Practice Test 1

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Section I

The Exam

AP ® English Literature and Composition Exam

SECTION I: Multiple-Choice Questions

DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOKLET UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO.

At a Glance

Total Time

1 hour

Number of Questions

55

Percent of Total Grade

45%

Writing Instrument

Pencil required

Instructions

Section I of this examination contains 55 multiple-choice questions. Fill in only the ovals for numbers 1 through 55 on your answer sheet.

Indicate all of your answers to the multiple-choice questions on the answer sheet. No credit will be given for anything written in this exam booklet, but you may use the booklet for notes or scratch work. After you have decided which of the suggested answers is best, completely fill in the corresponding oval on the answer sheet. Give only one answer to each question. If you change an answer, be sure that the previous mark is erased completely. Here is a sample question and answer.

Sample Question

Chicago is a

(A) state

(B) city

(C) country

(D) continent

(E) village

Sample Answer

Use your time effectively, working as quickly as you can without losing accuracy. Do not spend too much time on any one question. Go on to other questions and come back to the ones you have not answered if you have time. It is not expected that everyone will know the answers to all the multiple-choice questions.

About Guessing

Many candidates wonder whether or not to guess the answers to questions about which they are not certain. Multiple choice scores are based on the number of questions answered correctly. Points are not deducted for incorrect answers, and no points are awarded for unanswered questions. Because points are not deducted for incorrect answers, you are encouraged to answer all multiple-choice questions. On any questions you do not know the answer to, you should eliminate as many choices as you can, and then select the best answer among the remaining choices.

ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION

SECTION I

Time—1 hour

Directions: This section consists of selections from literary works and questions on their content, form, and style. After reading each passage or poem, choose the best answer to each question and then fill in the corresponding oval.

Questions 1–15 . Choose your answers to questions 1–15 based on a careful reading of the following passage.

A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over: “Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi! That’s all right!” He could speak a little Spanish, and also a language which nobody understood, unless it was the mocking-bird that hung on the other side of the door, whistling his fluty notes out upon the breeze with maddening persistence. Mr. Pontellier, unable to read his newspaper with any degree of comfort, arose with an expression and an exclamation of disgust. He walked down the gallery and across the narrow “bridges” which connected the Lebrun cottages one with the other. He had been seated before the door of the main house. The parrot and the mockingbird were the property of Madame Lebrun, and they had the right to make all the noise they wished. Mr. Pontellier had the privilege of quitting their society when they ceased to be entertaining. He stopped before the door of his own cottage, which was the fourth one from the main building and next to the last. Seating himself in a wicker rocker which was there, he once more applied himself to the task of reading the newspaper. The day was Sunday; the paper was a day old.
The Sunday papers had not yet reached Grand Isle. He was already acquainted with the market reports, and he glanced restlessly over the editorials and bits of news which he had not had time to read before quitting New Orleans the day before. Mr. Pontellier wore eye-glasses. He was a man of forty, of medium height and rather slender build; he stooped a little. His hair was brown and straight, parted on one side. His beard was neatly and closely trimmed. Once in a while he withdrew his glance from the newspaper and looked about him. There was more noise than ever over at the house. The main building was called “the house,” to distinguish it from the cottages. The chattering and whistling birds were still at it. Two young girls, the Farival twins, were playing a duet from “Zampa” upon the piano. Madame Lebrun was bustling in and out, giving orders in a high key to a yard-boy whenever she got inside the house, and directions in an equally high voice to a dining-room servant whenever she got outside. She was a fresh, pretty woman, clad always in white with elbow sleeves. Her starched skirts crinkled as she came and went. Farther down, before one of the cottages, a lady in black was
walking demurely up and down, telling her beads. A good many persons of the pension had gone over to the Chênière Caminada in Beaudelet’s lugger to hear mass. Some young people were out under the wateroaks playing croquet. Mr. Pontellier’s two children were there—sturdy little fellows of four and five. A quadroon nurse followed them about with a faraway, meditative air. Mr. Pontellier finally lit a cigar and began to smoke, letting the paper drag idly from his hand. He fixed his gaze upon a white sunshade that was advancing at snail’s pace from the beach. He could see it plainly between the gaunt trunks of the water-oaks and across the stretch of yellow camomile. The gulf looked far away, melting hazily into the blue of the horizon. The sunshade continued to approach slowly. Beneath its pink-lined shelter were his wife, Mrs. Pontellier, and young Robert Lebrun. When they reached the cottage, the two seated themselves with some appearance of fatigue upon the upper step of the porch, facing each other, each leaning against a supporting post. “What folly! to bathe at such an hour in such heat!” exclaimed Mr. Pontellier. He himself had taken a plunge at daylight. That was why the morning seemed long to him.
“You are burnt beyond recognition,” he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage. She held up her hands, strong, shapely hands, and surveyed them critically, drawing up her fawn sleeves above the wrists. Looking at them reminded her of her rings, which she had given to her husband before leaving for the beach. She silently reached out to him, and he, understanding, took the rings from his vest pocket and dropped them into her open palm. She slipped them upon her fingers; then clasping her knees, she looked across at Robert and began to laugh. The rings sparkled upon her fingers. He sent back an answering smile. “What is it?” asked Pontellier, looking lazily and amused from one to the other. It was some utter nonsense; some adventure out there in the water, and they both tried to relate it at once. It did not seem half so amusing when told. They realized this, and so did Mr. Pontellier. He yawned and stretched himself. Then he got up, saying he had half a mind to go over to Klein’s hotel and play a game of billiards. “Come go along, Lebrun,” he proposed to Robert. But Robert admitted quite frankly that he preferred to stay where he was and talk to Mrs. Pontellier.

Excerpt from The Awakening by Kate Chopin (pp. 1–6). Copyright © 1899 by Herbert S. Stone & Co.

1. The tone of the beginning of the passage is

(A) cacophonous

(B) whimsical

(C) brooding

(D) satirical

(E) pastoral

2. In line 6, the word “his” is referring to

(A) the parrot

(B) Mr. Pontellier

(C) Mr. Lebrun

(D) the mocking-bird

(E) Mr. Klein

3. Lines 8–10 establish Mr. Pontellier as

(A) fastidious and officious

(B) intolerant and judgmental

(C) restless and volatile

(D) surreptitious and untrustworthy

(E) ambitious and corrupt

4. The parrot’s chatter made at the beginning of the passage helps to establish

(A) the unpleasantness of the setting

(B) Mr. Pontellier’s restlessness and discomfort

(C) the tension between Mr. Pontellier and Robert

(D) the tension between Robert and Mrs. Pontellier

(E) a sense of unease between man and nature

5. In line 26, the word “quitting” means

(A) finishing

(B) leaving

(C) giving up

(D) dismissing

(E) setting free

6. Mr. Pontellier’s attitude toward his companions on Grand Isle could be characterized as

(A) aloof

(B) curious

(C) mistrustful

(D) warm

(E) antagonistic

7. In line 49, the word “sturdy” helps to establish

(A) Mr. Pontellier’s self-satisfaction with his children

(B) the children’s ability to withstand Mr. Pontellier’s neglect

(C) parallels between the children and their mother

(D) suspicion that Mr. Pontellier is not the children’s biological father

(E) a contrast between the Pontellier children and the rest of the island’s inhabitants

8. In lines 52–66, which word complements our understanding of Mr. Pontellier’s personality?

(A) Smoke

(B) Idly

(C) Gaunt

(D) Folly

(E) Plunge

9. The use of “the sunshade” to refer to the approach of two people is an example of

(A) metonymy

(B) apostrophe

(C) hyperbole

(D) personification

(E) synecdoche

10. Lines 58–66 reveal:

I. Mr. Pontellier’s dislike of Robert

II. Mr. Pontellier’s contempt toward his wife

III. Mr. Pontellier’s self-righteousness

(A) I only

(B) II only

(C) III only

(D) I and III

(E) II and III

11. In line 67, Mr. Pontellier uses which literary device to provoke a reaction from his wife?

(A) Hyperbole

(B) Onomatopoeia

(C) Assonance

(D) Understatement

(E) Apostrophe

12. Lines 67–78 serve to introduce

(A) Mrs. Pontellier’s unattractive appearance.

(B) an indication that the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier is strained.

(C) a suggestion that Robert is uncomfortable around Mr. Pontellier.

(D) Mrs. Pontellier’s dominant position in the marriage.

(E) Mr. Pontellier’s protectiveness toward his wife.

13. In line 87, the phrase “quite frankly” serves the purpose of

(A) establishing Robert’s stubbornness

(B) elaborating on Robert’s animosity toward Pontellier

(C) contrasting Robert’s contentment with Pontellier’s ambivalence

(D) accentuating Pontellier’s alienation from the residents of Grand Isle

(E) revealing Robert’s social status in comparison to that of Pontellier

14. The description of the interactions between Mrs. Pontellier and Robert convey a tone of

(A) unapologetic intimacy

(B) passionate longing

(C) polite tolerance

(D) underlying antagonism

(E) conspiratorial secrecy

15. Lines 86–90 serve to further clarify

I. Mr. Pontellier’s indifference toward his marriage

II. Mr. Pontellier’s disdain for his children

III. Mr. Pontellier’s fear of Robert’s influence over his wife

(A) I only

(B) II only

(C) III only

(D) I and II

(E) I and III

Questions 16–27 . Choose your answers to each of the following questions based on careful reading of the following poem by Christina Rossetti.

Passing away, saith the World, passing away: Chances, beauty and youth sapped day by day: Thy life never continueth in one stay. Is the eye waxen dim, is the dark hair changing to gray That hath won neither laurel nor bay? I shall clothe myself in Spring and bud in May: Thou, root stricken, shalt not rebuild thy decay On my bosom for aye. Then I answered: Yea. Passing away, saith my Soul, passing away: With its burden of fear and hope, or labor and play; Hearken what the past doth witness and say: Rust in thy gold, a moth is in thine array, A canker is in thy bud, thy leaf must decay.
At midnight, at cockcrow, at morning, one certain day Lo the bridegroom shall come and shall not delay: Watch thou and pray. Then I answered: Yea. Passing away, saith my God, passing away: Winter passeth after the long delay: New grapes on the vine, new figs on the tender spray, Turtle calleth turtle in Heaven’s May. Tho’ I tarry, wait for Me, trust Me, watch and pray. Arise, come away, night is past and lo it is day, My love, My sister, My spouse, thou shalt hear Me say. Then I answered: Yea.

16. How many speakers does the poem directly present?

(A) One

(B) Two

(C) Three

(D) Four

(E) Five

17. “Laurel” and “bay” (line 5) are allusions to

(A) flowers highly prized for their rarity which bloom briefly and beautifully and then die

(B) spices which add flavor to food and, metaphorically, to life

(C) leaves traditionally woven into wreaths to honor poets

(D) traditional symbols for Homer and Ovid, respectively

(E) traditional symbols for true faith and pious conduct, respectively

18. Lines 6–7 suggest that

(A) the principal narrator is faced with a choice between the afterlife that true faith offers or the physical corruption that awaits the unbeliever

(B) although the World has regenerative powers, the principal narrator of the poem does not

(C) paradoxically, life can sometimes emerge from death

(D) there is a natural cyclical pattern of renewal that the principal narrator has forsaken

(E) the principal narrator is gravely ill and certain to die before the spring

19. Which of the following lines contains an image NOT echoed closely elsewhere in the poem?

(A) Line 6

(B) Line 7

(C) Line 13

(D) Line 14

(E) Line 21

20. Which of the following choices best characterizes the speaker’s attitude in each of the poem’s three stanzas, respectively?

