1 How does the theme of poverty manifest in "The Ballad of the Landlord"? The tenant is able to move out because he is newly rich The tenant is wealthier than the landlord and therefore pays him extra rent The landlord becomes poor after all his tenants stop paying rent The landlord holds power over the tenant because of his relative wealth 2 How does the theme of race appear in the poem? The tenant is the only white person in the landlord's building The tenant's race leads him to be treated harshly and unfairly The landlord refuses to rent to the tenant because he is Black The landlord and the tenant are both Black, but aren't equally wealthy 3 What broad trajectory does the tenant's tone take in the poem? He begins joyful and carefree but turns depressed and tired He begins patiently and politely but becomes increasingly upset and combative He begins angrily but slowly softens as he talks to the landlord He begins imploringly but soon becomes happy and relieved 4 What is the primary effect of the newspaper quotes that make up the poem's final stanza? The quotes reveal the extent of the landlord's corrupt business practices The quotes show how the media and the public at large perceive the tenant The quotes suggest that the justice system and the free press must work hand in hand The quotes show how the city changes in the decades following the New Deal 5 Who is the speaker at the start of the poem? The landlord The police officer The tenant The newspaper reporter 6 What number and type of stanzas does this poem contain? Six quatrains followed by three tercents Eight quatrains Two quatrains followed by a sextet Three couplets followed by four quatrains 7 Which is the rhyme scheme established in the first several stanzas of the poem? AABBA ABACAB ABCB ABB 8 Which types of meter does Hughes use most frequently in this poem? Iambs and Anapests Trochees and iambs Anapests and trochees Dactyls and iambs 9 Which best describes the use of figurative language in the poem? The poem uses only two extended metaphors to compare the landlord and tenant's perspectives The poem uses personification to make the abandoned building feel ominous The poem avoids figurative language, driving home the inescapable reality of the tenant's life The poem uses metaphors to compare the landlord's property to a prison 10 Which of the following devices appears in the phrase "Way last week"? Anaphora Personification Alliteration Hyperbole 11 What alliterative sound appears in the phrase "gonna get eviction orders"? G V D O 12 Why is the poem's songlike form ironic? It suggests harmony between the tenants in the building, even though the landlord's policies divide them Its pleasant rhythm and rhyme continue unabated even when the tenant's life is unpleasantly derailed It evokes the sound of blues music despite the fact that the tenant is evicted for playing his instrument It elides the increasingly obvious fact of the tenant's lifelong deafness 13 The tenant's phrase "You gonna cut off my heat?" is an example of which of the following? Verbal irony Dramatic irony Situational irony None of these 14 Which best describes the poem's setting? An American city in the twentieth century New Orleans during the colonial period California during the Gold Rush London during World War II 15 Who is the poem's antagonist? The mayor The tenant The landlord The judge 16 Which best describes the poem's major conflict? The landlord and tenant's slow realization that they are cousins The tenant's attempt to force his neglectful landlord into making repairs The landlord's discovery of a murder scene in the tenant's home The landlord's fruitless search for a disruptive tenant 17 Which most accurately describes the poem's climax? The tenant's bursting into song The landlord falling down the stairs The arrival of the police The tenant asking the landlord to fix his roof 18 Which is an example of understatement in the poem? Don’t you ’member I told you about it/ Way last week? Police! Police!/Come and get this man! Um-huh! You talking high and mighty. Well, that’s Ten Bucks more’n I’ll pay you /Till you fix this house up new. 19 What role do italics serve in this poem? They show that the landlord is speaking out loud They are used to describe physical actions, mainly by the police They emphasize the tenant's emotions as he speak They reveal the inner thoughts of the tenant and landlord alike 20 What does the poem's shift from quatrains to tercets emphasize? The removal of the tenant's voice and agency The too-early death of the landlord's many renters The pattern of waltzing at the landlord's party The short, clipped nature of police interrogation 21 Which of the following is NOT a major theme of this poem? Poverty and class Racism Beauty, art, and injustice Religion and spirituality 22 The landlord's claim "He’s trying to ruin the government/ And overturn the land!" is an instance of which of the following? Caesura Volta Hyperbole Internal rhyme 23 Which best describes the effect of the short lines in stanzas 7 and 8? They reveal the speaker's exhaustion and confusion They mimic the tiny size of the tenant's apartment They make the lines sound rushed and secretive They dramatize the abrupt, violent arrival of police 24 Which of the following devices are used heavily in the tenant's speech? Metaphor Rhetorical questions Personification Onomatopoeia 25 Which of the following real-world concerns does this poem allude to? Workers' safety Housing rights Urbanization and deforestation Women's domestic labor