On the Pulse of Morning Quizzes

On the Pulse of Morning Quiz

1 For whose presidential inauguration did Angelou write this work?
Barack Obama

Jimmy Carter

Bill Clinton

John F. Kennedy
2 How many stanzas are in the poem?
21

8

3

13
3 What is the work's rhyme scheme?
AABBCC

ABABAB

It has no rhyme scheme

ABBA CDDC
4 What does the mention of "a bordered country" suggest?
The mystery of the past

Exciting secrecy

Emotional isolation

Harmful immigration policies
5 Which does NOT describe the work's tone?
Hopeful

Angry

Thoughtful

Imploring
6 Which is a central argument of this poem?
That free speech is both dangerous and necessary

That democracy is a fragile institution

That history must be bravely faced

That history must be forgotten
7 Who is the speaker?
A small child

A recently freed slave

The speaker is a fluid, omnipotent-seeming entity

An array of immigrants arriving to America
8 What is the poem's meter?
Iambic pentameter

Dactylic hexameter

It is written in iambs, but the number of feet varies

Free verse
9 Where does the poem take place?
New Orleans

America

Washington, D.C.

California in the Gold Rush
10 Which of the following is an argument of the poem?
That interpersonal and environmental destruction go hand-in-hand

That Americans must travel their country to speak to one another

That colonialism is ongoing throughout America's territories abroad

That every region of the United States is equally important in different ways
11 Which prehistoric animal is alluded to in this work?
Mastodon

Single-celled amoeba

Wooly mammoth

Pterodactyl
12 In which year was this poem first performed?
1993

1964

2012

2009
13 What is meant by the word "hastening"?
Speeding up

Awkward

Storming

A type of seasoning
14 What is meant by the word "sojourn"?
Presidential term

Summertime

Folk song common in the U.S.

Temporary dwelling
15 What is a mendicant?
A farmer

A seamstress

A doctor

A beggar
16 How does the poem's speaker exemplify the theme of unity?
By serving as a shared voice for a variety of different beings and entities

By offering itself up for the good of the nation

By describing how it forgives and embraces its oppressors

By leading call-and-response chants to bring an audience together
17 What type of stanzas comprise this poem?
Sextets

Tercets

The poem has no single stanza type

Couplets
18 Which of the following is used as a metaphor for cynicism?
A shield

A telephone

A wound

A garden
19 Which can best be described as the poem's antagonist?
The neighbor

The speaker

Human brutality

Mastodons
20 Who has NOT read a poem at a presidential inauguration?
Amanda Gorman

Langston Hughes

Robert Frost

Elizabeth Alexander
21 Which of the following is used as a metaphor for producing a dream?
Cooking a meal

An assembly line

Writing a poem

Giving birth
22 The line “Rock, the River, the Tree, your country," includes which of the following?
Assonant A sounds

Alliterative T sounds

Alliterative R sounds

Assonant OU sounds
23 How does Angelou emphasize the links between Midas, the mastodon, and the mendicant?
Through rhyme

Through onomatopoeia

Through assonance

Through alliteration
24 What does morning symbolize?
Solitude

Clarity

A fresh start

Hard work
25 What does "Midas" allude to?
An early African American poet

A mythological king

An American founding father

A Native American tribe

On the Pulse of Morning Questions and Answers

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

Ask Your Own Question

Study Guide for On the Pulse of Morning

On the Pulse of Morning study guide contains a biography of Maya Angelou, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Read the Study Guide for On the Pulse of Morning…