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 observes the moon and a yew tree in a church graveyard, and feels bewildered and disoriented.

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

The speaker appreciates the beauty of the moon.
2 In what year was this poem published?

1962

1963

1964

1965
3 In what year was this poem written?

1965

1961

1967

1966
4 Which of the following best describes the form of this poem?

Free verse, unrhymed and unmetered

Free verse, with some rhymes and lines in pentameter

Iambic pentameter, ABAB rhyme scheme

Iambic pentameter, heroic couplets
5 Which of the following is NOT a major theme of this poem?

Death

Religion

Parenthood

War
6 Which of the following does NOT contain an example of alliteration or consonance?

“The moon is my mother”

“grasses unload their griefs”

“blue garments unloose”

“face of the effigy”
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 a major source of familial conflict and trauma.

Religion is the solution to familial conflict and trauma.
8 Which of the following literary elements is NOT featured in this poem?

Allusion

Consonance

Asyndeton

Personification
9 Which of the following takes place in the final line of the poem?

The yew tree is discovered by the speaker.

The yew tree points up.

The yew tree is cut down.

The yew tree delivers its message: blackness and silence.
10 How many lines does this poem contain?

35

28

25

21
11 Which of the following might be read as an understatement in this poem?

"It has a Gothic shape."

"She is not sweet like Mary."

"Fumy, spiritous mists inhabit this place"

"Eight great tongues affirming the Resurrection."
12 How many syllables does each line in this poem have?

8

5

6

7
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 on the night of a full moon, imagined and perceived from the speaker's perspective

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

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

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

The mother of the speaker vs. the father of the speaker

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?

Grateful, loving, pious, sentimental

Nostalgic, affectionate, celebratory, ebullient

Solemn, cryptic, contemplative, grim

Disparaging, critical, scathing, accusatory
16 Which line might be the climax of the poem?

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

"Eight great tongues affirming the Resurrection."

"The moon sees nothing of this. She is bald and wild."

"Separated from my house by a row of headstones."
17 In which collection was this poem published?

The Bell Jar

Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams

The Colossus

Ariel
18 Which of the following INCORRECTLY describes this poem?

It has an unnamed first-person speaker.

It makes extensive use of Biblical imagery.

It is set in a specific historical period.

It has four stanzas.
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?

“spiritous mists inhabit this”

“Eight great tongues”

“blue [...] pews”

“The moon is my mother”
21 "White as a knuckle and terribly upset" is NOT an example of which of the following?

Simile

Reference to an idiom

Alliteration

The color motif in this poem
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 makes a loud, yelling sound.

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

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?

Metonymy

Personification

Simile

Religious allusion
24 Which of the following is NOT a motif or symbol found in this poem?

The yew tree

The color blue

The moon

The color red
25 Which of the following accurately describes the book in which this poem was published?

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

It is Sylvia Plath's first poetry collection.

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

It was written before Sylvia Plath married Ted Hughes.

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