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- 1. Multiple Choice
In “The Writer,” what is the speaker listening to?
a chain being hauled across the room
the sound of his daughter’s typewriter
his daughter quietly reading her writing aloud
a starling hitting the glass while trying to escape
- 2. Multiple Choice
In “The Writer,” what is the speaker’s main wish for his daughter?
that she will follow his advice about writing
that she will safely find her way to independence
that she will never face pain or disappointment
that she will be happier than he has been
- 3. Multiple Choice
In “I Am Offering This Poem,” to which of the following does the speaker compare his poem? Choose three options.
a pot of corn
a pair of thick socks
a dense forest
the world outside
directions for someone who is lost
- 4. Multiple Choice
In “I Am Offering This Poem,” what is most likely the “it” which the speaker is referring to in these lines?
It’s all I have to give,
and all anyone needs to live,
and to go on living inside.…
love
corn
socks
shelter
- 5. Multiple Choice
Part A Which answer best describes the central contrast the speaker makes in “I Am Offering This Poem”?
a feeling of security versus a feeling of love
a necessity such as food versus shelter
love poetry versus informational writing
the gift of love versus material comforts
- 6. Multiple Choice
Part B Which lines from “I Am Offering This Poem” best support the answer to Part A?
lines 1–7: I am offering this poem to you, / since I have nothing else to give. / Keep it like a warm coat / … / I love you.…
lines 9–10: … it is a pot full of yellow corn / to warm your belly in winter; lines 14–18: Keep it … / … / tucked away like a cabin or hogan.…
lines 14–16: Keep it, treasure this as you would / if you were lost, needing direction, / in the wilderness life becomes when mature.…
lines 20–22: and I will answer, give you directions, / and let you warm yourself by this fire, / rest by this fire, and make you feel safe.…
- 7. Multiple Choice
Read the following lines from “The Writer” by Richard Wilbur.
I pause in the stairwell, hearing / From her shut door a commotion of typewriter keys / Like a chain over a gunwale*.
________
*gunwale side of a boat
Which answer choice gives the most likely reason the writer makes the comparison in these lines?
By comparing the sound of typing to a sound on a ship, the writer adds to the other seafaring imagery in the poem, including “prow” and “cargo.”
By comparing the sound of typing to the sound of chains, the writer creates a picture related to the image of a trapped bird at the end of the poem.
By comparing the sound of typing to the sound of chains, the writer emphasizes the fact that the daughter is trapped.
By comparing the sound of typing to a sound on a ship, the writer emphasizes the fact that the daughter is moving away from the family.
- 8. Multiple Choice
Part A Which answer is the best restatement of the theme of “I Am Offering This Poem”?
A poem can give direction to life.
A poem is as great a gift as a coat.
Food is necessary for survival.
Love is necessary for survival.
- 9. Multiple Choice
Part B Which excerpt from “I Am Offering This Poem” best supports the answer to Part A?
so it is a pot full of yellow corn / to warm your belly in winter, / it is a scarf for your head, to wear / over your hair, to tie up around your face.…
Keep it, treasure this as you would / if you were lost, needing direction, / in the wilderness life becomes when mature.…
tucked away like a cabin or hogan / in dense trees, come knocking, / and I will answer, give you directions, / and let you warm yourself by this fire.…
It’s all I have to give, / and all anyone needs to live, / … / when the world outside / no longer cares if you live or die; / remember, / I love you.
- 10. Multiple Choice
What does the starling’s struggle most clearly symbolize in “The Writer”?
the story the daughter is writing
the ups and downs in the course of life
the daughter’s need to break free and express herself
the father’s worry about his daughter’s possible failure
- 11. Multiple Choice
Which of the following best describes the way in which the writer uses details in “The Writer” to develop and refine the theme?
The ship imagery at the beginning introduces the idea of life as a journey with dangers. The sound of the typewriter reinforces this idea by suggesting that self-expression is necessary to survival.
The ship imagery at the beginning introduces the idea of life as a journey with dangers. The starling’s struggle adds intensity and emphasizes that independence needs to be found on one’s own.
The sound of the typewriter reinforces the idea that self-expression is necessary to survival. The father’s decision not to help the starling reinforces the idea that survival is a matter of luck.
The fact that the father listens to his daughter typing introduces the idea that children will do better than their parents. His decision not to interrupt her refines this idea by showing that parents should accept their fate.
- 12. Multiple Choice
Which answer choice best states how a figure of speech in this line from “I Am Offering This Poem” relates to the rest of the poem?
I am offering this poem to you, / … / Keep it like a warm coat / when winter comes to cover you.
The simile of a warm coat suggests that the love in the poem is as important to life as warmth.
The metaphor of a warm coat suggests that the love in the poem will keep the speaker warm.
The simile of winter covering a person suggests that the love in the poem will not be enough to protect the one who receives the poem.
The metaphor of winter covering a person suggests that love will only help a person whose material needs are provided for.
- 13. Multiple Choice
Which of the following sentences from “The Writer” contains the clearest example of a metaphor?
Where light breaks, and the windows are tossed with linden, / My daughter is writing a story.
Young as she is, the stuff / Of her life is a great cargo, and some of it heavy
I remember the dazed starling / Which was trapped in that very room, two years ago
[The starling] lifted off from a chair-back, / Beating a smooth course for the right window
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