More AP Multiple Choice Practice

1. Read the sonnet.
2. Answer the question assigned to you (name is found next to the question) + in your post write a paragraph explaining why you chose the one that you did. You can use any sources you want for your answer.
3. Next week I will post the answers and justifications. You will post a second time in response to this.

Good luck.

Mr. Branch

Nuns fret not at their convent's narrow room
And hermits are contented with their cells;
And students with their pensive citadels;
Maids at the wheel, the weaver at his loom,
Sit blithe and happy; bees that soar for bloom, (5)
High as the highest Peak of Furness-fells,
Will murmur by the hour in foxglove bells:
In truth the prison, into which we doom
Ourselves, no prison is: and hence for me,
In sundry moods, 'twas pastime to be bound (10)
Within the Sonnet's scanty plot of ground;
Pleased if some Souls (for such there needs must be)
Who have felt the weight of too much liberty,
Should find brief solace there, as I have found.

1. Which of the following best represent the structural divisions of the poem? (Lucas)
a. Lines 1-4; 5-8; 9-12; 13-14
b. Lines 1-7; 8-10; 11-13; 14
c. Lines 1-7; 8-9 ? ; 9 ? - 14
d. Lines 1-8; 9-11; 12-14
e. Lines 1-9; 10-13; 14

2. Which of the following best describes the organization of the poem? (Sofi A)
a. A series of logically developing ideas with a concluding personal application
b. A series of examples followed by a generalization and a personal application
c. A generalization followed by examples
d. A specific assertion followed by examples followed by a contradiction of the initial assertion
e. An answer followed by a question that cannot be answered

3. In line 3, the phrase ?pensive citadels? can best be paraphrased as (Jorge, Fela)
a. Towers in which students are imprisoned
b. Castles under siege
c. Dreary fortresses
d. Refuges for contemplation
e. Strongholds that inspire thought

4. The ?we? of line 8 could refer to all of the following EXCEPT (Juan Max)
a. Criminals
b. Poets
c. Nuns
d. Hermits
e. Students

5. In line 8, ?prison? is parallel to all of the following EXCEPT (Mary)
a. ?narrow room? (line 1)
b. ?pensive citadels? (line 3)
c. ?Peak of Furness-fells? (line 6)
d. ?foxglove bells?(line 7)
e. ?scanty plot of ground? (line 11)

6. Lines 8-9 (?In truth the prison unto which we doom/Ourselves no prison is?) is an example of? (Hugo, Jordan)
a. Hyperbole
b. Personification
c. Alliteration
d. Simile
e. Paradox

7. In line 10, the assertion ?twas pastime? is parallel to all of the following phrases EXCEPT (Alexia, Mauri)
a. ?fret not? (line 1)
b. ?are contented? (line 2)
c. ?Sit blithe? (line 5)
d. ?Will murmur? (line 7)
e. ?we doom? (line 8)

8. The figure of speech in line 11 (?Within the Sonnet?s scanty plot of ground?) is (Rodrigo, Giuliano)
a. A simile comparing the writing of poetry to a field
b. A simile comparing the poet to the farmer
c. A metaphor comparing the sonnet and a small piece of land
d. A metaphor comparing the pleasures of writing poetry and the pleasures of gardening
e. An apostrophe

9. In line 14, ?there? refers to (Maria Celeste, Bruce)
a. The sonnet (line 11)
b. The soul (line 12)
c. Pleasure (line 12)
d. Weight (line 13)
e. Liberty (13)

10. Which of the following phrases from the poem best sums up its central idea? (Alberto)
a. ?hermits are contented with their cells? (line 2)
b. ?Maids at the wheel?/Sit blithe and happy? (lines 4-5)
c. ?the prison, unto which we doom/Ourselves, no prison is? (lines 8-9)
d. ?such there needs must be? (line 12)
e. ?Who have felt the weight of too much liberty? (line 13)

11. From the poem, the reader may infer all of the following about the speaker EXCEPT that he (Idamay, Chris)
a. Feels deep compassion for nuns
b. Sometimes finds liberty onerous
c. Respects literary traditions
d. Finds conventional verse forms congenial to his talent
e. Has written a number of sonnets

12. The rhyme scheme of this poem is especially appropriate because (Sofi H., Dain)
I. Lines 1-8 employ the traditional abba, abba of the Italian sonnet
II. It is restricted to only four rhymes in the fourteen lines
III. It makes judicious use of slant rhymes

a. III only
b. I and II only
c. I and III only
d. II and III only
e. I, II, and III

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 06, 2007 07:01 PM: Message edited by: Mr Branch ]</font>

For number 4, I choose "A" as the correct answer. The question seems pretty straightforward because it asks to what the word "who" may refer to in line BIG 8. Since the poem's personas already mentions almost all answer choices as examples of people commiting themselves to that kind of repression, and then clues that poets also find where to get rid of some of that overwhelming liberty, then the only anwer choice left is A: CRIMINALS. Criminals are never even mentioned in the sonnet, so that makes it finding the answer even easier.

for question six i chose what i believe to be the correct answer, "E"(Paradox). the reason i chose paradox is because this sentence seems to contradict itself, but at the same time it seems like its a true statement.

