In Those Years Quizzes

In Those Years Quiz

1 In what years does the speaker believe people "lost track?"
During her youth

The 1970s

The 2000s

The 80s and 90s
2 What does the meaning of "you" have to do with the meaning of "we?"
It is unrelated

It is the opposite: in a group, everyone is the same

It is part of it: within a group, we must recognize others

They are the same
3 What is "silly, ironic, terrible?"
The dark birds of history

The idea of community

The USA

A focus on the self alone
4 What is the relationship between the adjectives "silly" and "terrible?"
They mean more or less the same thing

They are seemingly in tension

They both refer to the idea of community

The speaker doesn't believe that either applies to her
5 Why is it problematic if you can "only bear witness" to your own life?
You have to write everything down to be sure

No one else can bear witness to it for you

You get too anxious about your own problems

You ignore others
6 What is the effect of enjambment between the following lines: "we found ourselves/reduced to I"
The second undercuts the first, showing the separation of individuals from community

It shows the speaker's confusion

It shows the speaker's anger

It maintains iambic trimeter
7 Which of the following is NOT be a likely meaning of "the dark birds of history?"
the extinction of bald eagles

class/income inequality

structural racism

structural misogyny
8 In the context of the poem, what is "personal weather?"
The weather in one's zip code

The way one's life is going at any giving point, i.e. stormy or sunny

How one feels about one's community

One's health and fitness
9 At the end of the poem, where does the speaker imagine standing?
At the shore

In the fog of war

With her community

In her yard
10 What does the image of the individual alone at the shore suggest?
The beauty of nature

Bearing witness to life as a whole

Anger at the dark birds of history

Isolation and fragility
11 Given Rich's feminism, what is she encouraging readers to do?
Read more poetry

Focus on their personal problems

Ignore the dark birds of history

Form community and care about those around them
12 Where is there a "turn" in the poem?
Between stanzas one and two

In the last couplet

Between lines one and two

Between lines seven and eight

In Those Years Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for In Those Years is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Ask Your Own Question

Study Guide for In Those Years

In Those Years study guide contains a biography of Adrienne Rich, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Read the Study Guide for In Those Years…