View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does God say people truly want in "Spring Snow"?

2. What sound is described at the beginning of "End of Winter"?

3. What does God say humans were too eager for in "End of Winter"?

4. What flowers "burst" up as a sign of spring in "The Garden"?

5. What flower with white marks is referenced at the end of "April"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Noah say about depressives in "Matins" (#1)?

2. How do the violets refer to the gardener in "Violets"?

3. How does God feel about humanity in "Retreating Wind"?

4. What does God tell humans they will not hear "in the other world" (10) in "End of Summer"?

5. What does God say humanity truly wants in "Spring Snow"?

6. Who is speaker in each of the "Matins" poems and who does the speaker address?

7. What does the witchgrass tell the gardener she must accept in regards to the flower it is accused of kllling in "Witchgrass"?

8. Why does the hawthorn tree say it does not have to follow the couple to know what they are going through in "Hawthorn Tree"?

9. Why does God say He can hardly bare to look at the couple in the garden in "The Garden"?

10. What does God say he gave people in "End of Winter" because that is what they wanted?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The poet uses personification in many of the poems written from the viewpoint of a plant or flower. Choose 3 poems written from the perspective of the plant or flower and analyze the poet's use of personification in this poems. Discuss why the poet may have chosen to write from that plant or flowers point of view.

Essay Topic 2

Choosing several of the poems written from the voice of God to the poet/ gardener/humanity write an essay analyzing God's changing tone toward the poet or humanity. Analyze the poems for tone and imagery, comparing and contrasting these aspects of the poem in a minimum of 4 poems.

Essay Topic 3

God's absence, silence, or potential non-existence is discussed in several of the poems. Choose a minimum of 3 poems and analyze the words, images, and metaphors the poet uses to discuss these themes.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 579 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample