Dr. Norman Prinsky

English 1102 - Augusta State University

Second Quiz on Chs. 16/”Imagery” & 21/”Symbolism and Allusion” of RJ8

Questions on Elizabeth Bishop’s Poem “The Fish”

1. R&J discuss Elizabeth Bishop's poem "The Fish" primarily in terms of which kind of imagery: (a) visual (b) auditory (c) gustatory (d) tactile (e) kinetic

2. The main surprising plot development of Bishop's "The Fish," which occurs at the end of the poem, is: (a) the revelation that the speaker has been drowned (b) a cat's sudden theft of the fish from the picnic table (c) the speaker's letting the fish off the hook (d) the fish's unexpected evocation of memories of a favorite grandfather

3. The reason or theme suggested for the surprising action referred to in the immediately preceding question is: (a) the mischievousness of wild creatures in the natural environment (b) respect for manifestations of life and valiance in nature (c) the power of memories to unexpectedly occur during any activity (d) advocacy of boating safety and avoidance of recklessness

4. On the basis of just the evidence from the words of the poem, the best designation for referring to the speaker (other than with the term “speaker”) would be: (a) fisherman (b) Bishop (c) angler (d) the poet (e) Elizabeth

5. In lines 24-26 and 61-64 of Bishop's "The Fish" the kind of imagery most vividly present and contrasting the two passages is, besides the visual: (a) tactile (b) olfactory (c) auditory (d) gustatory

6. The contrast in the imagery between lines 24-26 and 61-64 helps express the poem's theme of: (a) the harmony between humanity and nature (b) the almost sexual beauty of nature (c) the conflict between humanity and nature (d) the essentially peaceful quality of nature's creatures

7. The imagery within the simile of the speaker’s description of the fish’s brown skin resembling wallpaper (lines 9-15) helps convey a conflict in the poem between: (a) politics and religion (b) artefacts and natural objects (c) male and female (d) book learning and common sense

8. Because of the repeated references to the fish’s skin resembling wallpaper (lines 9-15), what figure of speech (consult Ch. 14 of RJc3) is created in the adjective “homely” (line 9): (a) pun (b) simile (c) metonymy (d) anaphora (e) overstatement

9. The visual imagery in the similes (or simile and metaphor) describing what the remnants of fishing gear look like near the fish’s mouth (lines 62-66) conveys all the following ideas except which one: (a) combat (b) honor (c) sagacity (d) agedness (e) fellowship

10. The word venerable (line 8) in Elizabeth Bishop's "The Fish" means: (a) prone to injury (b) beautifully beaded (c) reverentially aged (d) easily approached

11. The word peony (line 33) in Bishop's poem means: (a) small or young horse (b) kind of flower (c) of or like farmers (d) musical sound

12. The word sullen (line 45) in Bishop's poem means: (a) angrily unhappy (b) deep underwater (c) made of cotton (d) inflated in size

13. The word crimped (line 59) in Bishop's poem means: (a) tightly fitted (b) bent or dented (c) making sorrowful sounds (d) awkward in motion

Questions on T.S. Eliot’s Poem “Preludes” (Plus the Illustrative Essay on the Poem in Ch. 16)

14. The sample or demo essay on T.S. Eliot’s poem “Preludes” makes the point that the poem’s subject and theme concentrate on: (a) the loose morality of the twentieth century (b) the beauty to be found in classical or serious music (c) the difficulties of initiating romance in the big city (d) the degradation in modern urban life

15. The sample or demo essay on T.S. Eliot’s poem “Preludes” makes the point that a recurrent pattern of imagery in the poem is connected with: (a) human anatomy (b) sources of heat (c) metal and concrete (d) clock time

16. A key word that makes this poem a good choice for Chapter 13 occurs in which stanzas or sections: (a) I & II (b) II & III (c) III & IV (d) I & III (e) I & IV

17. Besides visual imagery, the opening two lines of stanzas (or sections) I and II in “Preludes” are linked by parallel imagery that is primarily: (a) olfactory (b) tactile (c) auditory (d) kinetic

18. The implied setting in the opening two lines of stanzas (or sections) I and II in “Preludes” is: (a) a city jail (b) a rooming house (c) a country estate (d) a private residence

19. The period of time that elapses in “Preludes” is about: (a) six hours (b) twelve hours (c) eighteen hours (d) twenty-four hours

Questions on Ch. 21/”Symbolism and Allusion” in RJ8

20. In their introductory material to Chapter 21, "Symbolism and Allusion: Windows to a Wide Expanse of Meaning," Roberts and Jacobs note that symbolism is more prevalent in poetry than prose because of poetry's greater: (a) conciseness (b) musicality (c) syntax (d) difficulty

21. In their introductory material to Chapter 21, Roberts and Jacobs discuss in some detail, for symbolism, the painting: (a) Henri Matisse’s Icarus (b) Francisco Goya's The Colossus (c) James Whistler’s The Little White Girl (or Symphony in White, No. 2) (d) Fernand Leger’s The City

22. In the painting referred to in the immediately preceding question, nakedness seems associated with: (a) sexuality (b) aggression (c) flirtatiousness (d) innocence

23. According to Roberts and Jacobs in Ch. 21, one of the two main kinds or categories of symbol is the: (a) consubstantial or associative (b) pragmatic or utilitarian (c) universal or cultural (d) Aristotelian or Neoplatonic

24. According to Roberts and Jacobs in Ch. 21, one of the two main kinds or categories of symbol is the: (a) deconstructive or Deridadean (b) kinetic or kinesthetic (c) metonymic or synecdochic (d) authorial or contextual

25. Reference to the lamb’s meekness being manifested in a lamb, a child, and Jesus in William Blake’s poem “The Lamb” (Chapter 14) would constitute which kind of symbolism: (a) consubstantial or associative (b) pragmatic or utilitarian (c) universal or cultural (d) Aristotelian or Neoplatonic

26. Reference to a clerical (clergyman’s) collar symbolizing a constrictive way of life in George Herbert’s “The Collar” (Chapter 21) would constitute which kind of symbolism: (a) deconstructive or Deridadean (b) kinetic or kinesthetic (c) metonymic or synecdochic (d) authorial or contextual

27. As suggested in Virginia Scott's poem "Snow," as well as the chapter material discussing it in Ch. 21, Scott finds the snow symbolic of: (a) memory of female relatives (b) innocence and purity (c) the sterility of modern technology (d) the inevitable failure of marriage

28. As discussed in Ch. 21, one main device used for, or like, symbolism is: (a) chiasmus (b) hyperbole (c) allusion (d) denotation

29. As pointed out in the illustrative essay on William Butler Yeats’s poem “The Second Coming,” symbols or allusion are found in: (a) gyre (b) falcon (c) sphinx-like creature (d) Second Coming (e) all of the foregoing

30. Both from the poem and the illustrative essay on the poem, Yeats’s “The Second Coming” could be said to have what view about the future in human history: (a) hopeful (b) gloomy (c) mixed (d) neutral

31. As pointed out in the illustrative essay on William Butler Yeats’s“The Second Coming,” the kind or kinds of symbolism used in the poem is/are: (a) universal (b) authorial (c) universal and authorial (d) deconstructive