1 Which of the following does NOT characterize Thomas Hardy's writing? The difficulties of life Country folkways The optimistic view that God will save humanity Disillusionment 2 What does "Wessex" refer to? Current day South England Hardy's fictional literary landscape Hardy's town of origin Ancient Southwestern England 3 When was Wessex Poems and Other Verses published? 1879 1898 1900 1912 4 Which writer has NOT named Hardy as an influence? Philip Larkin George Eliot W.H. Auden Robert Frost 5 What does the title "Neutral Tones" refer to? The speaker's preference for a muted palette The neutral imagery and mood in the poem The speaker's true sense of passivity The ex-lover's quiet and thoughtful nature 6 Which best characterizes the speaker? The speaker has read Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven." The speaker is finally able to heal from his past relationship and embark on a new one. The speaker suffered more than his partner as a result of the relationship. After breaking up with his ex-partner, the speaker maintains a facade of passivity that does not quite manage to conceal his bitterness. 7 What is true about the speaker's partner? She refers to Thomas Hardy's first wife. She has blue eyes. She suffered more than the speaker did. She left a devastating impression on the speaker as a result of the break-up. 8 Define "rove." (verb) travel constantly without a fixed destination; wander (noun) a grouping of ash trees (verb) attempt to plant in starving sod (noun) a secret place in a forest 9 What could be another word for "ominous"? threatening lucky futuristic auspicious 10 In which season is the poem set? Winter Spring Summer Unspecified 11 Which is NOT a theme in the poem? The Persistence of Memories The Optimism of Love Love, Loss, and Disillusionment The Facade of Neutrality 12 What does God do to the white sun in the first stanza? curses chides conceals casts 13 What does God do to the white sun in the fourth stanza? curses chides celebrates hides 14 What does the starving sod represent? Humans don't know how to farm efficiently. The speaker is starving as a result of the break-up. The lower-class people of Wessex suffered more than the upper-class. The ground of the speaker's relationship to his ex is sterile, as is the speaker's capacity for new love. 15 What does winter symbolize in the poem? Death, hibernation, and endings Cookies, Santa, and celebration Slowness, tidiness, and introspection Cycles, rest, and family 16 What is revealed in the first line? The ex-lover's smile The speaker's angry bitterness The setting and the facade of neutrality The ending of the relationship 17 Define "keen." (noun) a heartfelt cry (adjective) sharp and well-defined (adjective) disengenuous (adjective) neutral 18 What is the poem's rhyme scheme? AABB The poem does not rhyme ABBA ABCD 19 What is the rhyme scheme reminiscent of? The first octave of Petrarchan sonnets The final quatrain of Shakespearean sonnets The poetry of Alfred Tennyson None 20 What does the speaker compare his ex-partner's bitter grin to? An ominous bird taking flight A blackbird singing in a tree A crow coming home to roost A raven arriving at one's doorstep 21 What is the speaker's final perspective on love? Love is capable of harm, but one must choose to risk one's heart. Love is cruel but it pays off. Love requires great sacrifice in order to receive its rewards. Love is incorrect, unjust, and immoral. 22 What is polysyndeton? The bleak despair that demonstrates the speaker's outlook The purposeful repetition of conjunctions in close succession for emphasis A kind of metaphor A literary device in which one word refers in part to another 23 Which is not a symbol in the poem? Winter The yellow sun The ex-partner's smile The white sun 24 Which is NOT a simile in the poem? "The change was like the knell" "And the sun was white, as though chidden of God" "And a grin of bitterness swept thereby / Like an ominous bird a-wing" "Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove / Over tedious riddles of years ago" 25 Which best describes Hardy's religious views? Agnostic, but complexly so Evangelical Christian Devout atheist who refuses to discuss God Spiritualistic