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

Simile

Personification
2 What does "foretold" mean?
Predicted

Dreaded

Imagined

Threatened
3 Who is the speaker?
The almanac

The grandchild

An omniscient third person

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

Sestets and a tercet

Tercets

Sestets
5 The word "birdlike" is an instance of what?
Simile

Understatement

Hyperbole

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

Adventure

Care

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

December

September

October
8 Which best describes the sestina as a form?
It contains two repeated, alternating refrains, which appear at the close of every stanza

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 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 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

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?
kettle

tears

stove

grandmother
11 What is an almanac?
A family photo album

A journal used for recording household expenditures

A joke book

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

ABABAB

ABBCDD EFFGEE

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

Funny

Hard

Painful
16 What does the child draw?
Herself

The moon

A stove

A house
17 When was this poem first published?
1956

1953

1928

1979
18 What is the final stanza of a sestina called?
A strophe

An aubade

A volta

An envoi
19 Where is the poem set?
The English countryside

Boston

New Orleans

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

An adjective meaning "amazing"

A media company

A brand of kitchenware
21 How many stanzas are in this poem?
16

6

5

7
22 Which of the following contains alliteration?
"the old grandmother"

"shows it proudly to the grandmother."

"sings on the stove"

"September rain falls"
23 In which publication did this poem first appear?
The New Yorker

Harpers

None—it first appeared in book form

The Paris Review
24 What has traumatized the characters in this poem?
The death of the child's mother

A house fire

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

A war
25 What is an equinox?
The hottest night of the year

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

A night on which an eclipse happens

The longest day of the year

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