Basket of Figs Quizzes

Basket of Figs Quiz

1 What collection was "Basket of Figs" published in?

Mules of Love

Like a Beggar

The Human Line

Indigo
2 When was this poem (and the collection it comes from) published?

2013

2002

1998

2001
3 What kind of relationship is portrayed in "Basket of Figs"?

A loving lesbian relationship

A relationship between friends

A mother and daughter relationship

A loving heterosexual relationship
4 What award did the collection as a whole receive?

Lambda Literary Award honoring the book as an important Jewish work

The National Book Award

Lambda Literary Award honoring the book as an important LGBTQ work

Griffin Poetry Prize
5 From whose perspective is the poem written?

Omniscient divine voice

Third-person speaker addressing her friend in the second-person

Third-person speaker addressing her lover in the third-person

First-person speaker addressing her lover in the second-person
6 Describe the form and meter.

Three quatrains and two tercets written in free verse.

Two quatrains and three tercets written in free verse.

Three quatrains and two tercets written in iambic pentameter.

Two quatrains and three tercets written in blank verse.
7 What is a quatrain?

A line that gets repeated throughout the poem

A stanza with four lines

A stanza with three lines

A refrain
8 Which food item is not a metaphor for the lover's pain?

Pomegranate seed

Basket of figs

Milk and honey

Warm eggs
9 Which material is not a metaphor for the lover's pain?

Fine rugs

Silk sashes

Gold jewelry

A flower vase
10 What is burlap?

The way a baby burps after eating

A smooth material made in a factory

Coarse canvas woven from jute, hemp, or a similar fiber, used especially for sacking

A smooth natural material made from fibers
11 Which is an example of alliteration?

silk sashes

intricate embroidery

spill your wine

basket of figs
12 What is alliteration?

Repetition of the same sound at the start of a series of words in succession

A beautiful image

Figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them

Repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close together in a sentence or verse
13 What is the tone of the poem?

Angry, Disillusioned

Firm, Tender, Loving, Erotic

Pensive, Calm, Loving

Passionate, Direct, Controlling
14 What is the implication of the lines "the hem stitched the way you were taught, / pricking just a thread, almost invisible"?

The lover had a hand in creating her pain, and she seeks to hide her pain from the world by making it "almost invisible."

Other people forced the speaker's lover to learn how to sew as a child.

The speaker makes detailed and intricate embroidery.

The speaker tries to hide her pain from her lover.
15 Which sense is NOT engaged by "cinnamon / and cloves"?

Olfactory

Gustatory

Visual

Auditory
16 What does the olfactory sense refer to?

Sight

Hearing

Smell

Taste
17 Which line is best characterized as erotic?

"Unclasp it like jewels"

"That hard nugget of pain, I would suck it,"

"Spread / it out like fine rugs"

"I would lift it // tenderly"
18 Which of the following best characterizes the speaker?

A domineering partner who manipulates her lover by writing about her lover's pain

A confident authority figure who is capable of providing stability and love for her partner

A middle-aged woman coming to terms with aging

A woman exploring her sexuality
19 Which of the following is not a symbol in the poem?

Persimmon pit

Clothing and jewelry

Food

The mouth
20 Which of the following is not a theme in the poem?

Sensual Celebration

Vulnerability and Surrender

Unconditional Love

Community Love
21 What acts does the line about the "hard nugget of pain" imply?

Reflecting and Acting

Touching and Sex

Eating and Talking

Eating and Sex
22 What does the mention of animal behavior in the final stanza do in the poem?

It suggests that the speaker is following her natural instincts to care for her partner.

There is no mention of animals in the poem.

It portrays the speaker and her partner as cats.

It evokes the animal-like instinct in the speaker to consume her partner.
23 Finish this quote: "Unclasp it like jewels, the gold___"

still hot from my body

melting into your skin

matching your eyes

/ still hot from your body
24 Why does the speaker tell her partner to empty a basket of figs?

The speaker wants her lover to relish the sweetness of life.

The speaker wants her partner to eat more fruits and vegetables.

The speaker wants her partner not to waste food.

The speaker wants her partner to lose weight.
25 Why might the speaker tell her partner to spill her wine?

The speaker doesn't want her partner to drink a whole glass.

The speaker wants her partner to drink less.

The speaker wants her partner to embarrass herself.

The speaker doesn't want her partner to act perfectly polite all the time.

Basket of Figs Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Basket of Figs is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Ask Your Own Question

Study Guide for Basket of Figs

Basket of Figs study guide contains a biography of Ellen Bass, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Read the Study Guide for Basket of Figs…