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. The speaker of the poem "The South" says at the end of the poem that he will soon seek the North, for he has heard it said that the North is what?

2. The poem entitled "Share-Croppers" contains how many stanzas?

3. The poem entitled "Snail" states that the snail knows two things. What are they?

4. The poem "Troubled Woman" likens the subject to a flower in what season?

5. The "bitter river" (50) in the poem of the same name is said to "reflect no" (50) what?

Short Essay Questions

1. Which two marginalized groups are focused upon within the poem "America"?

2. In what way is the theme of racially-motivated brutality present within the poem entitled "The Bitter River"?

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

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

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

6. In what way is repetition used within the poem entitled "Brass Spittoons"?

7. In what way are sensory details used within the poem entitled "Harlem Night Song"?

8. In what way is the water motif depicted differently within the poem "The Bitter River" than in many other works within the Vintage Hughes collection?

9. In what way is the water motif included within the very first poem in the collection?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the instances of irony within the collection entitled Vintage Hughes and analyze Hughes's purpose for including each instance you discuss.

Essay Topic 2

Write a critical essay about the collection Vintage Hughes while using the critical power theory lens of feminist theory. Use textual evidence to back up your strong, specific claim regarding the collection’s treatment of gender roles, the objectification of women, female empowerment, misogyny's role within society, or any other issues related to feminist theory that can be found in the collection.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss how and why Hughes instills three different humanist messages into the collection entitled Vintage Hughes.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 902 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample