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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. Whose finger sinks into the wet bank in Part III, The Fire Sermon?

2. What is at the narrator’s back in the beginning of Part III, The Fire Sermon?

3. How is the belly of the animal that creeps through the vegetation described in Part III, The Fire Sermon?

4. What does the merchant not notice about the typist in Part III, The Fire Sermon?

5. What instrument does the narrator hear while walking along Lower Thames Street?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of the title of The Fire Sermon?

2. How is Tiresias described in The Fire Sermon?

3. In The Fire Sermon, what does the typist do when her lover leaves?

4. What is the main message of this section of The Fire Sermon?

5. Why are Elizabeth and Leicester mentioned in The Fire Sermon, what?

6. How does The Fire Sermon end, and what does it mean?

7. How is Mrs. Porter described in The Fire Sermon?

8. What does the river mentioned at the beginning of The Fire Sermon symbolize?

9. Who is Phlebas in Death by Water?

10. What is the significance of the title Death by Water?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Historical figures are included in this poem. Who are they, and what effect does this inclusion have on the poem?

Essay Topic 2

Allusion is heavily used in this poem. What are some instances of allusion, and how does this literary devise add to the poem?

Essay Topic 3

Phlebas is a strange character. Who is he, and how does he appear in this poem?

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