Post by ernesto thaddeus m solmerano on Feb 4, 2010 4:43:09 GMT -5
Lit1: The Literatures of the Philippines
Midterm Examination
Prof. ETM Solmerano
Poetry Analysis Test
Direction: Read the poem “Soledad” by Angela Manalang Gloria carefully then answer the questions that follow.
Soledad
by Angela Manalang Gloria
It was a sacrilege, the neighbors cried,
The way she shattered every mullioned pane
To let a firebrand in. They tried in vain
To understand how one so carved from pride
And glassed in dream could have so flung aside
Her graven days, or why she dared profane
The bread and wine of life for some insane
Moment with him. The scandal never died.
But no one guessed that loveliness would claim
Her soul's cathedral burned by his desires
Or that he left her aureoled in flame…
And seeing nothing but her blackened spires,
The town condemned this girl who loved too well
and found her heaven in the depths of hell.
1. The poem is:
a. lyric
b. dramatic
c. narrative
d. didactic
2. As to form, this poem is an example of:
a. structured
b. free verse
c. both a and b
d. prose
3. The persona speaking in the poem is:
a. the poet
b. Soledad
c. the neighbors
d. the firebrand
4. The lines are addressed to:
a. Soledad
b. the reader
c. the neighbors
d. nobody in particular
5. Whose standpoint was presented in the first eight lines of the poem?
a. the poet
b. Soledad
c. the neighbors
d. the lover
6. What about in lines 9-11? Whose position was presented?
a. the poet
b. Soledad
c. the neighbors
d. the lover
7. Whose position did the persona side with?
a. The neighbors
b. Soledad
c. Both a and b
d. The persona remains neutral.
8. In the first line, what “sacrilege”, according to the neighbors, did Soledad commit?
a. She buried within the church her excommunicated lover.
b. She violated the sanctity of marriage.
c. She stole the crucifix belonging to the church.
d. She irreverently regarded the Holy Eucharist.
9. Line 2 contains:
a. a metaphor
b. a personification
c. a hyperbole
d. an irony
10. Lines 4-5 contain:
a. a metonymy
b. a personification
c. a simile
d. an irony
11. The neighbors likening of Soledad to a sacred icon in lines 4-5 is using what figure of speech?
a. simile
b. personification
c. metaphor
d. oxymoron
12. The figure of speech used in the mention of “The bread and wine of life” in line 7 is:
a. a personification
b. a metaphor
c. an allusion
d. a metonymy
13. The figure of speech used in the mention of “The scandal never died” in line 8 is:
a. an understatement
b. a hyperbole
c. a paradox
d. an irony
14. We learn about the Soledad’s passion towards her “firebrand in:
a. lines 2-3
b. lines 6-8
c. lines 9-11
d. all of the above
15. Lines 12-13 contain:
a. a metaphor
b. an irony
c. a symbol
d. a paradox
16. What figure of speech is used in the last line?
a. an allusion
b. an antithesis
c. a metonymy
d. a symbol
17. Point out the alliteration used in line 14.
18. What is the neighbors’ attitude towards Soledad?
a. friendly, accommodating
b. derogatory, fault-finding
c. cold, detached
d. considerate, compassionate
19. What is the persona’s attitude towards Soledad?
a. friendly, accommodating
b. derogatory, fault-finding
c. cold, detached
d. considerate, compassionate
20. One contrast enacted in the poem characterizes the struggle between:
a. social convention vs. unbridled passion
b. innocence vs. destruction
c. truth vs. lies
d. happiness vs. sorrow
21. Another contrast dramatized in the poem is that between:
a. love vs. apathy
b. illusion vs. reality
c. beauty vs. sordidness
d. majority vs. minority
22. This poem is an example of:
a. an ode
b. an elegy
c. a sonnet
d. a song
23. The kind of language used in this poem is:
a. archaic or antiquated
b. slang or vernacular
c. cultured and literary
d. cryptic and enigmatic
24. The title of the poem:
a. is ironic
b. is symbolic
c. is used for ornamentation and vivid effect only
d. has no connection in the poem whatsoever
25. The essential value of this poem as art is that:
a. it appeals to our sense of beauty
b. it conveys a moral
c. it gives information
d. all of the above
Midterm Examination
Prof. ETM Solmerano
Poetry Analysis Test
Direction: Read the poem “Soledad” by Angela Manalang Gloria carefully then answer the questions that follow.