(A) Realization of death’s inevitability; fear of physical decay; passive acceptance of what cannot be escaped

(B) Nostalgia for the earthly world that must be left behind; fear of physical decay; welcome acceptance of the afterlife

(C) Realization that death will come before one’s ambitions have been achieved; dismay over the visible signs of physical decay; supplication for the healing powers of divine intervention

(D) Sorrow and mild surprise at the arrival of early death; deepening awareness of death’s certainty; hopefulness for a place in the afterlife

(E) Acknowledgment of death’s inevitability; understanding of the need to prepare oneself; happiness at the prospect of union with the divine

21. In the context of the poem “a moth is in thine array” (line 13) is intended to imply that the

(A) narrator’s attire is being eaten by moths

(B) narrator’s body is being consumed by cancer, or a cancer-like disease

(C) narrator’s soul contains a destructive element which, unless the narrator takes some action, will render it unworthy of the afterlife

(D) narrator’s soul is corrupted with sin that only death can purge

(E) narrator’s soul is getting ready for decay

22. Lines 15 and 16 suggest that

(A) the principal narrator’s final hour will come, despite the small uncertainty of knowing exactly what hour that will be

(B) the bridegroom mentioned in line 16 will arrive at three distinct times

(C) the hour when a deadly illness first infects the principal narrator cannot be avoided

(D) a mysterious and evil stranger will arrive at some time between midnight and morning

(E) the principal narrator’s soul prophesies that she will eventually meet the man who will become her beloved husband

23. In the third stanza “winter” can be taken to represent

(A) long disease

(B) earthly life

(C) the coldness of the grave

(D) mental despair

(E) aging and loss of vigor

24. Which of the following statements most accurately characterizes the relationship of the imagery in the third stanza to that of the first and second stanzas?

(A) The third stanza weaves together the wedding-day imagery of the second stanza and the springtime imagery of the first stanza, thereby reconciling those earlier stanzas’ differing views.

(B) Through its imagery, the third stanza further develops the themes which were advanced by the first stanza and then questioned by the second stanza.

(C) The third stanza echoes much of the first two stanzas’ imagery, but recasts that imagery so that what earlier had been likened to decay is instead characterized as renewal.

(D) By echoing the imagery of the earlier stanzas, the third stanza reaffirms and repeats the views advanced by those stanzas.

(E) By introducing the terms “love” and “sister,” the third stanza continues the progression by which each stanza proposes its own unique central metaphor around which to further the poem’s exploration of the themes of death and renewal.

25. Lines 7 and 8 provide an example of

(A) apostrophe

(B) doggerel

(C) enjambment

(D) mixed metaphor

(E) simile

26. In context, the word “spray” (line 21) most nearly means

(A) tree

(B) blanket

(C) a small branch

(D) a liquid mist

(E) a holy spirit

27. The grammatical subject of the sentence that begins at line 24 is

(A) “Arise”

(B) “night is past and lo it is day”

(C) “My love, My sister, My spouse”

(D) “thou”

(E) “Me”

Questions 28–40. Read the following passage carefully before you choose your answers. The selection is an excerpt from the novel Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope.

It is not my intention to breathe a word against Mrs Proudie, but still I cannot think that with all her virtues she adds much to her husband’s happiness. The truth is that in matters domestic she rules supreme over her titular lord, and rules with a rod of iron. Nor is this all. Things domestic Dr Proudie might have abandoned to her, if not voluntarily, yet willingly. But Mrs Proudie is not satisfied with such home dominion, and stretches her power over all his movements, and will not even abstain from things spiritual. In fact, the bishop is henpecked. The archdeacon’s wife, in her happy home at Plumstead, knows how to assume the full privileges of her rank, and express her own mind in becoming tone and place. But Mrs Grantly’s sway, if sway she has, is easy and beneficent. She never shames her husband; before the world she is a pattern of obedience; her voice is never loud, nor her looks sharp; doubtless she values power, and has not unsuccessfully striven to acquire it; but she knows what should be the limits of a woman’s rule. Not so Mrs Proudie. This lady is habitually authoritative to all, but to her poor husband she is despotic. Successful as has been his career in the eyes of the world, it would seem that in the eyes of his wife he is never right. All hope of defending himself has long passed from him; indeed, he rarely even attempts self-justification; and is aware that submission produces the nearest approach to peace which his
own house can ever attain. One other marked peculiarity in the character of the bishop’s wife must be mentioned. Though not averse to the society and manners of the world, she is in her own way a religious woman; and the form in which this tendency shows itself is by a strict observance of Sabbatarian rule. Dissipation and low dresses during the week are, under her control, atoned for by three services, an evening sermon read by herself, and a perfect abstinence from any cheering employment on the Sunday. Unfortunately for those under her roof to whom the dissipation and low dresses are not extended, her servants namely and her husband, the compensating strictness of the Sabbath includes all. Woe betide the recreant housemaid who is found to have been listening to the honey of a sweetheart in the Regent’s park, instead of the soul-stirring discourse of Mr Slope. Not only is she sent adrift, but she is so sent with a character, which leaves her little hope of a decent place. Woe betide the six-foot hero who escorts Mrs Proudie to her pew in red plush breeches, if he slips away to the neighbouring beer-shop, instead of falling in the back seat appropriated to his use. Mrs Proudie has the eyes of Argus for such offenders. Occasional drunkenness in the week may be overlooked, for six feet on low wages are hardly to be procured if the morals are always kept at a high pitch, but not even for grandeur or economy will Mrs Proudie forgive a desecration of the Sabbath.

