1 Who is the poem's speaker? Somebody who has just ordered a box full of bees A bee who lives on a farm A writer comparing her words to swarming bees A grieving husband participating in the custom of "telling the bees" 2 Broadly speaking, what did bees symbolize in seventeenth-century Europe? Poverty and monasticism Hard work and piety Noisiness and immorality Creativity and individuality 3 What is the meaning of the word "colonnade"? A military parade A dessert made of fruit A row of columns A colonial outpost 4 Which writer did NOT use bees as a symbol or allegory? John Mandeville John Greenleaf Whittier Mary Leapor Fanny Burney 5 What are the bees probably NOT intended to symbolize in this poem? Familial demands on women The speaker's thoughts Climate change Sexual aggression 6 Where does the poem most likely take place? A school A field of flowers The speaker's home An industrial honey farm 7 Which collection was this poem a part of? The Bell Jar The Colossus Double Exposure Ariel 8 How does the work's final stanza most clearly differ from the others? It is the only part that does not rhyme It is written in a different meter It is spoken by a different speaker It is only one line long 9 Fill in the blank: I wonder if they would forget me/If I just undid the locks and stood back and _______" turned into a tree died ran away closed my eyes 10 Which is an example of irony? The amount of noise that the bees make The speaker's ability to keep her bees alive or let them die The speaker's feeling of temptation despite the danger of the bees The speaker's comparison of herself to God 11 Fill in the blank: It is the noise that _____ me most of all, ensnares intrigues appalls distracts 12 What does the speaker NOT compare the box to? A chair A tent A coffin A baby 13 How many stanzas are in the poem? 3 9 7 5 14 The speaker compares the bees to a mob from where? Revolutionary America The Old West Ancient Rome Victorian Britain 15 What is the meaning of the word "laburnum"? A New England company A diploma A kitchen counter A type of tree 16 What is the meaning of the word "din"? Noise Hillside Sunset Dinner 17 Which best describes the poem's portrayal of power? The bees' power comes from their cleanliness and cooperativeness The speaker struggles to decide whether it is she or the bees who holds disproportionate power The speaker loses her power when she buys the bees and gives up her job The speaker struggles for power, but is no match for nature 18 What is the poem's meter? Anapestic tetrameter It has no set meter Iambic pentameter Dactylic pentameter 19 What best describes the poem's conflict? The speaker's fight against the queen bee The speaker's decision about whether to free the bees The beekeeper's conflict with the industrialist The bee's decision about whether to sting the human 20 What best describes the speaker's feelings about the bees? self-effacing admiration maddening irritation alternating fascination and fear intimacy and love 21 What type of stanzas appear in the poem? Tercets Couplets The stanzas are unmatched Sestets 22 How is the theme of femininity discussed in the poem? The queen bee represents the feminists of the twentieth century The bees' collaboration suggests that only collaboration between women will better their lot The poem subtly equates the speaker's fear of the bees with women's fear of violence or subjugation The speaker's desire to engage with insects hints at a need to escape human gender norms 23 Which mythological figure is alluded to in the poem? Daphne Persephone Narcissus Hercules 24 What do the trees most closely symbolize? The abundance of nature The speaker's ambivalence Escape from conflict Strength 25 Which of the following is a metaphor? "They can die, I can feed them nothing" "There is only a little grid, no exit" "Square as a chair and almost too heavy to lift" "In my moon suit and funeral veil"