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 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.
2 In what year was this poem published?

1962

1963

1965

1964
3 In what year was this poem written?

1965

1967

1966

1961
4 Which of the following best describes the form of this poem?

Iambic pentameter, ABAB rhyme scheme

Iambic pentameter, heroic couplets

Free verse, with some rhymes and lines in pentameter

Free verse, unrhymed and unmetered
5 Which of the following is NOT a major theme of this poem?

Religion

Death

Parenthood

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

“face of the effigy”

“grasses unload their griefs”

“blue garments unloose”

“The moon is my mother”
7 Which of the following accurately describes the argument this poem makes about religion?

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

Religion is a major source of familial conflict and trauma.

No one should be discriminated against for their religious beliefs.

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

Allusion

Personification

Asyndeton

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

The yew tree is cut down.

The yew tree delivers its message: blackness and silence.

The yew tree points up.

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

25

35

28

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

"Eight great tongues affirming the Resurrection."

"It has a Gothic shape."

"Fumy, spiritous mists inhabit this place"

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

6

5

7

8
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?

Feelings of disorientation felt in the moonlit graveyard vs. the speaker’s desire for affection and a sense of direction

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
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?

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

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

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

"Eight great tongues affirming the Resurrection."
17 In which collection was this poem published?

Ariel

The Colossus

The Bell Jar

Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams
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 modernist who was most active in the early twentieth century

A Romantic poet of the late nineteenth century

A confessional poet of the mid-twentieth century

A poet and playwright from the Elizabethan era
20 Which of the following is NOT an example of rhyme or assonance from this poem?

“Eight great tongues”

“blue [...] pews”

“spiritous mists inhabit this”

“The moon is my mother”
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 mouth that silently gapes in the shape of the letter "O."

It resembles a human face that is white with grief.

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

Metonymy

Personification

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

The moon

The color blue

The color red

The yew tree
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 first poetry collection.

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

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

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