28. Which of the following descriptions is an example of the narrator’s use of irony?

(A) “It is not my intention to breathe a word against Mrs Proudie” (lines 1–2)

(B) “the bishop is henpecked” (lines 9–10)

(C) “doubtless she values power, and has not unsuccessfully striven to acquire it” (lines 17–18)

(D) “it would seem in the eyes of his wife he is never right” (lines 22–23)

(E) “a perfect abstinence from any cheering employment on the Sunday” (lines 35–36)

29. Mrs Proudie’s authoritarian character is shown most pointedly in the phrase

(A) “not satisfied with such home dominion” (lines 7–8)

(B) “knows how to assume the full privileges of her rank” (line 12)

(C) “submission produces the nearest approach to peace” (line 26)

(D) “the soul-stirring discourse of Mr Slope” (line 42)

(E) “has the eyes of Argus for such offenders” (line 48)

30. The use of the word “titular” in line 4 is an example of

(A) hyperbole

(B) metonym

(C) onomatopoeia

(D) zeugma

(E) irony

31. In the context of the passage, the phrase “if not voluntarily, yet willingly” (lines 6–7) is used to show
Dr Proudie’s attitude toward

(A) the duties that the clergy are expected to assume

(B) entering the institution of marriage

(C) strict Sabbatarianism

(D) granting his wife some power

(E) the hiring of domestic help

32. The description of Mrs Grantly serves to

(A) provide another example of the power of the aristocracy

(B) prove that Mrs Grantly henpecks her husband

(C) imply specific faults of Mrs Proudie

(D) suggest a rivalry between her and Mrs Proudie

(E) assert why women should be seen and not heard

33. The narrator’s attitude toward Mrs Proudie can best be described as one of

(A) pity

(B) objectivity

(C) emotional judgment

(D) sardonic condemnation

(E) jaded disgust

34. Which of the following best describes Dr Proudie’s relationship to his wife?

(A) Morally devoted

(B) Completely servile

(C) Awkwardly tender

(D) Thoroughly uxorious

(E) Bitterly tyrannical

35. The author attributes Dr Proudie’s attitude and behavior most clearly to

(A) ambition

(B) pride

(C) pacifism

(D) spirituality

(E) feudalism

36. In context, the word “character” (line 43) is best interpreted as meaning

(A) dubious personage

(B) reference

(C) antagonist

(D) conscience

(E) footman

37. What is the effect of the repetition of the phrase “Woe betide…” in the final paragraph?

(A) It retards the tempo of the prose.

(B) It satirizes the fate of the servants.

(C) It highlights the drama of the situation.

(D) It changes the point of view of the narrator.

(E) It emphasizes the moral consequences of the action.

38. In context, the adjective “recreant” (line 40) is best interpreted as meaning

(A) unfaithful and disloyal

(B) engaging in a pastime

(C) refreshing

(D) craven and cowardly

(E) depraved

39. Which of the following best describes the effect of the last paragraph?

(A) It suggests a cause of Mrs Proudie’s moral transformation.

(B) It introduces Mr Slope as an observer of Mrs Proudie’s actions.

