Name
Date
Walt Whitman’s Poetry
Selection Test A
Critical Reading Identify the letter of the choice that best answers the question.
1. Which element contributes most to Whitman’s poetry of free verse?
A. regular metrical feet
B. fixed-length stanzas
C. regular speech patterns
D. exact rhyme schemes
2. What can you conclude about Whitman’s attitude about himself from these
lines from “Song of Myself”?
I celebrate myself, and sing myself, / And what I assume you shall assume, / For
every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
A. He
B. He
C. He
D. He
believes in talking about himself.
is content with who he is.
thinks he is better than others.
does not understand science.
3. Which elements of free verse are found in this passage from “Song of Myself”?
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin, / Hoping to cease not till death.
I. irregular meter
II. exact rhyme
III. natural speech cadence
IV. irregular line length
A. I, II, IV
B. I, II, III
C. I, III, IV
D. II, III, IV
4. What is the poet’s attitude toward nature as expressed in this passage from
“Song of Myself”?
The sharp-hoof’d moose of the north, the cat on the house-sill,
the chickadee, the prairie dog,
The litter of the grunting sow as they tug at her teats,
The brood of the turkey hen and she with her half-spread wings,
I see in them and myself the same old law.
A. He
B. He
C. He
D. He
divides nature between domestic and wild animals.
sees all creatures, including humans, as part of nature.
thinks nature must continue to grow, or it will die.
thinks there is no law to control the natural world.
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Name
Date
5. Why does the poet leave the lecture in “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”?
A. He wants to check the astronomer’s facts for accuracy.
B. He has fallen ill and must go outside to get some air.
C. He wants to see the stars instead of hearing about them.
D. He thinks the speaker does not deserve all the applause.
6. What two elements are seen in a procession in “By the Bivouac’s Fitful Flame”?
A. soldiers and thoughts
B. wind and fire
C. loved ones and trees
D. ghosts and flames
7. Based on “I Hear American Singing,” how does Whitman seem to feel toward the
people in the poem?
A. unfriendly
B. annoyed
C. bored
D. kindly
8. What class of workers does Whitman focus on in “I Hear American Singing”?
A. singers
B. laborers
C. housewives
D. athletes
Vocabulary and Grammar
9. In which sentence is the meaning of the word effuse expressed?
A. Whitman’s poetry symbolizes America for many readers.
B. His poems pour out feelings for both the human and natural world.
C. Whitman worked as a nurse in a hospital during the Civil War.
D. One of his poems expresses grief at the death of Lincoln.
10. Which of the following sentences would need to be corrected so that the pronoun
and antecedent agree?
A. She wrote a poem about her experiences as an astronomer.
B. They sang as they worked at their daily labors.
C. He watched a spider and compared it with their soul.
D. We made camp and watched shadows in our campfire.
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Essay
11. Whitman’s Preface to the 1855 Edition of “Leaves of Grass” communicates his belief
that America benefits from all the different nationalities that make up its population. America was different from many other countries that had people from similar
backgrounds. Write a brief essay that gives examples from your personal experience
or reading that support Whitman’s beliefs.
12. Readers of Whitman’s poetry see him as a poet who celebrated life. Do you think
this is true? Write a brief essay stating whether you think Whitman’s poetry celebrates life and is positive in its approach. Give at least two examples from his poetry
to support your opinion.
Unit 3 Resources: A Growing Nation
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