Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird Quizzes

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird Quiz

1 Which of the following is NOT a contrast present in the first stanza?

Black vs. white

Still vs. moving

Loud vs. quiet

Large vs. small
2 What is the first body part of the blackbird we see?

wing

shadow

beak

eye
3 To what does the speaker compare his state of being "of three minds?"

To three different men looking at a blackbird

To three different snowy nights

To a tree containing three blackbirds

To three blackbirds in flight
4 Other than the three minds and three blackbirds of section II, what is another trinity (union of three things) in the poem?

The man, woman, and blackbird

The blackbird, snow, and mountain

The three men of Haddam

The carriage, window, and snow
5 Which is more beautiful, inflections or innuendoes?

Inflections, because the birdsong is euphonious to the ear

Innuendoes, because the speaker appreciates what he cannot understand

Neither, because the speaker does not know which to prefer

Neither, because the blackbird is neither beautiful nor interesting
6 What is the blackbird doing when it is only "a small part of the pantomime?"

Singing to the poet

Sitting amid the snow

Tracing its shadow

Flying in the wind
7 Which of the following is NOT an image that helps create the mood of terror in section VI?

the icicles on the glass

the shadow

the raging wind

the back-and-forth motion of the blackbird
8 How are the "thin men of Haddam" wasting their time?

By writing poems about blackbirds

By writing love songs to the women

By imagining idealized birds that don't exist

By worrying too much about their lack of knowledge
9 Other than "noble accents / And lucid, inescapable rhythms," what does the speaker claim to know?

That the blackbird is an omen of death

That the blackbird's song is more beautiful than his poetry will ever be

That the blackbird is a messenger of Heaven

That the blackbird is involved in what he knows
10 What might the "edge / Of one of many circles" represent?

The edge between afternoon and evening

The edge of the town of Haddam

The edge between what we can see and not see

The edge between what is beautiful and ugly
11 Who are the bawds of euphony?

Women who have beautiful singing voices

Women who are ignored by the men of Haddam

People who write blackbirds into epic poems

People who like poetry that is pretty but superficial
12 How might we describe the man in the glass coach, based on the tone of the poem's imagery?

An attentive and wise reader

A great poet

A down-to-earth man of nature

A man who perceives himself as superior
13 What does the man in the coach actually see when he gets frightened?

The darkening sky of evening

The shadow of his equipment

Three blackbirds in a tree

The ice on his window
14 Why does the speaker assume "The blackbird must be flying?"

The wind is blowing.

The day is ending.

The mountains are empty.

The river is moving.
15 What time of day is it when the poem ends?

Midnight

A busy midday in town

A dark afternoon

A snowy dawn
16 Where is the last place we see the blackbird?

Flying out of our line of sight

Flying alongside a train

Sitting in the branches of a tree

Walking around the speaker's feet
17 Which season is evoked most often by the imagery in the poem?

summer

winter

autumn

spring
18 What do glass windows most likely represent in the poem?

The viewer's point of view

The key to understanding nature

The poet's linguistic craft

The viewer's internal prejudices
19 What type of sentence does Stevens use in the section about the men of Haddam, that he uses nowhere else in the poem?

Fragments

Questions

Commands

Run-ons
20 Which image is most often associated with fright?

Tree limbs

A shadow

The eye of the blackbird

Other men
21 Which of the following best describes the difference between the blackbird's presence in section I and section XIII?

visible vs. invisible

motion vs. stillness

fear vs. tranquility

unknown vs. known
22 Other than sight, what sense is used most often to describe the blackbird?

Taste

Hearing

Smell

Touch
23 What does the poem suggest is something about interpretation of nature that we should be willing to accept?

Hostility

Uncertainty and ambiguity

Tragedy

The lack of viable material to write poems about
24 Stevens said that this sequence of stanzas is meant to be a collection of ________.

explanations

aphorisms

sensations

contradicting viewpoints
25 What does the poem suggest is the difference between finding the blackbird beautiful and finding it terrifying?

Our geographic location

What the blackbird is doing

The time of year

Our mental perspective

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Ask Your Own Question

Study Guide for Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird study guide contains a biography of Wallace Stevens, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Read the Study Guide for Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird…