The Moon and the Yew Tree Quizzes

The Moon and the Yew Tree Quiz

1 Which of the following best summarizes this poem?
The speaker remembers her dead father as she looks at a yew tree.

The speaker appreciates the beauty of the moon.

The speaker attends Sunday service, where she witnesses the corrupt practices of the church.

The speaker observes the moon and a yew tree in a church graveyard, and feels bewildered and disoriented.
2 In what year was this poem published?
1964

1962

1963

1965
3 In what year was this poem written?
1966

1967

1961

1965
4 Which of the following best describes the form of this poem?
Free verse, with some rhymes and lines in pentameter

Free verse, unrhymed and unmetered

Iambic pentameter, heroic couplets

Iambic pentameter, ABAB rhyme scheme
5 Which of the following is NOT a major theme of this poem?
War

Religion

Death

Parenthood
6 Which of the following does NOT contain an example of alliteration or consonance?
“blue garments unloose”

“face of the effigy”

“grasses unload their griefs”

“The moon is my mother”
7 Which of the following accurately describes the argument this poem makes about religion?
No one should be discriminated against for their religious beliefs.

Institutionalized religion can lend itself to performative rather than genuine acts of worship.

Religion is the solution to familial conflict and trauma.

Religion is a major source of familial conflict and trauma.
8 Which of the following literary elements is NOT featured in this poem?
Asyndeton

Consonance

Allusion

Personification
9 Which of the following takes place in the final line of the poem?
The yew tree points up.

The yew tree delivers its message: blackness and silence.

The yew tree is cut down.

The yew tree is discovered by the speaker.
10 How many lines does this poem contain?
21

25

35

28
11 Which of the following might be read as an understatement in this poem?
"It has a Gothic shape."

"Eight great tongues affirming the Resurrection."

"Fumy, spiritous mists inhabit this place"

"She is not sweet like Mary."
12 How many syllables does each line in this poem have?
7

6

8

5
13 Which of the following best describes the setting of the poem?
The house in which the speaker lives with her parents

A church graveyard near the speaker's house in broad daylight

A church graveyard near the speaker's house on the night of a full moon, imagined and perceived from the speaker's perspective

The speaker's imagination of a certain planet
14 Which of the following best describes the conflict taking place in the poem?
The mother of the speaker vs. the father of the speaker

The moon vs. the sea it drags like a dark crime

The speaker's desire for religious freedom vs. institutionalized religion

Feelings of disorientation felt in the moonlit graveyard vs. the speaker’s desire for affection and a sense of direction
15 Which of the following best describes the tone of the poem?
Disparaging, critical, scathing, accusatory

Grateful, loving, pious, sentimental

Solemn, cryptic, contemplative, grim

Nostalgic, affectionate, celebratory, ebullient
16 Which line might be the climax of the poem?
"Eight great tongues affirming the Resurrection."

"The eyes lift after it and find the moon."

"Separated from my house by a row of headstones."

"The moon sees nothing of this. She is bald and wild."
17 In which collection was this poem published?
Ariel

The Bell Jar

Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams

The Colossus
18 Which of the following INCORRECTLY describes this poem?
It has an unnamed first-person speaker.

It is set in a specific historical period.

It has four stanzas.

It makes extensive use of Biblical imagery.
19 Which of the following best describes the author?
A poet and playwright from the Elizabethan era

A confessional poet of the mid-twentieth century

A modernist who was most active in the early twentieth century

A Romantic poet of the late nineteenth century
20 Which of the following is NOT an example of rhyme or assonance from this poem?
“Eight great tongues”

“The moon is my mother”

“spiritous mists inhabit this”

“blue [...] pews”
21 "White as a knuckle and terribly upset" is NOT an example of which of the following?
Alliteration

The color motif in this poem

Simile

Reference to an idiom
22 What is the moon doing when it is "quiet / With the O-gape of complete despair"?
It resembles a human face that is white with grief.

It resembles a human mouth that silently gapes in the shape of the letter "O."

It makes a loud, yelling sound.

A giant, gaping hole is drilled through it.
23 "Her blue garments unloose small bats and owls" is NOT an example of which of the following?
Religious allusion

Personification

Metonymy

Simile
24 Which of the following is NOT a motif or symbol found in this poem?
The color blue

The color red

The yew tree

The moon
25 Which of the following accurately describes the book in which this poem was published?
It was written before Sylvia Plath married Ted Hughes.

It is Sylvia Plath's second and posthumous poetry collection.

It is Sylvia Plath's collection of poems, essays, and short stories.

It is Sylvia Plath's first poetry collection.

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