A Small Needful Fact Quizzes

A Small Needful Fact Quiz

1 Who wrote "A Small Needful Fact?"

Roberto Huyen

Robert Hayden

Ross Gay

Ros Guy
2 Where was the poem originally published?

on Ross Gay's personal website

Be Holding

Split the Rock Poetry

Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude
3 What is the form and meter?

The fourteen lines of the poem are written in a single stanza with no delineated meter or rhyme scheme.

The fifteen lines of the poem are written in a single stanza with no delineated meter or rhyme scheme.

The fifteen lines of the poem are written in two stanzas with no delineated meter or rhyme scheme.

The fifteen lines of the poem are written in a single stanza in iambic pentameter.
4 What is the "fact" mentioned in the poem's title?

Garner was forty-three when he died

Garner once worked for the Parks and Rec. Horticultural Department

Plants convert sunlight into food

Garner's life was tragically cut short
5 When was Ross Gay born?

1973

1981

1974

1969
6 How does the poet describe Garner's hands?

large

gentle

very large

calloused
7 How did Eric Garner die?

He did not die

He died when a police officer shot him

He died after a police officer placed him in a chokehold

He passed away from an asthma attack
8 What words became part of a national movement?

Let my people go

Give me freedom

I can't breathe

Let me go
9 Which poem is "A Small Needful Fact" in conversation with?

Amiri Baraka's "Frederick Douglass"

Amiri Baraka's "An Agony. As Now."

Robert Hayden's "An Agony. As Now."

Robert Hayden's "Frederick Douglass"
10 What does Gay speculate that Garner did?

attempt to defend himself

sell cigarettes

keep the peace in his community

put gently into the earth some plants
11 What is relevant about the way Gay writes about Garner?

Gay honors Garner's life without attempting to sanctify him

Gay writes about Garner's past job

Gay explicitly protests Garner's death

Gay writes against police brutality
12 Where does the word "hedge" come from?

The plants that often line sidewalks and houses

Old English hecg, originally any plant, living or artificial

Old English word gelic, that meant “with the body,” as in “with the body of"

Old English hecg, originally any fence, living or artificial
13 Which hedging phrases are used in the poem?

"may," "think," and "to some extent"

"perhaps," "in all likelihood," and "most likely"

"presumably," "so to speak," and "seems"

"It is clear that" and "it has been suggested"
14 Finish the quote: "continue to do what such plants do, like ___ creatures"

be pleasant and nice-smelling

house and feed small and necessary

house small

give breath to
15 Where does the word "like" come from?

Old English word gelic, that meant “with the body,” as in “with the body of”

Old English word gelic, originally any plant, living or artificial

Old English hecg, originally any fence, living or artificial

Old English hecg, originally any plant, living or artificial
16 What is horticulture?

the way culture changes over the course of history

relating to the art or practice of garden cultivation and management

the term for systemic racism

the razing of a garden
17 What is the last movement of the poem?

"like being pleasant to touch and smell" (Line 12)

"like converting sunlight into food" (Line 13)

"like making it easier / for us to breathe" (Lines 14-15)

"continue to grow" (Line 9)
18 Which of the following is NOT a major theme of the poem?

Breath

Nature and Connection

Honoring a Life

The Glory of Faith
19 What do the poem's hedging phrases and commas NOT accomplish?

Cause the reader to rush through the reading

Create pauses for breath

Provide a tone of hesitation

Contribute to the impact of the final lines
20 How does the language about nature in this poem contrast from other works by Gay?

This poem's metaphors contrast Gay's typical matter-of-factness

Gay uses sensory details in this poem whereas he usually does not

The flat and banal language of this poem contrasts Gay's usual exuberant descriptions

Gay does not usually write about nature
21 On Gay's personal website, what does he say he is interested in studying?

Horticulture

Poetry

Happiness

Joy
22 In Robert Hayden's sonnet, what important comparison is made that is relevant to "A Small Needful Fact?"

Freedom and liberty are needful to man as air

Liberty is a beautiful dream

Freedom should belong to all

Frederick Douglass is embodied through the practice of liberty
23 How was Eric Garner known in his community?

as a musician

as a peacemaker

as a storyteller

as a gardener
24 Which of the following is not true about the poem?

The poem implicitly deals with Garner's past work

The poem honors a man without trying to sanctify him

The poem is composed of a single sentence

The poem was widely shared across social media
25 Which line from Gay's book Be Holding relates to "A Small Needful Fact?"

“fly some from the overboard”

"a docent / in the museum of black pain"

"but holds them both / in their flight"

"for shooting the woman / and the little girl"

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Study Guide for A Small Needful Fact

A Small Needful Fact study guide contains a biography of Ross Gay, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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