Sestina (Elizabeth Bishop poem) Quizzes

Sestina (Elizabeth Bishop poem) Quiz

1 The phrase "her teacup full of dark brown tears" is an example of which of the following?
Verbal irony

Metaphor

Personification

Simile
2 What does "foretold" mean?
Predicted

Imagined

Dreaded

Threatened
3 Who is the speaker?
The grandmother

An omniscient third person

The almanac

The grandchild
4 What kind of stanzas are in this poem?
Sestets and a tercet

Quatrains

Sestets

Tercets
5 The word "birdlike" is an instance of what?
Metaphor

Understatement

Hyperbole

Simile
6 Which is NOT a major theme of this poem?
Trauma

Care

Repression

Adventure
7 In what month does the poem take place?
November

September

December

October
8 Which best describes the sestina as a form?
It consists of couplets with identical end words, which are preceded by a rhymed word

It contains repeated concluding words in every line, which shift order from one stanza to the next

It contains two repeated, alternating refrains, which appear at the close of every stanza

It builds up to a volta, or turn, which takes place after either the eighth or twelfth line
9 Which best describes the two characters' dynamic?
They are hostile with one another, blaming each other for their shared past

They are both haunted by the same event, but do no openly discuss that event

They are blissfully happy, as-yet unaware of the tragedy in their family

They are haunted by a recent tragedy, but discuss that event at length to comfort each other
10 Which is NOT one of the repeated words in this poem?
grandmother

kettle

stove

tears
11 What is an almanac?
A journal used for recording household expenditures

A joke book

A family photo album

A type of reference book containing information such as calendars
12 What does "rigid" mean?
Inflexible

Ironic

Sturdy

Rude
13 To what does Bishop compare the tea in the grandmother's cup?
Milk

Tears

Blood

The ocean
14 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?
ABABAB

ABBCDD EFFGEE

ABBA CDDC EFFE

It is unrhymed
15 What does the word "inscrutable" mean?
Mysterious

Painful

Hard

Funny
16 What does the child draw?
The moon

A house

Herself

A stove
17 When was this poem first published?
1979

1956

1953

1928
18 What is the final stanza of a sestina called?
A strophe

An envoi

An aubade

A volta
19 Where is the poem set?
New Orleans

The English countryside

Its setting is unstated

Boston
20 What does "Marvel" refer to in this poem?
A media company

A brand of kitchenware

A sect of Christianity

An adjective meaning "amazing"
21 How many stanzas are in this poem?
16

6

7

5
22 Which of the following contains alliteration?
"September rain falls"

"shows it proudly to the grandmother."

"sings on the stove"

"the old grandmother"
23 In which publication did this poem first appear?
The Paris Review

Harpers

None—it first appeared in book form

The New Yorker
24 What has traumatized the characters in this poem?
A war

A house fire

The precise nature of the event is hinted at but never revealed

The death of the child's mother
25 What is an equinox?
A date on which the night and the day are of the same length

The longest day of the year

A night on which an eclipse happens

The hottest night of the year

Sestina (Elizabeth Bishop poem) Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Sestina (Elizabeth Bishop poem) is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Ask Your Own Question

Study Guide for Sestina (Elizabeth Bishop poem)

Sestina (Elizabeth Bishop poem) study guide contains a biography of Elizabeth Bishop, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Read the Study Guide for Sestina (Elizabeth Bishop poem)…