(C) It illustrates how Mrs Proudie’s religious beliefs reflect her character.

(D) It counters speculations about Mrs Proudie’s character.

(E) It shows how hard it is to hire household servants.

40. The style of the passage as a whole can best be
described as

(A) humorless and pedantic

(B) effusive and subjective

(C) descriptive and metaphorical

(D) terse and epigrammatic

(E) witty and analytical

Questions 41–55 . Read the following poem by Amy Lowell carefully, and then choose answers to the questions that follow.

You—you— Your shadow is sunlight on a plate of silver; Your footsteps, the seeding-place of lilies; Your hands moving, a chime of bells across a windless air. The movement of your hands is the long, golden running of light from a rising sun; It is the hopping of birds upon a garden-path. As the perfume of jonquils, you come forth in the morning. Young horses are not more sudden than your thoughts, Your words are bees about a pear-tree, Your fancies are the gold-and-black striped wasps buzzing among red apples. I drink your lips, I eat the whiteness of your hands and feet. My mouth is open, As a new jar I am empty and open. Like white water are you who fill the cup of my mouth, Like a brook of water thronged with lilies. You are frozen as the clouds, You are far and sweet as the high clouds. I dare to reach to you, I dare to touch the rim of your brightness. I leap beyond the winds,
I cry and shout, For my throat is keen as is a sword Sharpened on a hone of ivory. My throat sings the joy of my eyes, The rushing gladness of my love. How has the rainbow fallen upon my heart? How have I snared the seas to lie in my fingers And caught the sky to be a cover for my head? How have you come to dwell with me, Compassing me with the four circles of your mystic lightness, So that I say “Glory! Glory!” and bow before you As to a shrine? Do I tease myself that morning is morning and a day after? Do I think the air is a condescension, The earth a politeness, Heaven a boon deserving thanks? So you—air—earth—heaven— I do not thank you, I take you, I live. And those things which I say in consequence Are rubies mortised in a gate of stone.

41. Overall, the speaker’s attitude toward the subject of the poem is one of

(A) reverence and need

(B) devotion and fear

(C) love and anger

(D) uncertainty and exultation

(E) piety and amazement

42. The phrase “I drink your lips,/I eat the whiteness of your hands and feet” (lines 13–14) serves to

(A) describe the antagonistic interactions of the speaker and her subject

(B) point out the beauty of the poem’s subject

(C) make clear that the speaker’s relationship to her subject is more physically based than it is emotionally significant

(D) underscore the speaker’s delight in the physical characteristics of her lover

(E) provide a figurative contrast between the speaker and her subject

43. In the last stanza, the relationship between the speaker and her subject is most directly implied to be

(A) better than breathing or eating in the opinion of the speaker

(B) as expensive and rare as gemstones

(C) a heavenly experience

(D) encompassing everything else in the world, including the air, heaven, and earth

(E) necessary to the author’s survival

44. Which of the following best conveys the meaning in context of “How have I snared the seas to lie in my fingers/And caught the sky to be a cover for my head?” (lines 30–31)?

(A) The speaker is impressed with the physical feats she can perform now that her relationship has blossomed.

(B) The speaker is impressed with how attuned her lover is to the natural world.

(C) The speaker cannot believe her good fortune at being in such a wonderful relationship.

(D) The sea and sky, representing the relationship, are protecting the speaker from harm.

(E) The speaker feels amazement at how beautiful the world around her looks because of the new perspective granted by her relationship with her lover.

45. The use of repetition and punctuation in the first line of the poem could be interpreted to suggest

(A) the speaker’s amazement at the existence of her subject

(B) the difficulty that the speaker has communicating with the poem’s subject, even though they are in love

(C) the speaker’s inability to make her sentiments clear

(D) that the speaker’s thoughts are being interrupted by everyday life or other concerns

(E) that the speaker wants to be very clear in terms of who her subject is and who she is speaking to within the context of the poem

