On the Pulse of Morning Quizzes

On the Pulse of Morning Quiz

1 For whose presidential inauguration did Angelou write this work?

Bill Clinton

John F. Kennedy

Barack Obama

Jimmy Carter
2 How many stanzas are in the poem?

3

21

13

8
3 What is the work's rhyme scheme?

ABBA CDDC

It has no rhyme scheme

ABABAB

AABBCC
4 What does the mention of "a bordered country" suggest?

Emotional isolation

Exciting secrecy

The mystery of the past

Harmful immigration policies
5 Which does NOT describe the work's tone?

Angry

Hopeful

Imploring

Thoughtful
6 Which is a central argument of this poem?

That history must be bravely faced

That democracy is a fragile institution

That free speech is both dangerous and necessary

That history must be forgotten
7 Who is the speaker?

A small child

A recently freed slave

An array of immigrants arriving to America

The speaker is a fluid, omnipotent-seeming entity
8 What is the poem's meter?

Dactylic hexameter

Iambic pentameter

It is written in iambs, but the number of feet varies

Free verse
9 Where does the poem take place?

California in the Gold Rush

New Orleans

America

Washington, D.C.
10 Which of the following is an argument of the poem?

That every region of the United States is equally important in different ways

That Americans must travel their country to speak to one another

That interpersonal and environmental destruction go hand-in-hand

That colonialism is ongoing throughout America's territories abroad
11 Which prehistoric animal is alluded to in this work?

Single-celled amoeba

Mastodon

Pterodactyl

Wooly mammoth
12 In which year was this poem first performed?

2009

1964

1993

2012
13 What is meant by the word "hastening"?

Storming

Awkward

A type of seasoning

Speeding up
14 What is meant by the word "sojourn"?

Temporary dwelling

Summertime

Folk song common in the U.S.

Presidential term
15 What is a mendicant?

A seamstress

A doctor

A beggar

A farmer
16 How does the poem's speaker exemplify the theme of unity?

By leading call-and-response chants to bring an audience together

By offering itself up for the good of the nation

By describing how it forgives and embraces its oppressors

By serving as a shared voice for a variety of different beings and entities
17 What type of stanzas comprise this poem?

The poem has no single stanza type

Tercets

Couplets

Sextets
18 Which of the following is used as a metaphor for cynicism?

A telephone

A garden

A shield

A wound
19 Which can best be described as the poem's antagonist?

The speaker

The neighbor

Human brutality

Mastodons
20 Who has NOT read a poem at a presidential inauguration?

Amanda Gorman

Elizabeth Alexander

Robert Frost

Langston Hughes
21 Which of the following is used as a metaphor for producing a dream?

Cooking a meal

Giving birth

Writing a poem

An assembly line
22 The line “Rock, the River, the Tree, your country," includes which of the following?

Alliterative T sounds

Alliterative R sounds

Assonant OU sounds

Assonant A sounds
23 How does Angelou emphasize the links between Midas, the mastodon, and the mendicant?

Through rhyme

Through alliteration

Through onomatopoeia

Through assonance
24 What does morning symbolize?

Hard work

Solitude

Clarity

A fresh start
25 What does "Midas" allude to?

A mythological king

An American founding father

A Native American tribe

An early African American poet

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Study Guide for On the Pulse of Morning

On the Pulse of Morning study guide contains a biography of Maya Angelou, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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