Section B Poetry: Practice Questions

Which poem from William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience opens with the line: "Little Lamb who made thee"?

In Sylvia Plath’s poem "Morning Song" from the collection Ariel, how does the speaker’s initial description of the infant as a "new statue" in a "drafty museum" contribute to the poem’s exploration of early motherhood?

In Sylvia Plath’s poem "Tulips," from the collection Ariel, the speaker refers to the flowers as "too excitable." Within the poem’s hospital setting, what do the tulips primarily symbolize to the speaker?

In Sylvia Plath’s poem "Morning Song," which of the following images is used in the opening line to describe the arrival of the baby?

In William Blake’s poem "London" (from Songs of Experience), the speaker mentions "mind-forg'd manacles." What do these manacles represent?

In Sylvia Plath's poem Morning Song, what primary emotion is conveyed through the speaker's initial description of the infant as a 'fat gold watch'?

In William Blake’s 'London' from Songs of Experience, how does the metaphor of 'mind-forg’d manacles' deepen the poem’s critique of institutional oppression within the city?

In William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience, the poem The Lamb explores themes of creation and divine nature.

(a) Describe how Blake uses simple, monosyllabic diction and repetitive phrasing in the first stanza to establish the speaker's voice.
(b) Identify the specific figure being referenced in the line "He is called by thy name" and explain its significance to the poem's theme.
(c) Explain how the structure of the poem—moving from a series of questions in the first stanza to a series of answers in the second—creates a sense of resolution and certainty.

In Maya Angelou’s collection And Still I Rise, imagery of the natural world and the human body is frequently used to assert resilience and identity.

(a) With reference to two poems from the selection, analyze how Angelou transforms experiences of historical or personal oppression into statements of individual power.
(b) How does the rhythmic structure and use of repetition in poems such as 'Phenomenal Woman' contribute to the speaker's authoritative and celebratory tone?