Modern Poetry Study Guide

The modern debasement of man has resulted in                                                                         

A.     the belief that man is merely a higher form of animal.

B.     the denial of life after death.

C.    both A and B.

D.    neither A nor B.

C

Each of the following is an effect of Freudianism on modern literature except                           

A.     frank sexual material.

B.     stream-of-consciousness fiction.

C.    a focus on characters’ thoughts, dreams, and suppressed desire.

D.    a resistance of evil impulses.

D

Each of the following ideas is true about the imagist movement except that                 

A.     imagist poetry generally has little or no message.

B.     imagist poetry aims at using the exact word and as few words as possible.

C.    imagist poetry was strongly influenced by Asian poetry.

D.    imagist poetry was eventually rejected by Ezra Pound.

D

What author and book have had the most significant effects on the modern debasement of man? (p. 436)

Origin of species Charles Darwin

blues and jazz poetry

Poems. typically free verse, that imamate the repetition and syncopated rhythms- irregular, often beats of blues and jazz music

diction

Word Choice

dramatic monologue

A lyric poem on which a character (not author) speaks to a silent audience about a critical moment in his life. The poem focus on the character of the speaker, which is revealed entirely

end-stopped line

Poetic lines That end with a natural break or pause such as the end of a sentence or phrase typically indicted by punctuation

imagism

A brief but influential poetic moment of the early 1900s that used her words to draw sharp, concrete images presented without commentary

Italian sonnet

a lyric poem made up of 14 lines split into 8 and 6

oxymoron

Brief phrases that combine contradictory elements for effect

polysyndeton

The repetition of coordinating conjunctions (especially) in close proximity for effect

rhyme scheme

The pattern of rhyme sounds in a poem or in a stanza of poetry described by assigning To each rhyme sound successive letters of the alphabet

synesthesia

Describing one sense experience in terms of another

tenor

The subject of a metaphor

vehicle

The image to which the subject is compared

_____ Much of E. A. Robinson’s poetry                                                   

A.     emphasizes characters who succeed despite difficult circumstances.

B.     expresses a traditional view of religion.

C.    both A and B.

D.    neither A nor B.

D

What word best characterizes Miniver Cheevy?                           

A.     visionary

B.     dreamer

C.    optimist

D. seeker

B

How do the townspeople view Richard Cory?                 

A.     as a gentleman

B.     as a king

C.    as an ideal man

D.    all of the above

D

Each of the following ideas illustrates the identification of Robert Frost as a poet of contradictions except that his poems 

A.     are focused on settings that he never experienced personally.

B.     are simple on the surface yet combined with complex underlying meaning.

C.    are traditional in form but modern in content.

D.    are regional in style but universal in content.

A

_____ What meter was used in the line “The land was ours before we were the land’s” from “The Gift Outright”?    

A.     iambic trimeter

B.     iambic tetrameter

C.    iambic pentameter

D. iambic hexameter

C

In “The Road Not Taken,” what does the speaker doubt?                                  

A.     that the choice of road is very important

B.     that he has made the right choice

C.    that he will ever come back to his location

D.    that other travelers have had the same attitude he does

C

 In “Birches,” why does the speaker dream of “going back” to being a “swinger of birches”?

The struggles of adulthood became too heavy

_____ Each of the following ideas is true about Edna St. Vincent Millay except which one? 

A.     She is a symbol of the liberated woman of the 1920s.

B.     She is a master of the sonnet.

C.    She gave poetry later in life because of an unhappy marriage.

D.    She had a traditional style.

C

“Sonnet XXVI” is an example of                        

A.     the Italian sonnet.

B.     the English sonnet.

C.    the Plutonian sonnet.

D.    all of the above.

A

“Sonnet XXVI” emphasizes                      

A.     that love should be based on a spiritual or mental communion.

B.     that love should not be based on physical attraction.

C.    both A and B.

D.    neither A nor B.

C

_____“In a Station of the Metro”                                 

A.     functions as a haiku.

B.     serves as an implied metaphor.

C.    avoids sound and rhythmical patterning

D.    conveys thought through abstract concepts.

B

The poem “Ars Poetica” claims that a poem should be                         

A.     mute.

B.     wordless.

C.    motionless.

D.    all of the above.

D

What is the thesis of Ars Poetica”?

“A poem should not mean/ But be”

_____ Each of the following ideas is true about T. S. Eliot except which one?       

A.     He changed his country of citizenship from England to the United States.

B.     He converted from Unitarianism to Anglicanism.

C.    He received Britain’s highest award, the Order of Merit.

D.    He prescribes Christianity as a remedy for modern ills.

B

Does Eliot’s “Journey of the Magi” concern disillusionment or transformation?

i don’t know, I think disillusionment

Each of the following ideas is true about Carl Sandburg except which one?            