I choose ans. A= Lines 1-4; 5-8; 9-12; 13-14.
I believe that the sonnet is structured as such because each line talks about something differently. Lines 1-4 mark the intro to the "sonnet's story". Lines 5-8 present a different theme and so on.

12. The rhyme scheme of this poem is especially appropriate because (Sofi H., Dain)
I. Lines 1-8 employ the traditional abba, abba of the Italian sonnet
II. It is restricted to only four rhymes in the fourteen lines
III. It makes judicious use of slant rhymes

a. III only
b. I and II only
c. I and III only
d. II and III only
e. I, II, and III


I think that the answer would have to be "B", because although I, II and III are correct only I and II add to the appropriateness of the poem, "The judiciouse use of slant rymes" is not necesarily appropriate. For it to have been more appropriate not only to a sonnet but also to the theme would have been for it to be a perfect rhyme, or a rich rhyme.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 11, 2007 01:18 PM: Message edited by: dainkelly ]</font>

I think that choice C is the correct answer for question #10. The first four verses of the poem reference individuals that are, according to the poem's narrator, happy to find themselves in some sort of spiritual or physical confinement. The last verses imply that the human being seeks constraints by himself, since he "[feels] the weight of too much liberty", and we have the poem's narrator stating that he chooses to write sonnets because of their structural and stylistic requirements that make it necessary for him to follow a set of rules.

Having said all this, it seems obvious to me that the poem is speaking about the nature of this human self-restriction. Neither choices A nor B provide a complete description of the poem's central theme; they are examples of the theme. Choice D doesn't match the references made in the poem, and choice E doesn't address the "hermits" and "nuns" that are "contented with their cells"; the weight of "too much liberty" isn't referenced in any example given in the poem. Therefore, I think it's accurate to say that the correct choice is C.

Juan Max - Well done, (A) is the answer. The exception is the criminals. A criminal in prison has not chosen prison voluntarily, while, according to the poem, the nun, poet, hermit, and students have chosen the restrictions of the convent, the sonnet, the cell, or the citadel.

Dain - We are 2 for 2; the answer is (B). Among a number of possible rhyme schemes for the sonnet, the poet has chosen one of the most restrictive, in keeping with the thesis of the poem that a chosen restraint is not restraining.

Jordan - Yes! It is a paradox (E), an apparently self-contradictory statement. To say a prison is not a prison is paradoxical. Another term for this figure is oxymoron.

Lucas - You went straight for our handy Shakesperian sonnet structure (Quatrain, Quatrain, Quatrain, Couplet). Unfortunately, this poem avoids both the Shakesperian and Italian sonnet structures: Line 8 and half of line 9 state the thesis of the poem: that a self-chosen restriction is not a restriction at all. The first seven lines of the poem give six different examples of self-chosen restrictions. Lines 9 1/2, 10, and 11 apply the idea of the self-elected restrictions to the poet's choosing to write in the difficult and limiting sonnet form. Lines 12-14 express the poet's satisfaction in others finding teh same pleasure in his sonnets. The correct answer is (C).

Alberto - (C) is correct. This option, using the prison metaphor, explicitly states the theme of the sonnet.

5. In line 8, ?prison? is parallel to all of the following EXCEPT (Mary)
a. ?narrow room? (line 1)
b. ?pensive citadels? (line 3)
c. ?Peak of Furness-fells? (line 6)
d. ?foxglove bells?(line 7)
e. ?scanty plot of ground? (line 11)


The answer is E because the poet says that when it is refering to the "scanty slot of ground" it is actually talking about the sonnet. He also comes to say that the "scanty slot of ground", if it can be paralleled to the prison is not really a prison as it is refered to in line 8 because it is followed by positive attributes.

9. In line 14, ?there? refers to
a. The sonnet (line 11)
b. The soul (line 12)
c. Pleasure (line 12)
d. Weight (line 13)
e. Liberty (13)

The correct answer is (a), since the poet hopes that the readers would find "brief solace" in the sonnet as well. If we look that the whole sentence, we can realize that the last noun which appears is "the Sonnet's scanty plot of ground", thus "there" is referring to that.

