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

Large vs. small

Still vs. moving

Loud vs. quiet
2 What is the first body part of the blackbird we see?
beak

eye

shadow

wing
3 To what does the speaker compare his state of being "of three minds?"
To three blackbirds in flight

To three different snowy nights

To a tree containing three blackbirds

To three different men looking at a blackbird
4 Other than the three minds and three blackbirds of section II, what is another trinity (union of three things) in the poem?
The carriage, window, and snow

The man, woman, and blackbird

The three men of Haddam

The blackbird, snow, and mountain
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 blackbird is neither beautiful nor interesting

Neither, because the speaker does not know which to prefer
6 What is the blackbird doing when it is only "a small part of the pantomime?"
Tracing its shadow

Flying in the wind

Singing to the poet

Sitting amid the snow
7 Which of the following is NOT an image that helps create the mood of terror in section VI?
the shadow

the back-and-forth motion of the blackbird

the icicles on the glass

the raging wind
8 How are the "thin men of Haddam" wasting their time?
By writing love songs to the women

By worrying too much about their lack of knowledge

By imagining idealized birds that don't exist

By writing poems about blackbirds
9 Other than "noble accents / And lucid, inescapable rhythms," what does the speaker claim to know?
That the blackbird's song is more beautiful than his poetry will ever be

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
10 What might the "edge / Of one of many circles" represent?
The edge of the town of Haddam

The edge between afternoon and evening

The edge between what is beautiful and ugly

The edge between what we can see and not see
11 Who are the bawds of euphony?
Women who are ignored by the men of Haddam

People who like poetry that is pretty but superficial

Women who have beautiful singing voices

People who write blackbirds into epic poems
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 down-to-earth man of nature

A great poet
13 What does the man in the coach actually see when he gets frightened?
Three blackbirds in a tree

The darkening sky of evening

The shadow of his equipment

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

The day is ending.

The wind is blowing.

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

Midnight

A busy midday in town

A dark afternoon
16 Where is the last place we see the blackbird?
Sitting in the branches of a tree

Flying alongside a train

Flying out of our line of sight

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

autumn

spring

summer
18 What do glass windows most likely represent in the poem?
The viewer's internal prejudices

The key to understanding nature

The poet's linguistic craft

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?
Questions

Run-ons

Commands

Fragments
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?
visible vs. invisible

unknown vs. known

fear vs. tranquility

motion vs. stillness
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

Hostility

The lack of viable material to write poems about

Uncertainty and ambiguity
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?
The time of year

What the blackbird is doing

Our geographic location

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…