Skunk Hour Quizzes

Skunk Hour Quiz

By Alana Solin · Last reviewed September 09, 2018

1 What step does the heiress take to enhance her privacy?

She buys properties surrounding hers

She lets her house fall into disrepair to discourage visitors

She cuts off all of her relationships with friends and family

She plans to move somewhere more isolated
2 Why does the heiress desire privacy?

She has become paranoid in her old age

She does not approve of her son's career as a bishop

She has been spurned by an ex-lover

She is nostalgic for a time when social hierarchies were more prominent
3 What covers Blue Hill?

A red fox stain

A foot of snow and ice

A thick layer of clouds

Dead grass
4 What happens to the millionaire's yawl?

It is mysteriously stolen

It sinks at sea

It is auctioned off

He hands it down to his son
5 The decorator changes the colors in his shop to...

yellow

green

red

orange
6 The skunks search the streets for

Something to eat

The speaker

Their lost kittens

Prey to kill
7 The line "I myself am hell" is a reference to...

Lowell's mentor and friend, Allen Tate

The Bible

Paradise Lost

Shakespeare's Henry V
8 What word does the speaker use to describe the skunk's kittens?

Column

Shoal

Stream

Wreath
9 Which queen does this poem mention by name?

Mary, Queen of Scots

Queen Elizabeth I

Queen Victoria

Anne Boleyn
10 When the speaker looks at lovers in their cars, what does he observe just beyond them?

The Trinitarian Church

The ocean

A graveyard

Nautilus Island
11 The rhyme scheme is very strict and consistent.

False

n/a

n/a

True
12 The song that the speaker hears issuing from a radio says, "Love, O ____ Love"

Crude

Careless

Ceaseless

Useless
13 What does the speaker imagine he does to his "ill-spirit?"

He submits to its will

He threatens it with an awl

He has its hand to its throat

He casts it out of himself
14 Which of the following items does not appear in the decorator's shop?

An anchor

A cobbler's bench

A fishnet

An awl
15 Which word would best describe the decorator?

Motivated

Lonely

Withdrawn

Foolish
16 What structure does the speaker call "chalk-dry and spar"?

His childhood home

Main Street

The Trinitarian Church

The heiress's "Spartan cottage"
17 What about the millionaire does the speaker poke fun at?

His clothes

His passion for decorating

His perceived stupidity

His decadence
18 The first stanza mentions two characters related to the heiress. They are:

Her son and her deceased husband

Her daughter and her pastor

Her son and her head farmer

Her son and her daughter
19 Which of the following characters "seemed to leap from an L. L. Bean catalogue"?

The heiress

The decorator

A man in one of the love-cars that the speaker observes.

The summer millionaire
20 What would the decorator like to leave his career for?

To travel

A career as a respected artist

Marriage to a man

To be closer to his family
21 The speaker feels his "ill-spirit" in:

His blood cells

His fingertips

His eyes

His reflection
22 The skunks' eyes are described as

blinded

murky

seething

moonstruck
23 What season is on its way, according to this poem?

spring

winter

summer

fall
24 The speaker indicates that the decorator finds his work

fulfilling and profitable

fulfilling but not profitable

unfulfilling and unprofitable

profitable but not fulfilling
25 The speaker watches the skunk from

the top of his back steps

the steps of the Trinitarian Church

his bedroom window

his car

Skunk Hour Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Skunk Hour is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Ask Your Own Question

Study Guide for Skunk Hour

Skunk Hour study guide contains a biography of Robert Lowell, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Read the Study Guide for Skunk Hour…

Essays for Skunk Hour

Skunk Hour essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Skunk Hour by Robert Lowell.

From “Cooked” to “Raw”: Rhyme in Robert Lowell’s Poetry