1 Who is the poem's speaker? A grieving husband participating in the custom of "telling the bees" A bee who lives on a farm A writer comparing her words to swarming bees Somebody who has just ordered a box full of bees 2 Broadly speaking, what did bees symbolize in seventeenth-century Europe? Poverty and monasticism Creativity and individuality Noisiness and immorality Hard work and piety 3 What is the meaning of the word "colonnade"? A colonial outpost A row of columns A military parade A dessert made of fruit 4 Which writer did NOT use bees as a symbol or allegory? Fanny Burney John Mandeville Mary Leapor John Greenleaf Whittier 5 What are the bees probably NOT intended to symbolize in this poem? Climate change Sexual aggression The speaker's thoughts Familial demands on women 6 Where does the poem most likely take place? The speaker's home A school An industrial honey farm A field of flowers 7 Which collection was this poem a part of? Double Exposure The Bell Jar Ariel The Colossus 8 How does the work's final stanza most clearly differ from the others? It is spoken by a different speaker It is written in a different meter It is the only part that does not rhyme It is only one line long 9 Fill in the blank: I wonder if they would forget me/If I just undid the locks and stood back and _______" died closed my eyes ran away turned into a tree 10 Which is an example of irony? The amount of noise that the bees make The speaker's feeling of temptation despite the danger of the bees The speaker's ability to keep her bees alive or let them die The speaker's comparison of herself to God 11 Fill in the blank: It is the noise that _____ me most of all, distracts ensnares appalls intrigues 12 What does the speaker NOT compare the box to? A baby A chair A coffin A tent 13 How many stanzas are in the poem? 7 9 5 3 14 The speaker compares the bees to a mob from where? Revolutionary America The Old West Victorian Britain Ancient Rome 15 What is the meaning of the word "laburnum"? A diploma A New England company A kitchen counter A type of tree 16 What is the meaning of the word "din"? Hillside Noise Dinner Sunset 17 Which best describes the poem's portrayal of power? The speaker struggles for power, but is no match for nature The bees' power comes from their cleanliness and cooperativeness The speaker struggles to decide whether it is she or the bees who holds disproportionate power The speaker loses her power when she buys the bees and gives up her job 18 What is the poem's meter? Anapestic tetrameter Dactylic pentameter It has no set meter Iambic pentameter 19 What best describes the poem's conflict? The speaker's fight against the queen bee The beekeeper's conflict with the industrialist The speaker's decision about whether to free the bees The bee's decision about whether to sting the human 20 What best describes the speaker's feelings about the bees? self-effacing admiration intimacy and love alternating fascination and fear maddening irritation 21 What type of stanzas appear in the poem? Couplets The stanzas are unmatched Tercets Sestets 22 How is the theme of femininity discussed in the poem? The poem subtly equates the speaker's fear of the bees with women's fear of violence or subjugation The speaker's desire to engage with insects hints at a need to escape human gender norms The bees' collaboration suggests that only collaboration between women will better their lot The queen bee represents the feminists of the twentieth century 23 Which mythological figure is alluded to in the poem? Hercules Persephone Daphne Narcissus 24 What do the trees most closely symbolize? Escape from conflict Strength The abundance of nature The speaker's ambivalence 25 Which of the following is a metaphor? "In my moon suit and funeral veil" "There is only a little grid, no exit" "They can die, I can feed them nothing" "Square as a chair and almost too heavy to lift"