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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 Part Two: Chapter IV, Malcolm hadn't been able to interview Alvarez or Ted because who basically disallowed it?

2. The editor of The Journals of Sylvia Plath defended her cuts as ___________ when publishing such raw material as journal entries?

3. What did Malcolm feel like upon arriving at Sylvia's former home in Part Two: Chapter IX?

4. Anne Stevenson left her second husband and children to go off with what poet?

5. A. Alvarez claimed that Olwyn and Ted Hughes probably chose Anne Stevenson to write a biography on Sylvia because they could ______________.

Short Essay Questions

1. When and why did Clarissa Roche begin a biography on Sylvia? What was it like?

2. How did Clarissa Roche know Sylvia Plath?

3. What biographies offended the Hughes family the most? Why?

4. How did the editor of The Journals of Sylvia Plath defend herself to criticism?

5. Who was Richard Sassoon? How did Sylvia know him?

6. What was A. Alvarez's main criticism about Anne Stevenson's biography of Sylvia?

7. What did Ted Hughes write to Anne Stevenson regarding Bitter Fame?

8. What did Elizabeth Sigmund relate about Sylvia? How did she know her?

9. Describe the letters that Malcolm read between Anne Stevenson and Olwyn Hughes. What was the relationship between the women like?

10. What did Malcolm write of the unread letter in Part Three: Chapter III?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the psychological assessments of Sylvia Plath. What psychiatrist did Plath see during her struggle with depression? For what did Plath show symptoms?

Essay Topic 2

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

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the aftermath of Bitter Fame's publication. Should Anne Stevenson have published the book, considering her apprehension about its validity? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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