Basket of Figs Quizzes

Basket of Figs Quiz

1 What collection was "Basket of Figs" published in?
Indigo

The Human Line

Like a Beggar

Mules of Love
2 When was this poem (and the collection it comes from) published?
1998

2013

2002

2001
3 What kind of relationship is portrayed in "Basket of Figs"?
A loving heterosexual relationship

A loving lesbian relationship

A relationship between friends

A mother and daughter relationship
4 What award did the collection as a whole receive?
The National Book Award

Lambda Literary Award honoring the book as an important LGBTQ work

Griffin Poetry Prize

Lambda Literary Award honoring the book as an important Jewish work
5 From whose perspective is the poem written?
Third-person speaker addressing her lover in the third-person

Third-person speaker addressing her friend in the second-person

Omniscient divine voice

First-person speaker addressing her lover in the second-person
6 Describe the form and meter.
Two quatrains and three tercets written in free verse.

Three quatrains and two tercets written in free verse.

Three quatrains and two tercets written in iambic pentameter.

Two quatrains and three tercets written in blank verse.
7 What is a quatrain?
A stanza with three lines

A stanza with four lines

A refrain

A line that gets repeated throughout the poem
8 Which food item is not a metaphor for the lover's pain?
Warm eggs

Pomegranate seed

Milk and honey

Basket of figs
9 Which material is not a metaphor for the lover's pain?
Silk sashes

A flower vase

Fine rugs

Gold jewelry
10 What is burlap?
A smooth material made in a factory

A smooth natural material made from fibers

The way a baby burps after eating

Coarse canvas woven from jute, hemp, or a similar fiber, used especially for sacking
11 Which is an example of alliteration?
spill your wine

silk sashes

basket of figs

intricate embroidery
12 What is alliteration?
Repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close together in a sentence or verse

Figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them

A beautiful image

Repetition of the same sound at the start of a series of words in succession
13 What is the tone of the poem?
Angry, Disillusioned

Passionate, Direct, Controlling

Pensive, Calm, Loving

Firm, Tender, Loving, Erotic
14 What is the implication of the lines "the hem stitched the way you were taught, / pricking just a thread, almost invisible"?
The speaker makes detailed and intricate embroidery.

The speaker tries to hide her pain from her lover.

The lover had a hand in creating her pain, and she seeks to hide her pain from the world by making it "almost invisible."

Other people forced the speaker's lover to learn how to sew as a child.
15 Which sense is NOT engaged by "cinnamon / and cloves"?
Visual

Gustatory

Olfactory

Auditory
16 What does the olfactory sense refer to?
Hearing

Smell

Taste

Sight
17 Which line is best characterized as erotic?
"Unclasp it like jewels"

"That hard nugget of pain, I would suck it,"

"I would lift it // tenderly"

"Spread / it out like fine rugs"
18 Which of the following best characterizes the speaker?
A woman exploring her sexuality

A confident authority figure who is capable of providing stability and love for her partner

A domineering partner who manipulates her lover by writing about her lover's pain

A middle-aged woman coming to terms with aging
19 Which of the following is not a symbol in the poem?
Clothing and jewelry

The mouth

Food

Persimmon pit
20 Which of the following is not a theme in the poem?
Vulnerability and Surrender

Unconditional Love

Sensual Celebration

Community Love
21 What acts does the line about the "hard nugget of pain" imply?
Touching and Sex

Eating and Sex

Eating and Talking

Reflecting and Acting
22 What does the mention of animal behavior in the final stanza do in the poem?
There is no mention of animals in the poem.

It portrays the speaker and her partner as cats.

It suggests that the speaker is following her natural instincts to care for her partner.

It evokes the animal-like instinct in the speaker to consume her partner.
23 Finish this quote: "Unclasp it like jewels, the gold___"
still hot from my body

/ still hot from your body

matching your eyes

melting into your skin
24 Why does the speaker tell her partner to empty a basket of figs?
The speaker wants her partner not to waste food.

The speaker wants her partner to eat more fruits and vegetables.

The speaker wants her partner to lose weight.

The speaker wants her lover to relish the sweetness of life.
25 Why might the speaker tell her partner to spill her wine?
The speaker wants her partner to embarrass herself.

The speaker doesn't want her partner to drink a whole glass.

The speaker wants her partner to drink less.

The speaker doesn't want her partner to act perfectly polite all the time.

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Study Guide for Basket of Figs

Basket of Figs study guide contains a biography of Ellen Bass, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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