![]() |
Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. Who is being referred to in line 10's "thee"?
2. What type of rhyme is seen in the poem's "B" lines"?
3. What would it mean to have "Rebuffed the big wind" (line 7)?
4. What does the word "wimpling" literally mean in the context of line 4?
5. In lines 2-3, "in his riding/ Of the rolling level underneath him steady air," which word tells what the bird is "riding"?
Short Essay Questions
1. How do the images in the last three lines support the idea that there is "no wonder" in the kestrel's fight (line 9)?
2. What makes a creature like the windhover an appropriate symbol for Christ?
3. What is the relationship of the expression "in his riding/ Of the rolling level underneath him steady air" (lines 2-3) to the later reference to "the rein of a wimpling wing" (line 4)?
4. Describe the relationship of the content in the poem's final six lines to the content in lines 1-8.
5. What are the literal and figurative meanings of the poem's references to a "dauphin" and a "chevalier"?
6. What is the meaning of the simile contained in lines 6 and 7: " As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding/ Rebuffed the big wind"?
7. What Christian paradox is expressed when the speaker refers to the bird as both a "minion" and a "dauphin" (lines 1-2)?
8. Describe the poetic form of "The Windhover."
9. What is a "windhover," and what characteristic of its flight is focused on in this poem?
10. In "The Windhover," who is speaking, and what moves him to speak?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Write an essay that analyzes how Hopkins's devotion to Ignation practices is reflected in two of his sonnets. Describe the Ignation practices he engaged in, explain how these translate into the world of literature, and then offer an analytical reading of two of Hopkins's sonnets that supports your claims. Support your observations with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the poems. Be sure to credit your sources in MLA format.
Essay Topic 2
Write an essay that analyzes how Hopkins's ideas about "inscape" and "instress" are reflected in "The Windhover." Define these terms clearly and then make a clear claim about how the poem exemplifies the poet's concern with both ideas. Support your observations with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from "The Windhover." If you consult outside sources, be sure to credit these in MLA format.
Essay Topic 3
Write an essay that analyzes the significance of the chivalric diction and imagery in "The Windhover." Support your observations with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from "The Windhover." If you consult outside sources, be sure to credit these in MLA format.
This section contains 989 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
![]() |