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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The poem entitled "A Black Pierrot" uses what literary device in crafting the first line of each stanza?
(a) Hyperbole.
(b) Personification.
(c) Repetition.
(d) Onomatopeia.

2. The "bitter river" (50) in the poem of the same name is said to "reflect no" (50) what?
(a) Sunshine.
(b) Stars.
(c) Justice.
(d) Faces.

3. When the speaker of the poem "Sylvester's Dying Bed" wakes up, by whom is he surrounded?
(a) Lovers.
(b) Doctors.
(c) Family members.
(d) Women from the town.

4. For what reason does the speaker of the poem "Madam and the Rent Man" refuse to pay rent?
(a) She has already paid rent for the month.
(b) Her husband has already paid the rent for the month.
(c) The house is in disrepair.
(d) The landlord has forgiven her rent for the month.

5. To what personality does the speaker of the poem "Heart of Harlem" NOT allude within the poem?
(a) W.E.B. DuBois.
(b) Muhammed Ali.
(c) Joe Louis.
(d) Marian Anderson.

Short Answer Questions

1. The speaker of the poem "Heart of Harlem" describes Harlem as "the kid you hope will grow up" (73) what?

2. What literary technique is used throughout the poem "Ballad of the Fortune Teller"?

3. The speaker of the poem "Good Morning Revolution" suggests that soon all but which of the following will be true?

4. What term does Hughes use to describe the Mexican Market Woman in the first line of the poem of the same title?

5. The poem entitled "Freedom's Plow" repeats several times that it is better to die free than to what?

Short Essay Questions

1. To what element does Hughes compare the object of a drum in the poem entitled "Drum"?

2. The poem "Madam and Her Madam" utilizes humor in what way?

3. In what way is the theme of peace depicted in the poem called "Death of an Old Seaman"?

4. How is the theme of family bonds depicted within the poem entitled "Mother to Son"?

5. How are sensory details incorporated into the poem "Daybreak in Alabama" and for what purpose?

6. In what way is the theme of isolation depicted within the poem entitled "Little Old Letter"?

7. In what way is irony utilized within the poem entitled "The South"?

8. What question lies at the heart of the poem entitled "Ku Klux" and to whom is the question being asked?

9. How is irony used within the poem entitled "Ballad of the Fortune Teller"?

10. In what way are the themes of brutality and oppression intertwined within the poem "Ku Klux"?

(see the answer keys)

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