46. The speaker compares her beloved to all of the following EXCEPT

(A) the clouds

(B) bees buzzing among fruit

(C) heaven, the earth, and the air

(D) the perfume of flowers

(E) the clear water of a brook

47. The third stanza of the poem principally suggests that

(A) the speaker of the poem is fragile, like a jar made out of pottery or glass

(B) the speaker is ready and waiting to receive the experiences and emotions that her relationship and/or her lover provides for her

(C) the speaker loves the flowers of which her lover reminds her

(D) the poem’s speaker is similar to many of nature’s treasures, such as the lilies in the brook

(E) the speaker is unable to resist her lover’s advances even when she would like to do so

48. The phrase “Compassing me with the four circles of your mystic lightness” (lines 33–34) indicates that the speaker is

(A) metaphorically surrounded by her lover

(B) lost in the beauty of the metaphorical light provided by her lover

(C) letting her lover set her direction in life

(D) unsure where to go without her lover’s presence

(E) connecting with her lover on a spiritual level

49. Which word is a metaphor for the poem itself?

(A) Sun

(B) Perfume

(C) Morning

(D) Rubies

(E) Sword

50. Which stanza most suggests the religious level of devotion felt by the poem’s speaker?

(A) 2

(B) 3

(C) 4

(D) 5

(E) 6

51. “As the perfume of jonquils, you come forth in the morning” (line 8) is an example of

(A) personification

(B) metaphor

(C) simile

(D) hyperbole

(E) metaphysical conceit

52. The poem’s final stanza suggests which of the following?

I. The speaker needs her lover in order to live.

II. The speaker’s lover is similar to the morning.

III. The speaker is thankful for the gift of heaven.

(A) I only

(B) III only

(C) I and II only

(D) I and III only

(E) I, II, and III

53. Grammatically, the word “hone” (line 26) is a

(A) verb

(B) adjective

(C) direct object

(D) noun

(E) preposition

54. The poem states or implies which of the following?

I. The speaker believes that heaven is necessary to her well-being.

II. The speaker’s lover is far away from her.

III. The speaker shows reverence for the natural world.

(A) I and III only

(B) II only

(C) I and II only

(D) I only

(E) I, II, and III

55. Which of the following best describes the use of rhetorical questions in the poem?

(A) The author uses them to imply that the speaker is questioning her religious beliefs.

(B) The author uses them as a juxtaposition with the poem’s many similes and metaphors.

(C) The author uses them to emphasize that the speaker is overwhelmed by her love.

(D) The author uses them to introduce new aspects of her characterization of the lover.

(E) The author uses them to convey the speaker’s wonder at her situation and at her lover.

STOP

END OF SECTION I

IF YOU FINISH BEFORE TIME IS CALLED, YOU MAY CHECK YOUR WORK ON THIS SECTION.

DO NOT GO ON TO SECTION II UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO.

ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION

SECTION II

Total Time—2 hours

Question 1

(Suggested time—40 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total essay score.)

The passage that follows is excerpted from Don DeLillo’s novel Libra (1988). This selection is a fictional treatment of the young Lee Harvey Oswald, who as an adult would assassinate President John F. Kennedy. Read the passage carefully. Then write a well-organized essay concerning the methods by which the author has portrayed the subject and the substance of the portrait itself. Be sure to consider such literary elements as diction, imagery, and point of view.

