1 Who is the poem's speaker? A bee who lives on a farm A grieving husband participating in the custom of "telling the bees" A writer comparing her words to swarming bees Somebody who has just ordered a box full of 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 colonial outpost A military parade A dessert made of fruit A row of columns 4 Which writer did NOT use bees as a symbol or allegory? John Mandeville Fanny Burney Mary Leapor John Greenleaf Whittier 5 What are the bees probably NOT intended to symbolize in this poem? The speaker's thoughts Familial demands on women Climate change Sexual aggression 6 Where does the poem most likely take place? The speaker's home A school A field of flowers An industrial honey farm 7 Which collection was this poem a part of? Ariel Double Exposure The Bell Jar 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 written in a different meter It is spoken by a different speaker 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 turned into a tree died ran away 10 Which is an example of irony? The speaker's comparison of herself to God The speaker's feeling of temptation despite the danger of the bees The amount of noise that the bees make The speaker's ability to keep her bees alive or let them die 11 Fill in the blank: It is the noise that _____ me most of all, distracts appalls ensnares intrigues 12 What does the speaker NOT compare the box to? A tent A chair A baby A coffin 13 How many stanzas are in the poem? 9 5 3 7 14 The speaker compares the bees to a mob from where? Victorian Britain The Old West Revolutionary America Ancient Rome 15 What is the meaning of the word "laburnum"? A type of tree A New England company A kitchen counter A diploma 16 What is the meaning of the word "din"? Sunset Dinner Hillside Noise 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 Iambic pentameter Anapestic tetrameter Dactylic pentameter 19 What best describes the poem's conflict? The beekeeper's conflict with the industrialist The speaker's fight against the queen bee The speaker's decision about whether to free the bees The bee's decision about whether to sting the human 20 What best describes the speaker's feelings about the bees? maddening irritation alternating fascination and fear intimacy and love self-effacing admiration 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 speaker's desire to engage with insects hints at a need to escape human gender norms The bees' collaboration suggests that only collaboration between women will better their lot The poem subtly equates the speaker's fear of the bees with women's fear of violence or subjugation The queen bee represents the feminists of the twentieth century 23 Which mythological figure is alluded to in the poem? Persephone Narcissus Daphne Hercules 24 What do the trees most closely symbolize? The speaker's ambivalence Escape from conflict The abundance of nature Strength 25 Which of the following is a metaphor? "They can die, I can feed them nothing" "In my moon suit and funeral veil" "There is only a little grid, no exit" "Square as a chair and almost too heavy to lift"