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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. What university had Sylvia Plath attended?

2. Where did Anne Stevenson move after college and marrying?

3. Who edited The Journals of Sylvia Plath?

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

5. In her youth, Sylvia was known for her American neatness and what color hair?

Short Essay Questions

1. What qualities of Sylvia Plath's work made her appealing to feminists?

2. How did Anne Stevenson find she related to Sylvia Plath in their youths?

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

4. What did Olwyn Hughes offer Anne Stevenson if she would write a biography about Sylvia?

5. What was Anne Stevenson's response at a meeting of the University Women's Club in London where she was being taken to task for her portrayal of Sylvia in her book?

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

7. How did Janet Malcolm know Anne Stevenson in their youth? What was Malcolm's opinion of her?

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

9. Ted Hughes wrote two introductions to The Journals of Sylvia Plath. What did he write in the first introduction, and when was this edition published?

10. What did Aurelia Plath have published regarding Sylvia after her death? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the biography The Haunting of Sylvia Plath. When was it published and by whom?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and analyze The Bell Jar and its depiction of Sylvia's relationship with her mother. What about the work did Aurelia find "ungrateful"?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss The Savage God. When and where was this work first published? What was Ted Hughes' reaction to the piece and why?

(see the answer keys)

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