On the Pulse of Morning Quizzes

On the Pulse of Morning Quiz

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

John F. Kennedy

Bill Clinton

Jimmy Carter
2 How many stanzas are in the poem?
21

3

8

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

It has no rhyme scheme

ABABAB

ABBA CDDC
4 What does the mention of "a bordered country" suggest?
Exciting secrecy

Emotional isolation

Harmful immigration policies

The mystery of the past
5 Which does NOT describe the work's tone?
Hopeful

Imploring

Thoughtful

Angry
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?
The speaker is a fluid, omnipotent-seeming entity

A small child

An array of immigrants arriving to America

A recently freed slave
8 What is the poem's meter?
Free verse

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

Iambic pentameter

Dactylic hexameter
9 Where does the poem take place?
America

California in the Gold Rush

New Orleans

Washington, D.C.
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?
Pterodactyl

Wooly mammoth

Mastodon

Single-celled amoeba
12 In which year was this poem first performed?
1993

2012

2009

1964
13 What is meant by the word "hastening"?
Awkward

A type of seasoning

Storming

Speeding up
14 What is meant by the word "sojourn"?
Presidential term

Temporary dwelling

Summertime

Folk song common in the U.S.
15 What is a mendicant?
A doctor

A beggar

A seamstress

A farmer
16 How does the poem's speaker exemplify the theme of unity?
By leading call-and-response chants to bring an audience together

By serving as a shared voice for a variety of different beings and entities

By describing how it forgives and embraces its oppressors

By offering itself up for the good of the nation
17 What type of stanzas comprise this poem?
Couplets

The poem has no single stanza type

Sextets

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

A wound

A garden

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

Human brutality

Mastodons

The speaker
20 Who has NOT read a poem at a presidential inauguration?
Robert Frost

Elizabeth Alexander

Langston Hughes

Amanda Gorman
21 Which of the following is used as a metaphor for producing a dream?
Giving birth

Writing a poem

Cooking a meal

An assembly line
22 The line “Rock, the River, the Tree, your country," includes which of the following?
Alliterative R sounds

Assonant A sounds

Assonant OU sounds

Alliterative T sounds
23 How does Angelou emphasize the links between Midas, the mastodon, and the mendicant?
Through onomatopoeia

Through rhyme

Through assonance

Through alliteration
24 What does morning symbolize?
Solitude

Hard work

A fresh start

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

A mythological king

An American founding father

A Native American tribe

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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.

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