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?
Simile

Metaphor

Verbal irony

Personification
2 What does "foretold" mean?
Threatened

Predicted

Imagined

Dreaded
3 Who is the speaker?
An omniscient third person

The almanac

The grandmother

The grandchild
4 What kind of stanzas are in this poem?
Tercets

Sestets and a tercet

Sestets

Quatrains
5 The word "birdlike" is an instance of what?
Understatement

Metaphor

Simile

Hyperbole
6 Which is NOT a major theme of this poem?
Trauma

Care

Adventure

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 builds up to a volta, or turn, which takes place after either the eighth or twelfth line

It contains repeated concluding words in every line, which shift order from one stanza to the next
9 Which best describes the two characters' dynamic?
They are hostile with one another, blaming each other for their shared past

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

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
10 Which is NOT one of the repeated words in this poem?
kettle

stove

tears

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

A family photo album

A joke book

A journal used for recording household expenditures
12 What does "rigid" mean?
Sturdy

Rude

Ironic

Inflexible
13 To what does Bishop compare the tea in the grandmother's cup?
Tears

Blood

The ocean

Milk
14 What is the poem's rhyme scheme?
ABABAB

It is unrhymed

ABBA CDDC EFFE

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

Hard

Funny

Painful
16 What does the child draw?
The moon

Herself

A house

A stove
17 When was this poem first published?
1928

1956

1953

1979
18 What is the final stanza of a sestina called?
A strophe

A volta

An aubade

An envoi
19 Where is the poem set?
New Orleans

Its setting is unstated

Boston

The English countryside
20 What does "Marvel" refer to in this poem?
A sect of Christianity

An adjective meaning "amazing"

A media company

A brand of kitchenware
21 How many stanzas are in this poem?
7

16

5

6
22 Which of the following contains alliteration?
"September rain falls"

"sings on the stove"

"shows it proudly to the grandmother."

"the old grandmother"
23 In which publication did this poem first appear?
The New Yorker

None—it first appeared in book form

Harpers

The Paris Review
24 What has traumatized the characters in this poem?
The death of the child's mother

The precise nature of the event is hinted at but never revealed

A house fire

A war
25 What is an equinox?
A date on which the night and the day are of the same length

The hottest night of the year

The longest day of the year

A night on which an eclipse happens

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