English 150 Assessment
Part A—Critical Thinking
For questions 1-10, read the
passages carefully and provide what
you believe is the best answer to the question.
The questions are not designed to “trick” you, but may require you to
re-read all or part of the excerpts.
A POISON TREE
by William Blake
I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
And I waterd it in fears
Night & morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles.
And with soft deceitful wiles.
And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright,
And my foe beheld it shine.
And he knew that it was mine.
And into my garden stole.
When the night had veild the pole.
In the morning glad I see.
My foe outstretchd beneath the tree.
1. The persona of this poem
a. is lying.
b. was once angry but is now pleased.
c. is saddened by the death of his friend.
d. is glad to have someone with whom he can share his apple.
2. The source of the apple’s poison is
a. the persona of the poem’s wrath.
b. the persona of the poem’s hubris.
c. the persona of the poem’s cowardice.
d. the persona of the peom’s bravery.
3. We are to infer by the end of the poem that the persona’s foe is
a. William Blake himself.
b. happily munching on his friend’s apple.
c. sick to his stomach.
d. dead.
4. Which of the following best articulates a central idea of the poem:
a. One’s anger, when repressed, becomes dangerous to others.
b. The human soul is immortal.
c. Sadness brings people together.
d. Friendship is dangerous.
5. When the poem’s persona says that he watered the tree in “fears,” we are to assume he is talking about:
a. a lost lover.
b. his foe’s attempts to murder him.
c. his friends’ attempts to scare him into proper behavior.
d. the poem does not provide enough information to reliably make such an assumption.
From “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” by Flannery O’Connor. In this passage, Julian is escorting his mother on the bus to her exercise class.
The bus stopped with a sudden jerk and shook him from his meditation. A woman from the back lurched forward with little steps and barely escaped falling in [Julian’s] newspaper as she righted herself. She got off and a large Negro got on. Julian kept his paper lowered to watch. It gave him a certain satisfaction to see injustice in daily operation. It confirmed his view that with a few exceptions there was no one worth knowing within a radius of three hundred miles. The Negro was well dressed and carried a briefcase. He looked around and then sat down on the other end of the seat where the woman with the red and white canvas sandals was sitting. He immediately unfolded a newspaper and obscured himself behind it. Julian’s mother’s elbow at once prodded insistently into his ribs. “Now you see why I won’t ride on these buses by myself,” she whispered.
The woman with the red and white canvas sandals had risen at the same time the Negro sat down and had gone further back in the bus and taken the seat of the woman who had got off. His mother leaned forward and cast her an approving look.
6. From this passage, we can infer the following about Julian:
7. The scene probably takes place
a. in New York
b. in the South
c. in the evening
d. Not enough information to tell.
8. Julian’s mother casts the woman “an approving look” because
a. she likes her sandals
b. she would approve if Julian were to talk with her
c. she gave up her seat for an older person
d. she didn’t want to sit next to the Negro
9. The “injustice” that gives Julian “a certain satisfaction” is probably
a. other people ignoring his mother
b. prejudice
c. that the Negro takes the best seat
d. that the Negro will hide behind his paper
10. From whose point of view is this story told?
a. Julian’s
b. his mother’s
c. It is an omniscient narrator
d. The narrative voice changes from one character to another
Part B: Literary Terminology (11-15 refer primarily to poetry, 16-20 are general literary terms).
11. A figure of speech that makes a comparison of two unlike things, without using the words like or as, is a. catharsis
b. paradox
c. deus ex machina
d. metaphor
12. Meter refers toa. a recurring rhythmic pattern of stresses in a poem.
b. a sustained comparison in which all or part of a poem consists of a series of related metaphors.
c. the rhyme scheme of a poem.
d. a type of careful, measurable plot structure, unique to epic poetry.
13. The repetition of the same consonant sounds in a sequence of words is known asa. assonance.
b. onomotapoeia.
c. alliteration.
d. oxymoron.
14. Personification isa. Direct address by the persona of a poem to his or her audience.b. the ability of a writer to mask his or her identity.
c. a form of metaphor in which human characteristics are attributed to non-human things.
d. a type of word usage in which the word resembles the sound it denotes.
15. Onomatopoeia is a. Direct address by the persona of a poem to his or her audience.b. the ability of a writer to mask his or her identity.
c. a form of metaphor in which human characteristics are attributed to non-human things.
d. a type of word usage in which the word resembles the sound it denotes.
Other literary terminology: 16. According to Aristotle, catharsis is created througha. laughter
b. pity and fear
c. the use of masks
d. deus ex machina
17. A meaningful reference, direct or indirect, to an historical event, cultural artifact, or literary text is calleda. a paranomasia.
b. an oxymoron.
c. a stasimon.
d. an allusion.
18. A story that has a happy ending and moves from confusion to order is most likely a. a novel.
b. prose.
c. a comedy.
d. a tragedy.
19. A broad definition of irony isa. the precise, plain meaning of a word or phrase.
b. the perception of a clash between appearance and reality.
c. a brief and discontinuous poem emphasizing sound rather than narrative.
d. commentary or reference written into the margins of a text.
20. The arrangement of incidents in a story (what happens) is referred to asa. novelistic.
b. realism.
c. denouement.
d. plot.