Soledad
by Angela Manalang Gloria
It was a sacrilege, the neighbors cried,
The way she shattered every mullioned pane
To let a firebrand in. They tried in vain
To understand how one so carved from pride
And glassed in dream could have so flung aside
Her graven days, or why she dared profane
The bread and wine of life for some insane
Moment with him. The scandal never died.
But no one guessed that loveliness would claim
Her soul's cathedral burned by his desires
Or that he left her aureoled in flame…
And seeing nothing but her blackened spires,
The town condemned this girl who loved too well
and found her heaven in the depths of hell.
1. The poem is:
a. lyric
b. dramatic
c. narrative
d. didactic
2. As to form, this poem is an example of:
a. structured
b. free verse
c. both a and b
d. prose
3. The persona speaking in the poem is:
a. the poet
b. Soledad
c. the neighbors
d. the firebrand
4. The lines are addressed to:
a. Soledad
b. the reader
c. the neighbors
d. nobody in particular
5. Whose standpoint was presented in the first eight lines of the poem?
a. the poet
b. Soledad
c. the neighbors
d. the lover
6. What about in lines 9-11? Whose position was presented?
a. the poet
b. Soledad
c. the neighbors
d. the lover
7. Whose position did the persona side with?
a. The neighbors
b. Soledad
c. Both a and b
d. The persona remains neutral.
8. In the first line, what “sacrilege”, according to the neighbors, did Soledad commit?
a. She buried within the church her excommunicated lover.
b. She violated the sanctity of marriage.
c. She stole the crucifix belonging to the church.
d. She irreverently regarded the Holy Eucharist.
9. Line 2 contains:
a. a metaphor
b. a personification
c. a hyperbole
d. an irony
10. Lines 4-5 contain:
a. a metonymy
b. a personification
c. a simile
d. an irony
11. The neighbors likening of Soledad to a sacred icon in lines 4-5 is using what figure of speech?
a. simile
b. personification
c. metaphor
d. oxymoron
12. The figure of speech used in the mention of “The bread and wine of life” in line 7 is:
a. a personification
b. a metaphor
c. an allusion
d. a metonymy
13. The figure of speech used in the mention of “The scandal never died” in line 8 is:
a. an understatement
b. a hyperbole
c. a paradox
d. an irony
14. We learn about the Soledad’s passion towards her “firebrand in:
a. lines 2-3
b. lines 6-8
c. lines 9-11
d. all of the above
15. Lines 12-13 contain:
a. a metaphor
b. an irony
c. a symbol
d. a paradox
16. What figure of speech is used in the last line?
a. an allusion
b. an antithesis
c. a metonymy
d. a symbol
17. Point out the alliteration used in line 14.
18. What is the neighbors’ attitude towards Soledad?
a. friendly, accommodating
b. derogatory, fault-finding
c. cold, detached
d. considerate, compassionate
19. What is the persona’s attitude towards Soledad?
a. friendly, accommodating
b. derogatory, fault-finding
c. cold, detached
d. considerate, compassionate
20. One contrast enacted in the poem characterizes the struggle between:
a. social convention vs. unbridled passion
b. innocence vs. destruction
c. truth vs. lies
d. happiness vs. sorrow
21. Another contrast dramatized in the poem is that between:
a. love vs. apathy
b. illusion vs. reality
c. beauty vs. sordidness
d. majority vs. minority
22. This poem is an example of:
a. an ode
b. an elegy
c. a sonnet
d. a song
23. The kind of language used in this poem is:
a. archaic or antiquated
b. slang or vernacular
c. cultured and literary
d. cryptic and enigmatic
24. The title of the poem:
a. is ironic
b. is symbolic
c. is used for ornamentation and vivid effect only
d. has no connection in the poem whatsoever
25. The essential value of this poem as art is that:
a. it appeals to our sense of beauty
b. it conveys a moral
c. it gives information
d. all of the above