8. The figure of speech in line 11 (?Within the Sonnet?s scanty plot of ground?) is (Rodrigo, Giuliano)
a. A simile comparing the writing of poetry to a field
b. A simile comparing the poet to the farmer
c. A metaphor comparing the sonnet and a small piece of land
d. A metaphor comparing the pleasures of writing poetry and the pleasures of gardening
e. An apostrophe

This line is dealing with a "plot of ground," therefore it must refer to a plot of ground. It can't be an apostrophe because this literary device means an invocation to a direct person or a superior being.

11. From the poem, the reader may infer all of the following about the speaker EXCEPT that he (Idamay, Chris)
a. Feels deep compassion for nuns

This choice does not really have much to do with the essence of the poem. Although there is no evidence that he hates nuns, neither is there any that he likes them. In fact, the poem says nothing about nuns other than stating that they like their lifestyle.

6. Lines 8-9 (?In truth the prison unto which we doom/Ourselves no prison is?) is an example of? (Hugo, Jordan)
a. Hyperbole
b. Personification
c. Alliteration
d. Simile
e. Paradox

I believe the answer is E because the verse directly refutes itself by first stating it is "the prison" but then refuting this argument with "no prison is". This kind of contradiction is, in essense, the nature of a paradox.

7. In line 10, the assertion ?twas pastime? is parallel to all of the following phrases EXCEPT (Alexia, Mauri)
a. ?fret not? (line 1)
b. ?are contented? (line 2)
c. ?Sit blithe? (line 5)
d. ?Will murmur? (line 7)
e. ?we doom? (line 8)

I think the answer is E. "twas pastime" is referring to pleasant things since a pastime is a form of entertainment or amusement. Thus it is parallel to all the options that reflect a form of happiness or satisfaction etc. You can immediately eliminate A, B and C since all of them have this in common. However, I was a little hesitant as to whether D or E was the right answer. I finally chose E since "doom" seems to be the word that less resembles the meaning of pastime. A pastime is a activity done willingly while doom is a negative fate, destiny or ill fortune.

Marie-Claire: The prison IS parallel to the sonnet, which is a self-chosen form of restriction (like the narrow room, citadels, bells - flowers - of the foxglove. The reference to bees flying high, as high as the mountain peek, is to demonstrate the freedom the bees might enjoy contrasted withthe narrow space inside the flower which they choose instead. Choice (C) is the best answer.

Bruce: Correct with (A), because the "there" is refering to the sonnet, where the poet has found pleasure.

Giuliano: (C ) is the correct answer - it is indeed a metaphor comparing the sonnet and a small plot of land. A simile would use like or as, and the apostrophe would directly address a person or thing.

Chris: Correct with (A). There is no reason to feel compassion for nuns, whose confinement is self-chosen.

Hugo: Yes with (E). See above for Jordan's response.

Alexia: I love how you rationalized your decision, and it is correct with (E). Like you said, the phrase is the expression of the speaker's pleasure in restriction. The phrases you mentioned are all used to express satisfaction with elected restraints. The exception is "we doom".

8. The figure of speech in line 11 (?Within the Sonnet?s scanty plot of ground?) is (Rodrigo, Giuliano)

c. A metaphor comparing the sonnet and a small piece of land

What this small part of the poem is doing is comparing the Sonnet with a scanty plot of ground. This direct comparison to something else is what makes it a metaphor. I understand that as everyone has their own space that is assigned to them, he has a Sonnet's scanty plot of ground.

# 7

"twas pastime" means "it was a pleasant time" or it's referencing to a pleasant activity. As Alexia said, with this knowledge you can eliminate A since "fret not" basically means worry not, B is pretty straightforward and C where blithe means joyous. D is tough one to eliminate. This is because a murmur can be negative as in a mumbling of discontent or neutral as in indistinct voices. E seems like the best choice because the word choice of doom, which has nothing positive or pleasant whatsoever.

a). The sonnet

The speaker enjoys being ?bound within the Sonnet?s scanty plot of ground? and is pleased when someone who dislikes the ?weight of too much liberty? finds solace in the confinement of his sonnet.

I think the right answer to the question #2: ?Which of the following best describes the organization of the poem?? is choice b ?A series of examples followed by a generalization and a personal application? because the poem starts giving examples of different people and their supposed prisons like the nuns and the convent, the weavers and their looms, the students and school but then the poem says ?In truth the prison, into which we doom Ourselves, no prison is? that is a generalization that in a way says that what we think is a prison is something necessary to us. Something that we already know and is a part of us. At last then comes the personal application where it says ?and hence for me?.? The poetic voice says that when freedom was given he or she was lost and didn?t know how to act. That in a way it needed the ?prison? and what was ordinary in its life.

ABACADABA

Do I pass?