A Small Needful Fact Quizzes

A Small Needful Fact Quiz

1 Who wrote "A Small Needful Fact?"

Ross Gay

Roberto Huyen

Ros Guy

Robert Hayden
2 Where was the poem originally published?

Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude

Split the Rock Poetry

on Ross Gay's personal website

Be Holding
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 a single stanza in iambic pentameter.

The fifteen lines of the poem are written in two stanzas with no delineated meter or rhyme scheme.
4 What is the "fact" mentioned in the poem's title?

Plants convert sunlight into food

Garner was forty-three when he died

Garner's life was tragically cut short

Garner once worked for the Parks and Rec. Horticultural Department
5 When was Ross Gay born?

1973

1969

1974

1981
6 How does the poet describe Garner's hands?

large

calloused

very large

gentle
7 How did Eric Garner die?

He died after a police officer placed him in a chokehold

He did not die

He passed away from an asthma attack

He died when a police officer shot him
8 What words became part of a national movement?

Let me go

Let my people go

I can't breathe

Give me freedom
9 Which poem is "A Small Needful Fact" in conversation with?

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

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

Amiri Baraka's "Frederick Douglass"

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

put gently into the earth some plants

keep the peace in his community

sell cigarettes

attempt to defend himself
11 What is relevant about the way Gay writes about Garner?

Gay writes against police brutality

Gay writes about Garner's past job

Gay explicitly protests Garner's death

Gay honors Garner's life without attempting to sanctify him
12 Where does the word "hedge" come from?

Old English hecg, originally any fence, living or artificial

Old English hecg, originally any plant, living or artificial

The plants that often line sidewalks and houses

Old English word gelic, that meant “with the body,” as in “with the body of"
13 Which hedging phrases are used in the poem?

"It is clear that" and "it has been suggested"

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

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

"presumably," "so to speak," and "seems"
14 Finish the quote: "continue to do what such plants do, like ___ creatures"

house and feed small and necessary

give breath to

house small

be pleasant and nice-smelling
15 Where does the word "like" come from?

Old English hecg, originally any plant, living or artificial

Old English hecg, originally any fence, living or artificial

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

Old English word gelic, that meant “with the body,” as in “with the body of”
16 What is horticulture?

the way culture changes over the course of history

the term for systemic racism

relating to the art or practice of garden cultivation and management

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

"like converting sunlight into food" (Line 13)

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

"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?

Honoring a Life

The Glory of Faith

Nature and Connection

Breath
19 What do the poem's hedging phrases and commas NOT accomplish?

Create pauses for breath

Contribute to the impact of the final lines

Provide a tone of hesitation

Cause the reader to rush through the reading
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

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

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

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

Joy

Poetry

Happiness

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

Liberty is a beautiful dream

Freedom and liberty are needful to man as air

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 storyteller

as a peacemaker

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

The poem honors a man without trying to sanctify him

The poem is composed of a single sentence

The poem implicitly deals with Garner's past work

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”

"but holds them both / in their flight"

"for shooting the woman / and the little girl"

"a docent / in the museum of black pain"

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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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