you suppose Jones means when she refers to the "velvet mouth" of manifest destiny? How does skillful rhetoric--evocative diction, rhythmic language, carefully chosen detail, etc.--help to create that "velvet mouth"? Write an essay in which you analyze the "velvet mouth" of "The Gift Outright," demonstrating how Frost's skillful use of language creates an emotional appeal that obscures some of the less appealing facts of American history. Support your assertions with evidence from "The Gift Outright." Cite any borrowed language in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

What were Frost's views on America and its history? Does biographical information about his beliefs tend to support or undermine the conclusion that he understood the cost of nation-building and found it an acceptable price to pay to create the United States? Do some research into Frost's background, intellectual history, and political beliefs. Then, write an essay in which you use this research to shed light on the meaning of "The Gift Outright." Support your assertions with evidence drawn from your research and from Frost's poem; cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

What spiritual claims does "The Gift Outright" make about the foundation and expansion of the American nation? How does diction like "surrender" and "salvation" advance its spiritual claim? What hidden premises are introduced into Frost's argument by the implied spiritual claims being made in this poem? If these hidden premises are disputed, does this weaken the overall effect of the argument being made in "The Gift Outright"? Write an essay that analyzes the poem's spiritual claims and considers how these claims impact the poem's overall argument. Support your assertions with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the poem; cite all borrowed language in MLA format.

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