He returned to the seventh grade until classes ended. In summer dusk the girls lingered near the benches on Bronx Park South. Jewish girls, Italian girls in tight skirts, girls with ankle bracelets, their voices murmurous with the sound of boys’ names, with song lyrics, little remarks he didn’t always understand. They talked to him when he walked by making him smile in his secret way. Oh a woman with beer on her breath, on the bus coming home from the beach. He feels the tired salty sting in his eyes of a day in the sun and water. “The trouble leaving you with my sister,” Marguerite said, “she had too many children of her own. Plus the normal disputes of family. That meant I had to employ Mrs. Roach, on Pauline Street, when you were two. But I came home one day and saw she whipped you, raising welts on your legs, and we moved to Sherwood Forest Drive.” Heat entered the flat through the walls and windows, seeped down from the tar roof. Men on Sundays carried pastry in white boxes. An Italian was murdered in a candy store, shot five times, his brains dashing the wall near the
comic-book rack. Kids trooped to the store from all around to see the traces of grayish spatter. His mother sold stockings in Manhattan. A woman on the street, completely ordinary, maybe fifty years old, wearing glasses and a dark dress, handed him a leaflet at the foot of the El steps. Save the Rosenbergs, it said. He tried to give it back thinking he would have to pay for it, but she’d already turned away. He walked home, hearing a lazy radio voice doing a ballgame. Plenty of room, folks. Come on out for the rest of this game and all of the second. It was Sunday, Mother’s Day, and he folded the leaflet neatly and put it in his pocket to save for later. There is a world inside the world. He rode the subway up to Inwood, out to Sheepshead Bay. There were serious men down there, rocking in the copper light. He saw, beggars, men who talked to God, men who lived on the trains, day and night, bruised, with matted hair, asleep in patient bundles on the wicker seats. He jumped the turnstiles once. He rode between cars, gripping the heavy chain. He felt the friction of the ride in his teeth.
They went so fast sometimes. He liked the feeling they were on the edge. How do we know the motorman’s not insane? It gave him a funny thrill. The wheels touched off showers of blue-white sparks, tremendous hissing bursts, on the edge of no-control. People crowded in, every shape face in the book of faces. They pushed through the doors, they hung from the porcelain straps. He was riding just to ride. The noise had a power and a human force. The dark had a power. He stood at the front of the first car, hands flat against the glass. The view down the tracks was a form of power. It was a secret and a power. The beams picked out secret things. The noise was pitched to a fury he located in the mind, a satisfying wave of rage and pain.

Question 2

(Suggested time—40 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total essay score.)

Carefully read the following poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Blake. Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze how the speakers use imagery to reveal their attitudes toward infancy.

To an Infant

Ah cease thy tears and sobs, my little life! I did but snatch away the unclasped knife: Some safer toy will soon arrest thine eye, And to quick laughter change this peevish cry! Poor stumbler on the rocky coast of woe, Tutored by pain each source of pain to know! Alike the foodful fruit and scorching fire Awake thy eager grasp and young desire: Alike the good, the ill offend thy sight, And rouse the stormy sense of shrill affright! Untaught, yet wise! mid all thy brief alarms Thou closely clingest to thy mother’s arms, Nestling thy little face in that fond breast Whose anxious heavings lull thee to thy rest! Man’s breathing miniature! thou mak’st me sigh— A babe thou art—and such a thing am I! To anger rapid and as soon appeased, For trifles mourning and by trifles pleased; Break friendship’s mirror with a tetchy blow, Yet snatch what coals of fire on pleasure’s altar glow! Oh thou that rearest with celestial aim The future seraph in my mortal frame, Thrice holy Faith! whatever thorns I meet As on I totter with unpractised feet, Still let me stretch my arms and cling to thee, Meek nurse of souls through their long infancy! —Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Infant Sorrow

My mother groaned, my father wept; Into the dangerous world I leapt, Helpless, naked, piping loud, Like a fiend hid in a cloud. Struggling in my father’s hands, Striving against my swaddling bands, Bound and weary, I thought best To sulk upon my mother’s breast. —William Blake

Question 3

(Suggested time—40 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total essay score.)

“When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.”

—Jonathan Swift

“Thoughts on Various Subjects, Moral and Diverting”

In some works of literature, the main character often finds himself or herself in conflict with the social or moral values of his environment. Choose one novel or play of literary merit in which the character is at odds with the people around him or her, or with society at large. Write an essay in which you explain how these conflicts are essential to the overall meaning of the work.

You may select a work from the list below, or you may choose to write upon another work of comparable literary merit.

The Awakening

As I Lay Dying

Catch-22

Crime and Punishment

The Duchess of Malfi

A Fan’s Notes

Hamlet

Heart of Darkness

Hunger

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

The Idiot

The Iliad

Invisible Man

King Lear

Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Man’s Fate

Marat/Sade

Medea

Miss Lonelyhearts

Native Son

Nausea

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

The Scarlet Letter

The Turn of the Screw

Under the Volcano

Waiting for Godot

Wuthering Heights

STOP

END OF EXAM

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