Sestina (Elizabeth Bishop poem) Quizzes

Sestina (Elizabeth Bishop poem) Quiz

1 The phrase "her teacup full of dark brown tears" is an example of which of the following?
Personification

Simile

Verbal irony

Metaphor
2 What does "foretold" mean?
Dreaded

Threatened

Imagined

Predicted
3 Who is the speaker?
The almanac

The grandchild

The grandmother

An omniscient third person
4 What kind of stanzas are in this poem?
Sestets

Quatrains

Sestets and a tercet

Tercets
5 The word "birdlike" is an instance of what?
Simile

Hyperbole

Metaphor

Understatement
6 Which is NOT a major theme of this poem?
Adventure

Care

Trauma

Repression
7 In what month does the poem take place?
December

September

October

November
8 Which best describes the sestina as a form?
It consists of couplets with identical end words, which are preceded by a rhymed word

It contains two repeated, alternating refrains, which appear at the close of every stanza

It contains repeated concluding words in every line, which shift order from one stanza to the next

It builds up to a volta, or turn, which takes place after either the eighth or twelfth line
9 Which best describes the two characters' dynamic?
They are haunted by a recent tragedy, but discuss that event at length to comfort each other

They are both haunted by the same event, but do no openly discuss that event

They are blissfully happy, as-yet unaware of the tragedy in their family

They are hostile with one another, blaming each other for their shared past
10 Which is NOT one of the repeated words in this poem?
tears

kettle

stove

grandmother
11 What is an almanac?
A type of reference book containing information such as calendars

A family photo album

A journal used for recording household expenditures

A joke book
12 What does "rigid" mean?
Ironic

Inflexible

Rude

Sturdy
13 To what does Bishop compare the tea in the grandmother's cup?
The ocean

Blood

Milk

Tears
14 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?
It is unrhymed

ABABAB

ABBA CDDC EFFE

ABBCDD EFFGEE
15 What does the word "inscrutable" mean?
Hard

Painful

Funny

Mysterious
16 What does the child draw?
A stove

A house

Herself

The moon
17 When was this poem first published?
1953

1979

1928

1956
18 What is the final stanza of a sestina called?
An aubade

A strophe

An envoi

A volta
19 Where is the poem set?
Its setting is unstated

Boston

The English countryside

New Orleans
20 What does "Marvel" refer to in this poem?
A sect of Christianity

An adjective meaning "amazing"

A brand of kitchenware

A media company
21 How many stanzas are in this poem?
6

16

7

5
22 Which of the following contains alliteration?
"shows it proudly to the grandmother."

"September rain falls"

"sings on the stove"

"the old grandmother"
23 In which publication did this poem first appear?
The Paris Review

Harpers

The New Yorker

None—it first appeared in book form
24 What has traumatized the characters in this poem?
The death of the child's mother

A war

A house fire

The precise nature of the event is hinted at but never revealed
25 What is an equinox?
The longest day of the year

A night on which an eclipse happens

The hottest night of the year

A date on which the night and the day are of the same length

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