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

Personification

Metaphor

Simile
2 What does "foretold" mean?
Imagined

Predicted

Threatened

Dreaded
3 Who is the speaker?
An omniscient third person

The grandchild

The almanac

The grandmother
4 What kind of stanzas are in this poem?
Sestets

Tercets

Sestets and a tercet

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

Hyperbole

Understatement

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

Trauma

Care

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

October

December

November
8 Which best describes the sestina as a form?
It contains repeated concluding words in every line, which shift order from one stanza to the next

It consists of couplets with identical end words, which are preceded by a rhymed word

It builds up to a volta, or turn, which takes place after either the eighth or twelfth line

It contains two repeated, alternating refrains, which appear at the close of every stanza
9 Which best describes the two characters' dynamic?
They are hostile with one another, blaming each other for their shared past

They are haunted by a recent tragedy, but discuss that event at length to comfort each other

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

They are both haunted by the same event, but do no openly discuss that event
10 Which is NOT one of the repeated words in this poem?
grandmother

kettle

stove

tears
11 What is an almanac?
A joke book

A journal used for recording household expenditures

A family photo album

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

Inflexible

Ironic

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?
It is unrhymed

ABBCDD EFFGEE

ABABAB

ABBA CDDC EFFE
15 What does the word "inscrutable" mean?
Funny

Hard

Painful

Mysterious
16 What does the child draw?
A stove

Herself

The moon

A house
17 When was this poem first published?
1953

1979

1928

1956
18 What is the final stanza of a sestina called?
A volta

An aubade

An envoi

A strophe
19 Where is the poem set?
New Orleans

Boston

The English countryside

Its setting is unstated
20 What does "Marvel" refer to in this poem?
A brand of kitchenware

An adjective meaning "amazing"

A sect of Christianity

A media company
21 How many stanzas are in this poem?
16

7

5

6
22 Which of the following contains alliteration?
"the old grandmother"

"sings on the stove"

"September rain falls"

"shows it proudly to the grandmother."
23 In which publication did this poem first appear?
The New Yorker

None—it first appeared in book form

Harpers

The Paris Review
24 What has traumatized the characters in this poem?
A house fire

The death of the child's mother

A war

The precise nature of the event is hinted at but never revealed
25 What is an equinox?
A night on which an eclipse happens

The hottest night of the year

A date on which the night and the day are of the same length

The longest day of the year

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