In Those Years Quizzes

In Those Years Quiz

1 In what years does the speaker believe people "lost track?"
The 1970s

The 2000s

During her youth

The 80s and 90s
2 What does the meaning of "you" have to do with the meaning of "we?"
It is the opposite: in a group, everyone is the same

It is part of it: within a group, we must recognize others

They are the same

It is unrelated
3 What is "silly, ironic, terrible?"
The idea of community

A focus on the self alone

The USA

The dark birds of history
4 What is the relationship between the adjectives "silly" and "terrible?"
They mean more or less the same thing

They both refer to the idea of community

The speaker doesn't believe that either applies to her

They are seemingly in tension
5 Why is it problematic if you can "only bear witness" to your own life?
No one else can bear witness to it for you

You get too anxious about your own problems

You ignore others

You have to write everything down to be sure
6 What is the effect of enjambment between the following lines: "we found ourselves/reduced to I"
It maintains iambic trimeter

It shows the speaker's anger

It shows the speaker's confusion

The second undercuts the first, showing the separation of individuals from community
7 Which of the following is NOT be a likely meaning of "the dark birds of history?"
structural misogyny

class/income inequality

the extinction of bald eagles

structural racism
8 In the context of the poem, what is "personal weather?"
One's health and fitness

The way one's life is going at any giving point, i.e. stormy or sunny

The weather in one's zip code

How one feels about one's community
9 At the end of the poem, where does the speaker imagine standing?
In the fog of war

At the shore

In her yard

With her community
10 What does the image of the individual alone at the shore suggest?
Isolation and fragility

Bearing witness to life as a whole

Anger at the dark birds of history

The beauty of nature
11 Given Rich's feminism, what is she encouraging readers to do?
Read more poetry

Form community and care about those around them

Ignore the dark birds of history

Focus on their personal problems
12 Where is there a "turn" in the poem?
Between stanzas one and two

Between lines one and two

Between lines seven and eight

In the last couplet

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In Those Years study guide contains a biography of Adrienne Rich, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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