English 221

Practice Final Examination

Professor Canada

Identifications

45 minutes, 10 points

Identify and interpret 10 of the following items. For an author, include the century in which he or she lived, the name of at least one of his or her works, and a specific genre, device, or literary movement with which the author is associated. In the case of a work, include the century in which it was published, the author, and the significance of the work. For a character or quotation, name the work in which it appears, along with the author, and interpret the significance of the character or quotation in the work.

• Henry David Thoreau
• "We had come from the sunrise, they from the sunset; we healed the sick, they killed the sound; we came naked and barefoot, they clothed, horsed, and lanced; we coveted nothing but gave whatever we were given, while they robbed whomever they found and bestowed nothing on anyone."
• Ernest Hemingway
• "The Philosophy of Composition"
• "You are loosed from your moorings, and are free; I am fast in my chains, and am a slave!"
• "Barn Burning"
• "I heard a Fly buzz--when I died--"
• "How It Feels to be Colored Me"
• John Claggart
• "We had six stout dogs belonging to our garrison, but none of them would stir, though another time, if any Indian had come to the door, they were ready to fly upon him and tear him down. The Lord hereby would make us the more acknowledge His hand, and to see that our help is always in Him."
• Tom Wingfield
• "Huswifery"

Explication

30 minutes, 4 points

Following the instructions below, explicate this poem:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

1. Using the letters a, b, c, and so on, write out the rhyme scheme. Treat slant rhyme as rhyme. (1 point)

2. Copy one line from the poem. Mark the unstressed syllables with - and the stressed syllables with ´. Label the rhythm of this line. Example: anapestic hexameter. (1 point)

3. Discuss the ways that two formal features contribute to the poem's meaning or create an effect. (2 points)

Essay

45 minutes, 6 points

Referring to at least two works we read this semester, describe two themes or issues that have affected the way you see the world and the people in it. Feel free to incorporate personal experiences into your essay. Be sure to analyze these themes and issues. How did the writers explore them, and how have they affected your outlook? Cite specific titles, characters, and details from the works. Try to paraphrase or quote when appropriate.