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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. When was the novel The Bell Jar first published under Sylvia Plath's name?
(a) 1962.
(b) 1967.
(c) 1970.
(d) 1973.

2. When was the book The Colossus and Other Poems first published?
(a) 1960.
(b) 1955.
(c) 1950.
(d) 1965.

3. Who applauded Wagner-Martin for not caving to the demands of the "evil" sister as Anne Stevenson had done?
(a) Ronald Hayman.
(b) Anne Stevenson.
(c) Ted Hughes.
(d) A. Alvarez.

4. When did Sylvia Plath die?
(a) 1971.
(b) 1963.
(c) 1965.
(d) 1969.

5. Sylvia Plath told A. Alvarez of two previous suicide attempts--one in which she took an overdose of pills and another when she _____________.
(a) Attempted to hang herself.
(b) Played Russian roulette.
(c) Cut her wrist.
(d) Almost drove off the road.

Short Answer Questions

1. What poems did Plath write for the most part in the two months after Ted had left Devon?

2. To what friend of the Hughes was William Stanley Merwin married?

3. A. Alvarez's remarks placed Sylvia's suicide in what type of scenario?

4. When was the publication date of The Journals of Sylvia Plath?

5. Who edited The Journals of Sylvia Plath?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Sylvia Plath's response to her mother's criticism of her dark works?

2. How old were Sylvia and Ted when Sylvia died? How did she die?

3. What power did Olwyn Hughes have over the Plath Library? What was Malcolm's impression of her after working with her on the book?

4. What does Malcolm write of the power and struggle of the biographer in Part One: Chapter I?

5. How did Sylvia's demeanor and image change from her youth to her death?

6. When were Ted and Sylvia separated? What did Sylvia reveal to Alvarez during that time?

7. What lecture did Malcolm read of Anne Stevenson's defense of her biography in Part Two: Chapter I?

8. What did critic Ronald Hayman write about Bitter Fame?

9. What struggle did Ted face after the death of Sylvia Plath?

10. Where did Olwyn and Malcolm go together in Part One: Chapter VII? What did Malcolm learn there?

(see the answer keys)

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