A.     He became unpopular later in life, but his critical reputation increased.

B.     He worked a great variety of jobs as he was growing up and gained firsthand knowledge of a common people.

C.    He is called the “laureate of industrial America.”

D.    He wrote an important biography of Abraham Lincoln.

A

Is Sandburg’s depiction of Chicago positive or negative overall?

Positive

Each of the following ideas is true about E. E. Cumming’s poetry except that it       

A.     attempts to help readers see the familiar in a new way.

B.     focuses primarily on the themes of death and the disintegration of society.

C.    employs metaphor and oxymoron.

D. uses unique visual designs to indicate Cumming’s artistic bent.

B

_____ In Cummings’s “Somewhere i have never travelled,” the speaker implicitly compares himself to  (p. 480)

A.     a heart.

B.     a flower.

C.    the moon.

D.    a boat.

B

The following excerpt from Cummings’s “Somewhere i have never travelled” is an example of what figurative device?

                                “your eyes have their silence”

A.     oxymoron

B.     synecdoche

C.    paradox

D.    synesthesia

D

What season does Cummings’s “In Just-“ celebrate?

Spring

What is the main idea of Countée Cullen’s “Yet Do I Marvel?

A.     God is kind.

B.     God’s ways are inscrutable.

C.    Sometimes God’s ways may seem contradictory.

D.    Life is hard.

B

Which sonnet type has three quatrains, a distinct rhyme scheme, and a concluding couplet?

English Sonnet

Name two things that Langston Hughes compares to a dream deferred in “Harlem [2].”    

A sore, and a raisin

Short Essay:  In one paragraph, explain in what way Langston Hughes’s “I, Too” is a response to “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman.    (pp. 216, 491))

cooked

While Whitman celebrates the diverse voices of the American people, emphasizing the harmony of working-class individuals contributing to the nation’s song, Hughes highlights the exclusion of African Americans from that vision. In “I, Too,” Hughes asserts that African Americans, though marginalized and silenced in society, are an integral part of America’s identity and will ultimately claim their rightful place in the nation's future. The poem reimagines Whitman’s optimism by recognizing the persistent inequality faced by Black Americans, while also projecting a hopeful vision of equality and inclusion, asserting that, like the other voices in Whitman’s song, African Americans will eventually be acknowledged and respected.

True/False: Frost’s poetry is primarily concerned with nature.

True

True/False: In Frost’s “The Death of the Hired Man,” Warren tries to convince Mary to let Silas stay at their home. 

False

True/False: Hilda Doolittle is known as the founder of the imagist movement

False

True/False: “My Papa Waltz” describes a very pleasant atmosphere

False

True/False: Claude McCay uses the simile “like hogs” to describe his people and their vulnerable position in society

True

True/False: Hughes’s “Dream Variations” expresses a desire for a culture’s embrace of equality between ethnicities

True

Essay:  For the test, in two or more paragraphs, completely answer one of the questions below, using examples from selections in the chapter.

Referring to “The Gift Outright,” “The Road Not Taken,” and “Mending Wall,” discuss the theme of individuality versus conformity. (pp. 450, 451, 459)

or

Compare and contrast two different authors and their works from this chapter, particularly in how they portray society and/or community, whether it is on an individual or national level. (not gonna answer this one sorry lol)

The Road Not Taken”: The speaker is faced with two diverging roads, which symbolize two different choices in life. The decision to take the less-traveled path is often interpreted as a metaphor for individuality and going against the grain, while the other road represents conformity to social norms and the more conventional route. The speaker reflects on this choice with a sense of significance, implying that the choice they made has ultimately defined their life.

“Mending Wall”: In “Mending Wall,” the theme of individuality versus conformity is embodied in the relationship between the speaker and his neighbor. The neighbor, who insists on maintaining a literal and metaphorical wall between them, represents the force of tradition and conformity, In contrast, the speaker questions the necessity of the wall, suggesting that the act of separating people, both physically and emotionally, may not be as essential or natural as the neighbor believes. The poem highlights the tension between the speaker’s desire for connection and individuality versus the neighbor's adherence to conformity and tradition.

“The Gift Outright”: In this poem, individuality is explored in the context of the American identity. The poem reflects on the idea that the land and its people, particularly those in the United States, must come to fully possess the land to understand it truly. The phrase “The gift outright” suggests a kind of self-realization that comes through the act of claiming the land, both physically and ideologically. The idea of conformity in this context can be seen in the way the nation aligns itself with the land and its history, yet individuality arises when the speaker points out that the people must first give themselves to the land to make it their own. The individuality here is less about defiance against conformity but more about the merging of personal identity with a larger, national one.