1 How does the theme of poverty manifest in "The Ballad of the Landlord"? The landlord becomes poor after all his tenants stop paying rent The tenant is wealthier than the landlord and therefore pays him extra rent The tenant is able to move out because he is newly rich The landlord holds power over the tenant because of his relative wealth 2 How does the theme of race appear in the poem? The landlord refuses to rent to the tenant because he is Black The tenant's race leads him to be treated harshly and unfairly The tenant is the only white person in the landlord's building The landlord and the tenant are both Black, but aren't equally wealthy 3 What broad trajectory does the tenant's tone take in the poem? He begins imploringly but soon becomes happy and relieved He begins joyful and carefree but turns depressed and tired He begins angrily but slowly softens as he talks to the landlord He begins patiently and politely but becomes increasingly upset and combative 4 What is the primary effect of the newspaper quotes that make up the poem's final stanza? The quotes suggest that the justice system and the free press must work hand in hand The quotes show how the media and the public at large perceive the tenant The quotes reveal the extent of the landlord's corrupt business practices The quotes show how the city changes in the decades following the New Deal 5 Who is the speaker at the start of the poem? The landlord The newspaper reporter The police officer The tenant 6 What number and type of stanzas does this poem contain? Two quatrains followed by a sextet Six quatrains followed by three tercents Eight quatrains Three couplets followed by four quatrains 7 Which is the rhyme scheme established in the first several stanzas of the poem? ABCB ABACAB ABB AABBA 8 Which types of meter does Hughes use most frequently in this poem? Dactyls and iambs Trochees and iambs Iambs and Anapests Anapests and trochees 9 Which best describes the use of figurative language in the poem? The poem uses personification to make the abandoned building feel ominous The poem avoids figurative language, driving home the inescapable reality of the tenant's life The poem uses metaphors to compare the landlord's property to a prison The poem uses only two extended metaphors to compare the landlord and tenant's perspectives 10 Which of the following devices appears in the phrase "Way last week"? Anaphora Alliteration Personification Hyperbole 11 What alliterative sound appears in the phrase "gonna get eviction orders"? G D O V 12 Why is the poem's songlike form ironic? Its pleasant rhythm and rhyme continue unabated even when the tenant's life is unpleasantly derailed It evokes the sound of blues music despite the fact that the tenant is evicted for playing his instrument It elides the increasingly obvious fact of the tenant's lifelong deafness It suggests harmony between the tenants in the building, even though the landlord's policies divide them 13 The tenant's phrase "You gonna cut off my heat?" is an example of which of the following? Situational irony Verbal irony Dramatic irony None of these 14 Which best describes the poem's setting? London during World War II New Orleans during the colonial period California during the Gold Rush An American city in the twentieth century 15 Who is the poem's antagonist? The tenant The judge The landlord The mayor 16 Which best describes the poem's major conflict? The tenant's attempt to force his neglectful landlord into making repairs The landlord's discovery of a murder scene in the tenant's home The landlord's fruitless search for a disruptive tenant The landlord and tenant's slow realization that they are cousins 17 Which most accurately describes the poem's climax? The arrival of the police The tenant's bursting into song The landlord falling down the stairs The tenant asking the landlord to fix his roof 18 Which is an example of understatement in the poem? Well, that’s Ten Bucks more’n I’ll pay you /Till you fix this house up new. Um-huh! You talking high and mighty. Police! Police!/Come and get this man! Don’t you ’member I told you about it/ Way last week? 19 What role do italics serve in this poem? They are used to describe physical actions, mainly by the police They show that the landlord is speaking out loud They reveal the inner thoughts of the tenant and landlord alike They emphasize the tenant's emotions as he speak 20 What does the poem's shift from quatrains to tercets emphasize? The too-early death of the landlord's many renters The removal of the tenant's voice and agency The pattern of waltzing at the landlord's party The short, clipped nature of police interrogation 21 Which of the following is NOT a major theme of this poem? Religion and spirituality Beauty, art, and injustice Racism Poverty and class 22 The landlord's claim "He’s trying to ruin the government/ And overturn the land!" is an instance of which of the following? Volta Hyperbole Caesura Internal rhyme 23 Which best describes the effect of the short lines in stanzas 7 and 8? They reveal the speaker's exhaustion and confusion They dramatize the abrupt, violent arrival of police They mimic the tiny size of the tenant's apartment They make the lines sound rushed and secretive 24 Which of the following devices are used heavily in the tenant's speech? Personification Rhetorical questions Onomatopoeia Metaphor 25 Which of the following real-world concerns does this poem allude to? Housing rights Urbanization and deforestation Women's domestic labor Workers' safety