1 Which of the following is NOT a contrast present in the first stanza? Large vs. small Loud vs. quiet Black vs. white Still vs. moving 2 What is the first body part of the blackbird we see? wing beak shadow eye 3 To what does the speaker compare his state of being "of three minds?" To a tree containing three blackbirds To three different men looking at a blackbird To three blackbirds in flight To three different snowy nights 4 Other than the three minds and three blackbirds of section II, what is another trinity (union of three things) in the poem? The blackbird, snow, and mountain The carriage, window, and snow The man, woman, and blackbird The three men of Haddam 5 Which is more beautiful, inflections or innuendoes? Innuendoes, because the speaker appreciates what he cannot understand Inflections, because the birdsong is euphonious to the ear 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?" Tracing its shadow Sitting amid the snow Flying in the wind Singing to the poet 7 Which of the following is NOT an image that helps create the mood of terror in section VI? the back-and-forth motion of the blackbird the icicles on the glass the shadow the raging wind 8 How are the "thin men of Haddam" wasting their time? By imagining idealized birds that don't exist By writing poems about blackbirds By writing love songs to the women 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 involved in what he knows That the blackbird is an omen of death That the blackbird is a messenger of Heaven That the blackbird's song is more beautiful than his poetry will ever be 10 What might the "edge / Of one of many circles" represent? The edge between what we can see and not see The edge between what is beautiful and ugly The edge of the town of Haddam The edge between afternoon and evening 11 Who are the bawds of euphony? People who write blackbirds into epic poems People who like poetry that is pretty but superficial Women who are ignored by the men of Haddam Women who have beautiful singing voices 12 How might we describe the man in the glass coach, based on the tone of the poem's imagery? A man who perceives himself as superior An attentive and wise reader A great poet A down-to-earth man of nature 13 What does the man in the coach actually see when he gets frightened? The darkening sky of evening The shadow of his equipment The ice on his window Three blackbirds in a tree 14 Why does the speaker assume "The blackbird must be flying?" The river is moving. The mountains are empty. The wind is blowing. The day is ending. 15 What time of day is it when the poem ends? A snowy dawn Midnight A dark afternoon A busy midday in town 16 Where is the last place we see the blackbird? Walking around the speaker's feet Flying out of our line of sight Flying alongside a train Sitting in the branches of a tree 17 Which season is evoked most often by the imagery in the poem? spring summer autumn winter 18 What do glass windows most likely represent in the poem? The key to understanding nature The poet's linguistic craft The viewer's internal prejudices The viewer's point of view 19 What type of sentence does Stevens use in the section about the men of Haddam, that he uses nowhere else in the poem? Run-ons Commands Fragments Questions 20 Which image is most often associated with fright? Other men A shadow The eye of the blackbird Tree limbs 21 Which of the following best describes the difference between the blackbird's presence in section I and section XIII? fear vs. tranquility motion vs. stillness visible vs. invisible unknown vs. known 22 Other than sight, what sense is used most often to describe the blackbird? Touch Hearing Smell Taste 23 What does the poem suggest is something about interpretation of nature that we should be willing to accept? Tragedy The lack of viable material to write poems about Uncertainty and ambiguity Hostility 24 Stevens said that this sequence of stanzas is meant to be a collection of ________. sensations contradicting viewpoints explanations aphorisms 25 What does the poem suggest is the difference between finding the blackbird beautiful and finding it terrifying? Our geographic location Our mental perspective The time of year What the blackbird is doing
