Poems
What kind of poem is this?
When I was younger,
I saw birds as only birds,
Trees as only trees.
But now I know much better:
They are hopes and memories.
a. narrative poem
b. tanka
c. Petrarchan sonnet
d. villanelle
b. tanka
Which word has the most strongly negative connotation?
a. self-assured
b. confident
c. proud
d. conceited
d. conceited
Which sentence is the best example of indirect characterization?
a. "Peter is my brother," Jaime explained to her teammates.
b. Since Emma is cautious, she probably will not have an accident.
c. When Jen saw the mess, she stopped to ask her neighbors if they needed help.
d. Although Keith is generally brave, even he was a bit frightened by the movie.
c. When Jen saw the mess, she stopped to ask her neighbors if they needed help.
Which of these is NOT an example of an archetype or archetypal narrative pattern?
a. a high-born hero
b. objects that come in threes
c. a quest or a task
d. extremely hot weather
d. extremely hot weather
In the plot of a story, which term identifies the point of greatest tension and suspense?
a. exposition
b. climax
c. flashback
d. resolution
b. climax
Which statement about Shakespeare's tragedies is accurate?
a. Each one is based on an event from Britain's history.
b. They all feature everyday, ordinary people as their heroes.
c. They all end in catastrophe for their heroes.
d. All of the characters in them speak in blank verse.
c. They all end in catastrophe for their heroes.
How is a Shakespearean sonnet different from an Italian sonnet?
a. A Shakespearean sonnet has fourteen lines; an Italian sonnet does not.
b. A Shakespearean sonnet has a rhythmic pattern, or meter; an Italian sonnet does not.
c. A Shakespearean sonnet has three quatrains and a couplet; an Italian sonnet does not.
d. A Shakespearean sonnet is a lyric poem; an Italian sonnet is not.
c. A Shakespearean sonnet has three quatrains and a couplet; an Italian sonnet does not.
What main technique for achieving humor does Mark Twain use in this sentence from Life on
the Mississippi?
I was quaking from head to foot, and I could have hung my hat on my eyes, they stuck out so
far.
a. understatement
b. hyperbole
c. satire
d. personification
b. hyperbole
Which statement about epics is typically true?
a. They may be as short as fourteen lines or as long as a full-length book.
b. They tell of the deeds of heroes.
c. They attempt to explain the origins of natural features or social customs.
d. They are mostly factual.
b. They tell of the deeds of heroes.
How many iambs are there in this line from a poem by Emily Dickinson?
Tell all the Truth but tell it slant—
a. two
b. three
c. four
d. five
c. four
Which of these traditional works would best qualify as a myth?
a. a long narrative poem about the deeds of the hero Gilgamesh
b. a chronicle of the early history of the English people
c. a story whose supernatural elements explain the origin of volcanoes
d. a work that ends in the downfall of its hero, a Scottish nobleman named Macbeth
c. a story whose supernatural elements explain the origin of volcanoes
Think about this theme, which sometimes appears in literary works: "Work hard, and you will fulfill your dreams." On what philosophical assumption, or basic belief about life, is this theme based?
a. Human labor is valuable.
b. Leisure time is valuable.
c. Dreams can predict the future.
d. Not everyone has the same goals in life.
a. Human labor is valuable.