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