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

Jimmy Carter

Bill Clinton
2 How many stanzas are in the poem?
13

21

8

3
3 What is the work's rhyme scheme?
ABABAB

It has no rhyme scheme

AABBCC

ABBA CDDC
4 What does the mention of "a bordered country" suggest?
Harmful immigration policies

The mystery of the past

Emotional isolation

Exciting secrecy
5 Which does NOT describe the work's tone?
Thoughtful

Angry

Hopeful

Imploring
6 Which is a central argument of this poem?
That history must be forgotten

That history must be bravely faced

That free speech is both dangerous and necessary

That democracy is a fragile institution
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?
Dactylic hexameter

Free verse

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

Iambic pentameter
9 Where does the poem take place?
California in the Gold Rush

New Orleans

America

Washington, D.C.
10 Which of the following is an argument of the poem?
That every region of the United States is equally important in different ways

That Americans must travel their country to speak to one another

That colonialism is ongoing throughout America's territories abroad

That interpersonal and environmental destruction go hand-in-hand
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

Storming

Speeding up

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

Presidential term

Folk song common in the U.S.

Temporary dwelling
15 What is a mendicant?
A farmer

A seamstress

A beggar

A doctor
16 How does the poem's speaker exemplify the theme of unity?
By describing how it forgives and embraces its oppressors

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

By leading call-and-response chants to bring an audience together

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 wound

A telephone

A garden

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

Human brutality

The speaker

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

Elizabeth Alexander

Langston Hughes

Robert Frost
21 Which of the following is used as a metaphor for producing a dream?
Writing a poem

An assembly line

Giving birth

Cooking a meal
22 The line “Rock, the River, the Tree, your country," includes which of the following?
Alliterative T sounds

Assonant OU sounds

Alliterative R sounds

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

Through alliteration

Through onomatopoeia

Through rhyme
24 What does morning symbolize?
Solitude

Clarity

Hard work

A fresh start
25 What does "Midas" allude to?
A Native American tribe

An early African American poet

A mythological king

An American founding father

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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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