Gretel in Darkness Quizzes

1 Which of the following is NOT a major theme of this poem?

Justice

Gender

Trauma

Sexuality
2 Which sounds are prominently used in the poem's closing lines?

S, F, and L sounds, which mimic sinister whispers

R, L, and M sounds, which create a sense of calm and luxuriousness

J, G, and Sh sounds, which mimic the sound of flowing water

K and T sounds, which evoke harsh, staccato conversation
3 Where does the speaker live while narrating the poem?

Boarding school

The woods

The witch's house

Her father's house
4 Who is the poem's speaker?

The father

Gretel

Hansel

The witch
5 Which best describes the speaker's conflict regarding gender?

The female speaker hates other women because they have harmed her in the past

The female speaker is technically protected by men, but feels a certain fascination with her female enemies

The female speaker believes that her male family members are forcing her into dangerous situations

The male speaker harbors misogynistic beliefs, but can't reconcile them with his love for his daughter
6 Which best describes the role of irony in this poem?

The poem subverts our expectations of how a happy or victorious ending should feel

The poem satirically, sarcastically asserts that women need men to protect them

The poem has an unexpected happy ending after a dark beginning

The poem uses dramatic irony to let the reader, but not the speaker, see that the speaker is in danger
7 Why does the speaker experience guilt?

Because of the pain she has inflicted in self-defense

Because she abandoned her brother with the witch

Because she thinks her family would be safer if she had not angered the witch

Because she believes that she put her brother in danger
8 Who is the poem's antagonist?

The speaker's trauma

The speaker's brother

The woods

The speaker's father
9 On which fairytale is this poem based?

Each stanza responds to a different tale

Cinderella

Jack and the Beanstalk

Hansel and Gretel
10 Why are this poem's images so vivid when describing the past, but muted when describing the present?

The speaker's trauma causes her to vividly re-experience the past

The speaker is asleep and is dreaming about the past

The speaker is very old and senile, and believes that she is still young

The speaker is distracting her child from the threats of the present with stories of the past
11 Which best describes the metaphor "the spires of that gleaming kiln"?

It compares the oven to a church, making it seem imposing and linked to divine justice

It compares the potter's wheel to a tall building, examining the relationship between types of craft

It compares fire to a rooftop, remarking upon how easily nature can destroy human structures

It compares the campfire to a church, showing how everyday community can be spiritual
12 Why is the speaker upset with her brother?

She thinks that he feels too much guilt about the witch's death

She realizes that he is jealous of her victory over the witch

She believes that he has forgotten their past

She feels that he is disrespectful to their father
13 Which best describes the poem's tone?

Light

Nightmarish

Nostalgic

Cerebral
14 What relationship do the words "still" and "real" in the poem's final stanza have to one another?

They are rhymes

They are contrasts

They are slant rhymes

They are alliterative
15 How many stanzas comprise this poem?

3

2

4

8
16 The phrase "far from women's arms" uses one body part to represent the women generally, in an instance of which?

Understatement

Hyperbole

Synecdoche

Simile
17 What does fire most closely symbolize?

The speaker's guilt

Warmth and safety in the father's house

The speaker's indomitable spirit

Hope
18 Which of these objects are personified in the poem?

Candy

Doors

Guns

Trees
19 Which sounds in the phrase "the black forest and the fire in earnest" are alliterative?

The "K"s

The "F"s

The "B"s

The "S"s
20 The phrase "this is the world we wanted" contains which of the following?

Assonance

Understatement

Alliteration

Anaphora
21 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?

ABBAC

ABCBC

ABAB

The poem has no regular rhyme scheme
22 What does the father's house symbolize?

Physical safety

Hard work

Emotional care

Inheritance
23 What type of stanzas make up this poem?

Quatrains

Tercets

Couplets

Sestets
24 When does the poem's climax occur?

In the final stanza, when the speaker finally kills the witch

In the final stanza, when the speaker abruptly returns to her awareness of reality

In the third stanza, when the speaker accuses her father of endangering her

In the final stanza, when the speaker becomes totally immersed in her memories
25 Which best describes the poem's setting?

Colonial America

Preindustrial or rural Europe

Contemporary New England

Revolutionary France

Gretel in Darkness

by Louise Gluck

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