1 Who is the poem's speaker? A writer comparing her words to swarming bees Somebody who has just ordered a box full of bees A grieving husband participating in the custom of "telling the bees" A bee who lives on a farm 2 Broadly speaking, what did bees symbolize in seventeenth-century Europe? Poverty and monasticism Creativity and individuality Hard work and piety Noisiness and immorality 3 What is the meaning of the word "colonnade"? A row of columns A dessert made of fruit A colonial outpost A military parade 4 Which writer did NOT use bees as a symbol or allegory? John Greenleaf Whittier John Mandeville Mary Leapor Fanny Burney 5 What are the bees probably NOT intended to symbolize in this poem? Climate change Familial demands on women Sexual aggression The speaker's thoughts 6 Where does the poem most likely take place? A field of flowers A school An industrial honey farm The speaker's home 7 Which collection was this poem a part of? The Colossus Double Exposure The Bell Jar Ariel 8 How does the work's final stanza most clearly differ from the others? It is spoken by a different speaker It is written in a different meter It is the only part that does not rhyme It is only one line long 9 Fill in the blank: I wonder if they would forget me/If I just undid the locks and stood back and _______" closed my eyes died ran away turned into a tree 10 Which is an example of irony? The speaker's comparison of herself to God The speaker's ability to keep her bees alive or let them die The amount of noise that the bees make The speaker's feeling of temptation despite the danger of the bees 11 Fill in the blank: It is the noise that _____ me most of all, intrigues distracts appalls ensnares 12 What does the speaker NOT compare the box to? A baby A chair A coffin A tent 13 How many stanzas are in the poem? 7 3 9 5 14 The speaker compares the bees to a mob from where? The Old West Victorian Britain Revolutionary America Ancient Rome 15 What is the meaning of the word "laburnum"? A New England company A kitchen counter A diploma A type of tree 16 What is the meaning of the word "din"? Hillside Noise Sunset Dinner 17 Which best describes the poem's portrayal of power? The speaker struggles to decide whether it is she or the bees who holds disproportionate power The bees' power comes from their cleanliness and cooperativeness The speaker loses her power when she buys the bees and gives up her job The speaker struggles for power, but is no match for nature 18 What is the poem's meter? Dactylic pentameter It has no set meter Anapestic tetrameter Iambic pentameter 19 What best describes the poem's conflict? The speaker's decision about whether to free the bees The speaker's fight against the queen bee The beekeeper's conflict with the industrialist The bee's decision about whether to sting the human 20 What best describes the speaker's feelings about the bees? self-effacing admiration intimacy and love alternating fascination and fear maddening irritation 21 What type of stanzas appear in the poem? Couplets Tercets Sestets The stanzas are unmatched 22 How is the theme of femininity discussed in the poem? The bees' collaboration suggests that only collaboration between women will better their lot The speaker's desire to engage with insects hints at a need to escape human gender norms The queen bee represents the feminists of the twentieth century The poem subtly equates the speaker's fear of the bees with women's fear of violence or subjugation 23 Which mythological figure is alluded to in the poem? Persephone Narcissus Daphne Hercules 24 What do the trees most closely symbolize? Strength The abundance of nature Escape from conflict The speaker's ambivalence 25 Which of the following is a metaphor? "There is only a little grid, no exit" "In my moon suit and funeral veil" "They can die, I can feed them nothing" "Square as a chair and almost too heavy to lift"
