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

Jimmy Carter

Barack Obama
2 How many stanzas are in the poem?

8

21

3

13
3 What is the work's rhyme scheme?

ABABAB

AABBCC

It has no rhyme scheme

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

The mystery of the past

Harmful immigration policies

Exciting secrecy

Emotional isolation
5 Which does NOT describe the work's tone?

Hopeful

Angry

Imploring

Thoughtful
6 Which is a central argument of this poem?

That democracy is a fragile institution

That free speech is both dangerous and necessary

That history must be forgotten

That history must be bravely faced
7 Who is the speaker?

A small child

An array of immigrants arriving to America

The speaker is a fluid, omnipotent-seeming entity

A recently freed slave
8 What is the poem's meter?

Iambic pentameter

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

Free verse

Dactylic hexameter
9 Where does the poem take place?

New Orleans

Washington, D.C.

California in the Gold Rush

America
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?

Wooly mammoth

Mastodon

Single-celled amoeba

Pterodactyl
12 In which year was this poem first performed?

1993

1964

2012

2009
13 What is meant by the word "hastening"?

A type of seasoning

Awkward

Storming

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

Presidential term

Summertime

Folk song common in the U.S.

Temporary dwelling
15 What is a mendicant?

A farmer

A beggar

A seamstress

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

By offering itself up for the good of the nation

By describing how it forgives and embraces its oppressors

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

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

Tercets

Couplets

Sextets

The poem has no single stanza type
18 Which of the following is used as a metaphor for cynicism?

A garden

A telephone

A shield

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

Human brutality

Mastodons

The neighbor

The speaker
20 Who has NOT read a poem at a presidential inauguration?

Elizabeth Alexander

Langston Hughes

Robert Frost

Amanda Gorman
21 Which of the following is used as a metaphor for producing a dream?

Writing a poem

Cooking a meal

Giving birth

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 alliteration

Through assonance

Through rhyme

Through onomatopoeia
24 What does morning symbolize?

A fresh start

Clarity

Hard work

Solitude
25 What does "Midas" allude to?

A mythological king

A Native American tribe

An early African American poet

An American founding father

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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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