Basket of Figs Quizzes

Basket of Figs Quiz

1 What collection was "Basket of Figs" published in?

Like a Beggar

Mules of Love

The Human Line

Indigo
2 When was this poem (and the collection it comes from) published?

2002

2001

1998

2013
3 What kind of relationship is portrayed in "Basket of Figs"?

A mother and daughter relationship

A relationship between friends

A loving heterosexual relationship

A loving lesbian relationship
4 What award did the collection as a whole receive?

Griffin Poetry Prize

The National Book Award

Lambda Literary Award honoring the book as an important LGBTQ work

Lambda Literary Award honoring the book as an important Jewish work
5 From whose perspective is the poem written?

Omniscient divine voice

Third-person speaker addressing her friend in the second-person

First-person speaker addressing her lover in the second-person

Third-person speaker addressing her lover in the third-person
6 Describe the form and meter.

Three quatrains and two tercets written in free verse.

Two quatrains and three tercets written in blank verse.

Three quatrains and two tercets written in iambic pentameter.

Two quatrains and three tercets written in free verse.
7 What is a quatrain?

A stanza with four lines

A line that gets repeated throughout the poem

A stanza with three lines

A refrain
8 Which food item is not a metaphor for the lover's pain?

Milk and honey

Pomegranate seed

Warm eggs

Basket of figs
9 Which material is not a metaphor for the lover's pain?

A flower vase

Gold jewelry

Fine rugs

Silk sashes
10 What is burlap?

A smooth natural material made from fibers

The way a baby burps after eating

Coarse canvas woven from jute, hemp, or a similar fiber, used especially for sacking

A smooth material made in a factory
11 Which is an example of alliteration?

intricate embroidery

basket of figs

silk sashes

spill your wine
12 What is alliteration?

Repetition of the same sound at the start of a series of words in succession

Repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close together in a sentence or verse

Figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them

A beautiful image
13 What is the tone of the poem?

Pensive, Calm, Loving

Angry, Disillusioned

Passionate, Direct, Controlling

Firm, Tender, Loving, Erotic
14 What is the implication of the lines "the hem stitched the way you were taught, / pricking just a thread, almost invisible"?

Other people forced the speaker's lover to learn how to sew as a child.

The speaker makes detailed and intricate embroidery.

The lover had a hand in creating her pain, and she seeks to hide her pain from the world by making it "almost invisible."

The speaker tries to hide her pain from her lover.
15 Which sense is NOT engaged by "cinnamon / and cloves"?

Olfactory

Auditory

Visual

Gustatory
16 What does the olfactory sense refer to?

Sight

Taste

Smell

Hearing
17 Which line is best characterized as erotic?

"I would lift it // tenderly"

"That hard nugget of pain, I would suck it,"

"Unclasp it like jewels"

"Spread / it out like fine rugs"
18 Which of the following best characterizes the speaker?

A domineering partner who manipulates her lover by writing about her lover's pain

A woman exploring her sexuality

A confident authority figure who is capable of providing stability and love for her partner

A middle-aged woman coming to terms with aging
19 Which of the following is not a symbol in the poem?

The mouth

Clothing and jewelry

Food

Persimmon pit
20 Which of the following is not a theme in the poem?

Vulnerability and Surrender

Community Love

Unconditional Love

Sensual Celebration
21 What acts does the line about the "hard nugget of pain" imply?

Touching and Sex

Reflecting and Acting

Eating and Sex

Eating and Talking
22 What does the mention of animal behavior in the final stanza do in the poem?

It suggests that the speaker is following her natural instincts to care for her partner.

There is no mention of animals in the poem.

It portrays the speaker and her partner as cats.

It evokes the animal-like instinct in the speaker to consume her partner.
23 Finish this quote: "Unclasp it like jewels, the gold___"

melting into your skin

matching your eyes

/ still hot from your body

still hot from my body
24 Why does the speaker tell her partner to empty a basket of figs?

The speaker wants her lover to relish the sweetness of life.

The speaker wants her partner not to waste food.

The speaker wants her partner to eat more fruits and vegetables.

The speaker wants her partner to lose weight.
25 Why might the speaker tell her partner to spill her wine?

The speaker doesn't want her partner to drink a whole glass.

The speaker wants her partner to drink less.

The speaker doesn't want her partner to act perfectly polite all the time.

The speaker wants her partner to embarrass herself.

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Study Guide for Basket of Figs

Basket of Figs study guide contains a biography of Ellen Bass, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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